Clever Col’Cacchio.

Well played, Col’Cacchio. A local food brand that’s grasped Twitter 100% and created a campaign that incentivizes people to spread the word on Twitter simply by getting a discount on their next pizza order based on how many hashtags are used. If you’re not on Twitter (what are you doing while driving stuck in traffic?) you’re missing out. All you have to do is use the #priceslice tag in your tweets; the more these tags accumulate, the greater the discount on the pizza. Sure, R5 isn’t much. R10 isn’t bad. But I’m intrigued to see how far this gets because R30 off is a big deal. That’s almost half-price on some pizzas. Not bad for dropping a few hashtags in a tweet. Nicely done.

See all the #priceslice details here.

WE ♥ REAL BEER & PIZZA.

There it is people. Beer & pizza. Genius.

Real beer from &UNION, Jack Black, Birkenhead and Camelthorn. Wood-fired oven pizza from Knead. Music by the Swingsetters. All going down at the new Knead bakery in Palmyra Junction, which is a shithot space both inside and outdoors.

For anyone that didn’t get a chance to hit up the We ♥ Real Beer craft beer festival, this is the next best thing. And for everyone that did, this is the next best thing.

I’ll see you all there.

–

9th December – 6pm -  Knead Bakery, Palmyra Junction, 9 Palmyra Road, Claremont, Cape Town.

The Shunting Shed. (Botrivier)

‘Shunting’ is a railroad term for when the train changes from one track to another, and this little spot certainly shunted my perception of the sleepy town of Botrivier. I’d been there a few times to visit Beaumont wines (always a worthwhile visit) and had passed through several more, but nothing had caught my eye. The town is sleepy. Like no-traffic-lights-yet sleepy. Then I heard about this place that serves good pizza. I think I read about it on JP Rossouw’s site a while back. Anyways, some friends decided to move onto a small farm nearby and it provided opportunity to visit The Shunting Shed.

The restaurant is a large tin shed that is furnished with old railway seats and tables and fitted out with some quirky accessories. There’s the pizza oven in the corner, a decent little bar with a Birkenhead tap and a TV playing sport. And a deck outside. The menu is simple, focused around the pizza’s. A wine blackboard lists some local wines, quite reasonably priced. The patrons seemed a mix of a few locals, visitors en route to Hermanus and tourists from further afar. But I get the sense that if you come here during a rugby match, the place will be packed with local farmers and other regulars. The vibe is warm here. It also has that we-could-get-really-drunk-here-and-meet-some-interesting-people feeling. I really enjoy places like that. In fact, The Shunting Shed is one of those rare places where almost anyone would feel at home. The stiff, red-trousered English tourist. The big denim- and leather-clad overland biker. The rough-skinned local farmer. The Cape Town hippie on a weekend jaunt. The family in need of an easy lunch to break a daytrip. All would enjoy this place.

We ate pizza, served on terracotta floor tiles with Spoornet branded plates on the side. The special was a rib pizza, which was delicious. All the pizza’s were good, served on thin bases and without too many toppings, something commendable. They could have been a touch crispier, but overall were very tasty. Considering the small, country town location, they were excellent. Sadly they were out of the Feiteiras Cabernet Sauvignon we wished to try, but the Birkenhead’s went down smoothly.

We toyed with the idea of staying and drinking for another two hours after lunch to see what happened at 5pm when the rugby came on. Would it get filled with local farmers that drink Olof Bergh and sit at the bar with a thousand-mile stare? Maybe. But we’ll have to wait till next time to see.

The Shunting Shed. 028 284 9443.

Narona.

Last night had dinner at a low-key neighbourhood pizza spot called Narona. The dinner was with the Elite Food & Wine Club, which usually gets way out of hand. Hence one of the club rules is no driving – taxi’s only. Firstly, when I’d been informed of Narona it was described as “a Serbian pizza joint.” This isn’t entirely accurate, but not untrue either. Run by a very efficient and friendly Serbian/Croatian/Yugoslav (let’s just say Eastern European) crew, the place is actually quite a find. All on it’s own on a corner of Buitenkant Street an area that is buzzing during the day but quite silent at night, Narona turns out rather delicious pizzas. There’s nothing too daring or exotic here, but they do all the standard pizzas well. Not superbly, but still very delicious. The Siciliana, with anchovies, capers and olives, was a winner. The crust is an inbetweener – not exactly wafer-thin, but not thick either. A pleasant balance actually.

Narona is not a place to impress people and I don’t think they’re after that. This is a neighbourhood pizza joint (they do other foods, but I caught a glimpse of the burger and it wasn’t too appealing) that is about low-key, unfussy dining. Posticino and Nonna Lina make better pizza (if you like the superthin crust), but it’s nice to vary. And at Narona, if you want to, you can smash more bottles of wine than people at the table, followed by some grappa, and then wander down Buitenkant for some even lower-key drinking at Perseverance Tavern. And then the Kimberly Hotel bar. If you want to. Just throwing it out there…

Narona. 021 465 8111. 136 Buitenkant St.

Nonna Lina.

Nonna Lina is the perfect place to go and have dinner with your family. Let me tell you why… It was a Wednesday evening and The Family was in town. I was supposed to cook but since work was being evil I moved dinner to Nonna Lina. We all met there around 7h30pm and the place was  buzzing. A good atmosphere is essential when dealing with the parents, to keep them chipper and also convenient when you need to avoid answering serious questions (Mom: “Sooooo, is there someone special in your life at the moment…?” Me: “What’s that? I can’t hear with all this talking… Anyways, how was your trip down here?”). They were understaffed the night of this dinner, but still managed to get wine to the table fairly quickly, another essential when dining with the family. Too much wine and things get ugly, but no wine is pretty bad too. The menu is not overly long and dishes are all explained very well, useful to avoid the 20 minute “What is in an arabiata sauce again?” line of questioning with the waiter that most parents seems to enjoy. And even being full, the food came out quite quickly, which was a big positive. The food at Nonna Lina is always good. I dine here fairly frequently and get takc-out pizzas regularly too. It’s always the same – pasta cooked al dente and pizza baked to thin-crust deliciousness. And things are all reasonably priced, which considering my father’s Scottish ancestry, is of massive importance when going for dinner with the family.

Italian food is so comforting, and the food at Nonna Lina is simple, unfussy Italian. The kind of food I could eat daily for the rest of my life. Maybe because they appreciate bacon and all its absolute goodness. Or because they’re not scared of cheese. Or olive oil either. As a family, we get on pretty well as it is. But with a Nonna Lina pizza, Quattro Mori pizza, Penne Gameri and a Gnocci Milicia in front of us and a bottle of Groote Post Old Man’s Blend to wash it down with, we get on really great!

Nonna Lina. Good family bonding. And some great Italian food too.

www.nonnalina.co.za