I’m not really one for habit, generally avoiding it wherever possible. At school I used to sit at different desks just to, er, sit at different desks. I even cycled different routes home for the hell of it. To break the monotony. And if anything is monotonous, it’s school. When it comes to eating, monotony kills. The fun is when you try new things, discover new restaurants, play with recipes and drink new wines. But despite this, I realized I have a serious habit. I’ve found myself eating the salmon tartare on Tuesday’s at Caveau in Heritage Square. Not Tuesday’s on purpose, mind you, just by pure random chance. They do serve it any day from their raw bar, but pretty much every Tuesday for months now, either for lunch or dinner, I’ve had this tartare. And it might be the first habit I’ve picked up that I really enjoy. I’m going to stick to it.
Steak tartare is awesome, but using salmon makes a great alternative, and it’s healthier. Mixed with chopped chives, spring onions, capers, black sesame seeds and other good things, it’s bloody delicious. Served with a side of crispy straw chips and some thin toast to scoop up the salmon with, you’ll wolf it down in a few satisfying minutes. And you won’t feel horribly full or heavy, which is a bonus. Just be warned, a week will go by and you’ll start to crave it. Then you’ll be back there eating it. And if you want to really enjoy yourself, have a glass of refreshingly crisp Jordan Riesling with it. There are far worse ways to spend an afternoon.
Here’s to habits then, well, the good ones.
www.caveau.co.za
Posted in Eats on 30. Aug, 2010
No, I can’t really explain the Engrish headline to this post. It just made sense at the time when all I could do was think about eating this cupcake rather than writing about it. Go get one at Lazari now. Your Monday will be infinitely brighter for it.
www.lazari.co.za
ClemenGolds.
Yes, these little mandarin buggers are tasty. Yes, they are also good for you. They’re easy to peel. They have no seeds. And they’re available at most Woolworths stores. They’re expensive when compared with a big bag of oranges on the side of a country road, but hell, they’re awesome, man! Disclaimer: no, I’m not sponsored by citrus farmers, I just like these things.
La Muerte.
A locally made ‘tequila’ that has the coolest fucking bottle you will ever see. It’s only appropriate to use foul language when describing this crazy shit, because it’s so good you will naturally end up drinking too much, forgetting that it still has an arsewarmingly fair deal of alcohol and probably do something stupid. But then, that’s tequila. Love her or hate her, she’s a hard bitch and will always be around. Oh, she’s also 100% fucking organic. (www.agavemuerte.com)
Bunny Chow.
It’s winter, and though it might feel like summer in Cape Town, as it always does in Durban and probably is in Joburg, now is a great time to get your chili on. Forget the rice though, and rather make bunny chow. Just make a curry and splash it into a breadroll, then garnish with some fresh chili and coriander. Done. Anyone can make curry – if you have a stove, pot, knife and a wooden spoon you can do it, no excuse. Skip the plates and use wax paper to hold the rolls. Less mess to clean up.
AA Gill.
You know this man. The original restaurant assassin. Don’t really need to say anything, really. What a legend though. Read his stuff. Checkout AA Gill is Away, an excellent read.
Kalk Bay.
If you’ve ever experienced a Sunday then you’ve experienced a Sunday where you want to get outdoors, go somewhere near the water, and enjoy fish ‘n chips. Kalk Bay is on every real Capetonian’s to-do list on most weekends, it’s just that we only get to it once a month. If we’re lucky. Walk down the road in the sun, scour antique shops and browse old books. Or skip that and go straight to the good stuff: breakfast at Olympia Bakery, fish ‘n chips to go from Lucky Fish or a long lazy lunch at Live Bait. You can also do all of this in one Sunday if you’re worried you’re not going to get back soon. Note: Kalk Bay is also open on other days of the week, though you wouldn’t think this based on how busy it is on Sundays.
Reyneke Wines.
Biodynamic doesn’t mean much to many but it means everything to some. Johan Reyneke is one of the few it means everything to. He’s crafted his entire winery around farming biodynamically: essentially in a way that views the entire farm as a living organism. Actually he’s crafted his entire life around this concept, and it has worked well for him and his wines. Each of his wines is special, tastes unlike any other wine and is deserved of praise entirely on this merit. Yet they’re deserved of far more praise when you consider how he farms, in a way that ensures the land will be productive for centuries. www.reynekewines.co.za
There’s a book out there called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People written by a guy named Steven R. Covey. Heard of it? I have, and probably like you, the first thing I thought was, “Who puts the initial of their middle name in their name these days? Idiot.” But the book sold loads of copies and has become a bit of a cult business book. MBA courses recommend you read it. I tried and maybe 50 pages in realised you can just read the summary at the end of each chapter. Ha. That should be Habit #8: Don’t Waste Your Time on the Long Shit When You Can Just Read the Summary. Maybe that’s their trick: you’ll only learn the eighth habit after you’ve learned the other 7 habits. Apparently not though. Covey did release a book called The Eighth Habit a few years ago, and that wasn’t it.
But enough about that. You don’t have to be an effective person to be an effective wine drinker. How is that? Well, the below 7 habits will show you. A small guide to being a highly effective wine drinker, and by ‘highly effective’ I mean drinking a lot of good wines to improve your wine knowledge without spending a fortune. Naturally I kept Covey’s original 7 habits and just switched their interpretation to suit wine. So here goes:
1. Be Proactive
Don’t be satisfied drinking the R22.99 crap that people bring to your next dinner party. Forget the words ‘house wine’ even exist. If a winery has tour buses parked outside, go to the farm next door. Go forth and find the good stuff. Go to wine dinners. Find a good little wine shop (all the good ones are little because they’re more interested in wine than making money) and ask them for something interesting whenever you need wine. Make an effort to taste new wines and interesting varietals. It’s worth it.
2. Begin with the End in Mind
If you’re not an expert, you can be one. You might have the palate of a twelve-year old Fanta drinker and can’t smell the difference between buttery Chardonnay or fresh Sauvignon Blanc, but that can change easily. Start short-term. But think long-term. Think blind tastings in fancy restaurants. Think trips to foreign wine regions. Think Robert Parker. Okay, don’t get carried away now.
3. Put First Things First
Don’t be another idiot that runs through the next WINEX tasting everything at each table while spilling wine on your shirt. Your tongue will be a useless muscle in no time. Go around several times. Start with lighter whites and move to heavier whites. End with the heavier reds. Don’t try do too much. The same goes wherever you’re tasting. And always taste in order when you can.
4. Think Win/Win
Unless there’s a black AMEX card in your wallet, you should find friends that work in the industry. Winemakers, sommeliers, marketers, restaurateurs, etc. Befriending them is your ticket to sampling far more – and far more interesting – wines than you’d taste otherwise. And they normally love to share their knowledge and appreciate someone willing to learn. You win. They win. See where we’re going here?
5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood
Sounds a bit like a Japanese negotiation tactic, but pretty simple. Understand wine before you start trying to tell others about it. Listening to someone wax lyrical about their wine knowledge is more painful than getting an enema. I haven’t had one, but I can only imagine. The point is, you can never learn everything. There are just too many wines and things are always changing. Modesty rules in the wine business. And everyone gets it wrong sometimes. Best to just taste, listen and learn. But don’t be afraid to disagree. After all, wine is 100% subjective.
6. Synergize
1 delicious lunch or dinner. About 8 people, all wine-loving and knowledgeable. About 16 bottles of different yet all exceptionally good wines. Watch as all of a sudden, 1 + 8 + 16 = so much more than the number 25. That’s synergy right there, my friend.
7. Sharpen the Saw
Consume wine daily. Read about it. Go online. Get the magazines. Find good wine shops. Go to the far flung and lesser known estates as much as the big name ones. Drink interesting grape varietals. Try food and wine pairings. Keep trying, keep learning. That’s the best part about wine: the more you drink, the more you learn.
Situated at the end of Short Street, that short er, street across from The Royal Hotel in Riebeek Kasteel that has a few cute shops, a wine store and hosts a market every few Saturdays, Bar Bar Black Sheep is a rather ridiculous restaurant. Firstly, it’s ridiculously quaint. Assorted wooden tables and chairs. A leafy courtyard. Quirky old Scope magazine covers in the bathroom. Kitch wall art. A rather cosmopolitan crowd that seems to frequent it. The odd neighbourhood dog that wanders in. And an old railroad board on the wall with food quotes scribbled in chalk. The top one yesterday read: “I love you like a fat kid loves cake.” Perhaps the first restaurant to quote rapper 50 Cent on food?
Secondly, it’s got some ridiculously good wines on the list, almost entirely regionally loyal to the Swartland. Aprilskloof Red Red 2006 at R80 per bottle may just be the best ‘house wine’ I’ve had in recent memory. House wine? This stuff puts the big-talking, Ferrari-driving Stellenbosch set to shame. Local is lekker here, and though there are some bargains, the list also includes the big hitters: Chris Mullineux’s wine is there, as is Eben Sadie’s and Adi Badenhorst’s. Tempting options all round really, so why bother buying anything from outside the area? Makes sense to me. We also smashed a bottle of the Lammershoek Roulette Blanc 2008, a firm, steely white blend of Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay and Viognier that has great acidity.
Then of course, the food. It’s ridiculous. Ridiculously tasty, well-cooked and cleverly put together. Creative yet not overly constructed, it is cuisine that belies the casual nature of the place. How about vine-leaf wrapped sardines stuffed with garlic, olive and chili. Or a nice cold gazpacho, served as a terrine. Or chorizo sauteed with red wine and onion. Or marinated octopus tentacles. Or how about cacciatore made from rabbit, lamb loin and pork belly. It was hard to choose so we had it all. You can’t really go wrong here, which is hmmm, how shall we say… yes, rather ridiculous.
I’ve had some pretty creative food here over the years. And the chef is not shy to use offal, something I think is applaudable. True, this isn’t light food that you could eat often, but this isn’t the kind of place most people get to often. So it works. The service is also keen and efficient, with some small glitches that are easily forgivable. Like yesterday, when our waiter’s cellphone rang while he opened our wine. But with a rather cool West-African sounding song as a ring tone, it didn’t spoil the vibe at all.
Overall though, perhaps most ridiculous is that Bar Bar Black Sheep isn’t better recognized as a top restaurant. Maybe because it is so casual. Or because it’s tucked away in Riebeek Kasteel, though the town is certainly not the sleepy country spot it once was. Either way, you’d think word would be out about this place as a top winelands restaurant. You’d think they’d be booked every day through summer. You’d think pictures of the chef would be on magazine covers. But it isn’t, they aren’t and the chef hasn’t graced any cover. Though if you’ve sat in the courtyard after a terrific Sunday lunch and enjoyed a good espresso with a grappa, it’s not really anything to complain about. At least you already know about it.
www.bbbs.co.za
Irish chefs in Cape Town aren’t the quietest bunch it seems. First Conrad ‘Conman’ Gallagher runs riot before bolting back to Ireland leaving a wreck of several restaurant businesses and news headlines in his wake. Then Cormac ‘The Customer is Wrong’ Keane shows up and offends two thirds of Cape Town (a third of the city’s diners in person; the other third online, it seems). Though he’s not really a chef. And I haven’t eaten at Portofino so can’t comment on the restaurant itself.
Liam Tomlin, on the other hand, does things differently. He prefers to make a noise through his food. Quiet, but with a deliberate demeanor, this Irish chef is the real deal, as several cookbooks and award-winning restaurants in different countries attest. These days Liam’s energy is focused on his new cookery school and chef’s boutique, situated on New Church Street (that small road the Protea Fire & Ice Hotel is on) in Gardens. It’s set to open in two weeks and he has already sold out on several courses, which starting at R500 for an evening class are of professional quality and price.
The place has several ambitions though. First up are the professional cooking courses, ranging from one-night classes to a 10-month comprehensive course held every second Saturday. Guest chefs will get involved too, and he’s got all the big names from the Cape and some internationals on the cards. Then there’s the shop, selling everything from cook books to knives to custom-made kitchen islands that Q from James Bond would enjoy. On top of those are the private dinners, wine & food evenings, food photography classes and more. Quite the smorgasbord. In fact, I’m sure you could get a smorgasbord there if you asked. Nicely.
The place was a mess of carpenters and builders when I walked through it, but doors are due to open in two weeks. More info available from Rachel at rachel(at)chefswarehouse.co.za.
www.chefswarehouse.co.za
Waterford threw a massive party on Saturday night at their estate to celebrate 10 years – and what a party it was. It was after one of the hotter days of the year, so the evening was warm and without a breath of wind. We were told to wear white and the site of 300 guests drinking bubbly next to the orchards with the Helderberg mountains glowing orange in the background looked rather angelic. Everything had a perfectly aesthetic touch to it. The white balloons we released into the night sky. The slow stroll through orchard. The courtyard of the stone winery, laid with long white tables. Everything seemed especially beautiful throughout the night, and maybe this was helped by the vast quantities of bubbly I drank, but there was certainly no shortage of style.
Waterford is one of those wine estates synonymous with prestige, luxury, and quality. Considering they’ve only been around ten years it is rather commendable that they can be considered on equal terms with farms that have been around for 300 years. Much of this has to do with Waterford brand being uplifted on all fronts, with the wine team ensuring consistency in product every year, the marketing team doing good work and the legendary reputation of their tasting room. Who hasn’t heard of their chocolate and wine pairings yet? Well, that experience is available 6 days a week, but I get the feeling this night was a once-off.
Waterford’s marketing talk mentions ‘the Waterford way,’ and if you’d been to this party you would have new appreciation for what this means. The evening started normally, with the usual speeches, including an impromptu one by Jeremy Ord’s brother-in-law, who was rather amusing but very sincere. Then a performance by some of the farm workers’ children, who clearly love Michael Jackson and his crotch-grab. Then plenty of delicious food. With plenty of Waterford wine (their 2000 vintage Methode Cap Classique is a winner). Then drinking shooters at the bar. Then a performance by some Idol contestant with spiky hair and bad style, but plenty of guitar talent. Then some dancing. More shooters at the bar. More wines. More dancing…
After about 3am I think we stopped dancing, but I can’t really be sure. The rest is a blur of fun, but involved a braai in the tasting room, statue-impersonation atop an orchard pillar and more drinking. I think we only left after 8am. But I can’t really remember.
For me, such an epic evening means many things. Most of these I can’t really put into words because my head still hurts. But I can say that Waterford really know how to throw a party. Perhaps THE party of the decade. I can also say Kevin Arnold is a total legend for staying up until the end. And I can say I have even more love for the Waterford brand after such a great time.
The Waterford way may be different for different people, depending on how you experience the brand, but it would be hard for any estate to top this.
www.watertfordwines.com
So Valentine’s Day is the day of showing love and affection, and what better way to show love and affection than taking someone on a picnic. Kirstenbosch Gardens (‘Kirstenbop’ on a Sunday) must have been packed with the romantic picnic crowd last night. But the idea of your hand being stepped on every four minutes and sharing your Valentine’s evening with 10,000 people might not appeal to you either. There are other options. Yes, several wine estates (Warwick) and even Cape Town restaurants (The Roundhouse) do the old picnic too. But at none of them do you have to drive past Citrusdal, scale two farm fences and walk through a lemon orchard to find a beautiful piece of grass by the side of a river under the shade of some willow trees. Nope. And there, at those establishments, you can simply have your bottle of wine delivered by a waiter, but at this secret place you have to lug your bottle along with your wine tumblers in an old-school wicker picnic basket that a good mate left at your house after a hedonistic night in 2009. There you can simply pick from the already decided foods in the picnic basket, while here you have to plan in advance your supply of smoked angelfish pate (aka Catnip for Picnic-goers), melba toast, camembert, pork sausages, pre-grilled sirloin and (for dessert) some panforte. And while there you have to pop back home to enjoy a bit of nookie, here the advantage of being secluded in the middle of nowhere presents one with the opportunity to, er, be secluded in the middle of nowhere with nothing on…
So some post-Valentine’s Day picnic wisdom:
1. Bring a good wine/beer. We drank the Tierhoek Chenin Blanc 2007, made just up the valley at a farm in the mountains – and an incredible wine. Otherwise the Steph Weiss would have been a treat.
2. Bring chocolate. Panforte doesn’t count as chocolate, as I learnt.
3. Have a cool retro picnic basket. Kyle, I’ll return it, I swear!
4. Find a secret location. Need one? Start here.
5. Don’t tell anyone where your secret location is.
I used to think ‘health food’ was just another oxymoron. Like ‘honest politician’ or ‘reliable Landy.’ You know what I mean. Food is good, wholesome stuff that grows naturally and doesn’t have its saturated fats removed. Health products are things aimed at the morning gym-goer that hasn’t had a carb after 6pm since that one Ghost Pop back in ’98. The two very rarely combine, if ever. It was Kauai that really pioneered the concept of good ‘healthy’ food, and also pretty much introduced the smoothie, to the everyday eater here. But let’s face it, the smoothies are good, the food is crap. And I don’t really count a smoothie as food. More of a nutritious drink, really.
And then, along came Osumo. The whole idea of the place – another Kauai – put me off at first. But having gone there a few times now I can really say they’ve done it! Yup, they’ve made healthy food a reality! You can go in there and order a tuna & sweetcorn on wholewheat bread and you’ve got a tasty lunch sarmie that is healthy! No, you can’t get a side of fries or a glass of Pinot Noir, but these shortcomings one has to get used to if you step behind the ‘smoothie curtain.’
No long lazy lunches here, Osumo is all about the quick meal for those watching their health, but still want to taste more than wheatgrass. They do rice noodles, wraps, sandwiches and of course smoothies. And teas, etc. They even serve bacon! Bacon, at a health food shop!! Okay, it’s lean bacon (shame on you), but it’s still bacon. I reckon if they get some wine by-the-glass going, I could pop in here for a health kick once a week…
Osumo.
There is much debate about the best sushi spots in Cape Town. Or South Africa for that matter. Kyoto Garden Sushi didn’t crack the recent WINE magazine list (see here) but probably should have. I went back there after reading that article to confirm what I already believed – their sushi is quite possibly as fresh as it gets in Cape Town.
Kyoto Garden Sushi achieves a Zen-like atmosphere in many ways: Japanese style beechwood interior with bonzai trees; soft-spoken Asian waitress/hostess; quiet background music. But probably the most unintentional yet effective way is by being empty most of the time. Yup, Cape Town’s best sushi spot is eerily quiet most nights. You can roll in at 8.30pm on a Thursday and realise there are more chefs than guests present. Normally this is something that would irk me – I hate near-empty restaurants since they’re usually so because of how bad the food is. But not at Kyoto. Here, somehow being quiet transforms it into a sushi temple with only a handful of worshipers present at a time.
So don’t be put off if it’s empty. You’ll quickly see why. Run by a slightly eccentric Californian, his obsessive-compulsive approach ensures the quality is always up there. The menu offers some interesting Japanese dishes – lobster salad and an excellent miso are always good starters – but the sushi is where it gets special. Go with a chef’s platter and you’ll get everything you need in the way of salmon and tuna, as well as several varieties of linefish. Octopus is also great. And the eel delicious. Don’t forget the Japanese radish, to neutralise the palate. Or the fresh wasabi, couriered in from Japan and so much tastier than the paste other restaurants serve. Whatever you order though, it will be fresh and full of flavour, rivaling the best Willoughby‘s or any other spot can do. And it is portioned correctly too, which is a key element if you ask me, though I know that Minato supporters will disagree.
The last time I dined there (with three others) we drank the Bouchard Finlayson Missionvale Chardonnay which was an absolute cracker of a wine. In fact, we drank so many bottles we ended up getting completely hammered, eating way too much and then proceeded to lug our bellies round the corner to Asoka where the barman took one look at us and checked with the manager if we should be served or asked to leave. True, this was during a time I thought ‘moderation’ was another fallacy, along with ‘lasers’ and ‘the internets.’ Things have changed. This time I opted for the Sterhuis Sauvignon Blanc, which has a solid minerality to it that pairs well with the raw seafood. Just one bottle for two of us, a succesful attempt at this moderation thing if you ask me.
Kyoto Garden Sushi. 021 422 2001. No website, argh.
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.
