It’s November. Well, technically it’s also Movember. Or everyone is feeling Mexican. Whatever, there are a lot of guys out there sporting dodgy facial hair moustaches this time of year. I’ve seen small trimmed numbers, big handlebar tashes and some interesting styles in between. Whether you’re growing it for fun or actually trying to do some good, chances are you look pretty dumb. So you might as well get something out of it.
El Jimador tequila is helping out with their Flash Your Tash campaign, getting people to well, flash their moustache, of course. They’re letting me take 3 readers (plus partners) to a big fat Mexican dinner at El Burro restaurant in Greenpoint on December 6th to celebrate tash season.
All you have to do is send me pics of yourself as you Flash Your Tash.*
It doesn’t even have to be real. Which means it’s open to boys and girls. Fake tashes stuck or drawn on. Real tashes. Even ginger tashes. It doesn’t matter. Just send me funny pics and you could be joining for a raucous Mexican dinner on 6th December. And by raucous I mean insanely fun with El Jimador tequila flowing like a flooded river. So come and taste the glory with me…
*HOW: Send pics to thefoodie.co.za@gmail.com (or via twitter directed at @foodie_za with the tag #eljimador) before Dec 2nd.
Find out more about El Jimador 100% agave tequila at www.eljimador.com.
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T&C’s:
You must be of legal drinking age to enter
Deadline for submissions is Friday 2 December 2011
You will need to be available on 6 December 2011
Entrants need to be Cape Town-based
Inappropriate photos will be rejected. Photos must not:
o feature anyone under the legal drinking age
o depict violence, drugs, drug culture, or unlawful or anti-social behavior
o be offensive on grounds of age, gender, race, religion or sexual orientation or likely to cause widespread offence on any other grounds
So yes, I downloaded the Hipstamatic app to my iPhone a few weeks ago and realized why everyone loves it: it makes bad photographs better. I don’t really care that it’s called Hipstamatic and that it probably pisses off those genuinely talented photographers out there, not to mention the poor few who are “holding onto film.” I actually had a Holga camera for a while which I loved, but Hipstamatic is just so damned easy. And it’s Hipstamatic, not Hipster-matic. If you want hipsters, go to hipsterorjesus.com. Or watch Charles Bronson ‘killing hipsters’ here. Or just go to the Biscuit Mill on Saturday. Whatevs, here are a few pics from the last week or so.
The “Joe’s Special” at Dias Tavern. So so so good.
If Franschhoek is Hollywood, his must be the Boulevard.
Making bacon, mint & pea risotto on request by a pregnant friend.
Hot diggidy dog at &UNION.
Hello. I am your rubber arm. I will make you drink margaritas with lunch at El Burro.
Mr Harry Reginald Haddon doing what he does second best. (He does wine best.)
Berne, baby Berne.
The start of what became a (surprisingly!) debaucherous evening at P&G.
One pack of eggs, one pack of bacon & potato rosti. The hangover-killer breakfast.
I get asked the ‘where to go for what’ question a helluva lot. Regular text messages like: “Restaurant recommendation please, bud. First date, somewhere cosy. Oh, drinks after? Thanks.” Phone calls where I end up discussing the merits of how important atmosphere is versus food. Emails from people saying they’re going to Paris and want to know where to eat. It’s cool to help out, and people generally seem happy with my suggestions.
Anyways, these days, you don’t need a black book, you just need a smartphone and The Google Machine. But I thought it’d be fun to throw down four or five spots I recommend a lot and for what. I ended up throwing down a few more. So here they are, 40 rather useful places to know about. Yes, there’s a lot that would overlap and plenty more to add, but this is just how I first thought of them…
- First morning coffee: Deluxe Coffeeworks
- Coffee & croissant: Jason (ex-Jardine Bakery)
- Hangover breakfast: Sidewalk Cafe
- Classy breakfast: Table Thirteen
- Brunch: Bistro 1682
- Saturday morning beer: Neighbourgoods Market
- Healthy lunch: Cookshop
- Lunch and the paper: Mozzarella Bar
- Quick sandwich: Jason (ex-Jardine Bakery)
- Unfussy lunch with a mate: Mano’s
- Classy lunch with a mate: Dear Me
- Power lunch: Caveau
- Long boozy lunch: The Foodbarn
- Very low-key lunch: Dias Tavern
- Hipster lunch: Superette*
- Sunday lunch: Woodlands Eatery
- Winelands lunch: Bar Bar Black Sheep
- Early afternoon espresso: The Power & The Glory
- Drinks by the pool: Sandy B’s
- Early afternoon beer: &UNION
- Vegetarian meal: Masala Dosa
- Second best vegetarian: Lola’s
- After work drinks: &UNION
- Martini’s: Planet Bar
- Rooftop bar: The Grand Daddy
- Dinner with a mate: Hudsons
- Dinner with the family: Massimo’s
- Dinner with a view: The Roundhouse
- Romantic dinner: Kitima
- Tapas dinner: La Boheme
- Business dinner: Bizerca
- Gourmet experience dinner: Test Kitchen
- Low-key dinner: Nonna Lina
- Zen dinner: Kyoto Garden Sushi
- Tequila-fueled dinner: El Burro
- Classy nightcap: Fatback Soul
- Messy nightcap: Black Ram
- 4am on brandy: The Shack
- 4am on cocktails: Julep
- 5am toasted chicken mayo: Restaurant L’Orange aka Engen
Feel free to add your own suggestions as comments…
* okay, so there’s more to the Superette crowd than hipsters
The fish taco. Fresh fish, battered and served in a soft flour tortilla with some tomato, lime and coriander salsa. Or whatever topping you want. Maybe a bit of guacamole. Fresh and light, but oh so damned tasty. Even better with a shot of tequila or margarita on the rocks.
El Burro* in Green Point does a delicious fish taco. In fact they just tweeted “Grilled line fish Taco with a habanera/fresh mango (made here) hot sauce” – which pretty much inspired this post. And now… I’m hungry.
*El Burro Authentic Mexican Cuisine & Tequila Bar
81 Main Rd, Greenpoint- 1st Floor Exhibition Building)
T: 021 433 2364
Aside from the general debauchery and gluttony an average week presents, there are a few other things on the schedule this week…
Tues: Tequila Tuesday
That’s right. And if you’re in Cape Town today, it’s especially right, because it’s only 10AM and people are sweating bullets out there. This is one of those days that you need to er, schedule a client meeting at 3PM to get out the office, then make it really snappy so you’re on a beach by 4pm. Or alternatively, head somewhere and order “margarita, on the rocks, in a tumbler” repetitively. Or have it frozen. Whatever. Just get some tequila in you, it’s Tuesday and it’s hot out there. I highly recommend El Burro (18 Main Rd, Greenpoint) as your destination. They have loads of tequilas and a balcony, so if you go at lunch you can shout down to the citizens on the street and show them your prize-winning margarita with a big smirk.
Wed: Andy Lund & The Greg Donnelly Orchestra.
The boys at &UNION know how to book good talent on their Wednesday night sets. Last week saw the Balkan Beat Box play a warm up, and it kicked butt. Actually, after a 4-hour lunch and several Weiss beers it kicked massive butt. This week they’ve got talented guitarists Andy Lund and Greg Donnelly. Think folk rockabilly-style grooves and of course, ice cold beers. Life could be worse. From 8pm at &UNION.
Thurs: TAJ Wine Tasting.
The problem with a lot of wine tastings is there are too many wines to taste. You scramble like mad to taste everything, savour nothing and the place ends up filled with swazzled adults acting like first year students during orientation week. The Taj folk are doing it differently. They’ve picked a few top producers to show their wines. Just a few wines. Not hundreds. And they’re good wines. Bubbly from Silverthorn. Sauv Blanc from Seven Steps. Syrah from Vins d’Orrance. Zinfandel from Idiom. And more. Complete list and details here. Thursday 27th January. R100 entry includes canapes.
Fri/Sat: Tattoo Parties.
The Cape Tattoo Convention runs Thursday – Sunday this week at the V&A Pavilion (ex BMW pavilion). No, this isn’t a blog on tattoos, but let’s be honest folks, people with tattoos generally know how to party. At least my friends do. Massively. Naturally then, aside from the actual convention which is a showcase of local and international ink talent, there are some after parties. And Sailor Jerry is involved as a sponsor, and being my favourite rum, I’m pretty keen to get my ass down there to drink me some. Checkout after party details on the convention site here.
Sun: Market on Main.
It was brandslut who tipped me off about this happening. It’s basically a food and design market at the Arts on Main hub in downtown Joburg every Sunday from 10am – 3pm. If it sounds similar to what happens at the Biscuit Mill on Saturdays here in Cape Town, well, that’s probably because it is. I’m going to be in Jozi this weekend, so keen to check it out. Full report soon… www.marketonmain.co.za
Who is the Foodie? It doesn’t really matter. Bacon is god. Wine cures anything. If you believe those two facts, then we’re going to get on fine. This means you have discovered the power of food to make life better. This knowledge is imperative to the art of living well.
