Food Glorious Food!

South Africa has great food. Not just yummy, fresh and interesting, but loads of different types of cuisine, chic world-class restaurants and gorgeous venues. My trip to SA each year turns into a true Culinary Expedition, because  not only do I go to discover new eateries, but I also have a few restaurants on my list of places that I have to visit, and yes, included on that list are a few chain restaurants that a true food-snob would be put off by, but I don't care, since I'm a self-proclaimed food-lovin' foodie, not a food-snob!

My food highlights of this trip were:

Bread and Wine, Moreson Wine farm, Franschoek: It has been a favourite for a long time, but I have been there in a few years and I must say, the food is fantastic. The service was a bit dodgy in the beginning, but after about 15 minutes things turned around and we had not just amazing food, but a great experience too. (sitting outside underneath the beautiful big trees was pretty cool too) My favourites were: Starters: Cape Malay Lamb Pizza as well as the Fontina Gnocchi, Mains: Pork Belly with Avocado and the Karoo Lamb with Boulangere Potatoes. (yes, we taste each other's food).

Cafe Orca, Melkbosstrand: This was my first visit to Cafe Orca and it was worth the drive to Melkbos. We ordered the Seafood Platters for a main course and the seafood was so fresh and tasty and the fact that we were looking right at the ocean while we were eating, just made it even better. Take note: they don't take lunch reservations, so make sure you get there really early to get a seat with a great view.

Cafe Orca

Cattle Baron, Canal Walk Mall: Yes, I know what you think...it's a chain! Believe me, we went to a few of the best and most expensive steak places in SA (for example, Belthazar in the V & A Waterfront, French Connection in Franschoek and The Butcher Shop in Sandton) and their steaks were not as good as the Chateaubriand at the Cattle Baron. It is one of my favourite dishes of our trip.

Fairview Wine and Cheese farm, Paarl: One of my favourites with a huge seating area outside (I love to sit outside and eat - you don't get to do that very often in Colorado). The Spiceroute Sauvignon Blanc did not disappoint and neither did the Cheese and Cold Meats Selection, Lightly Curried Chicken Pie or the Duck with Coconut and Citrus Risotto. In fact, I had such great meals there, I went back 3 more times for lunch.

Fairview Chicken Pie

Magica Roma, Pinelands: One of my favourites in Cape Town and practically an institution. This time we took some friends and I can say with great happiness that we did get some magic aromas from the kitchen and the place did not disappoint. Great people, great service and great food! My favourite:  too difficult to say...



 Cafe Paradiso, Cape Town: About 10 or more years ago, we went to Cafe Paradiso a lot and then for a few years the place went down a bit, but luckily it was bought by the Madame Zingara-peeps and they made it fabulous again. We sat outsite, with a great view of Table Mountain and just enjoyed the fantastic food. The Surf and Turf (Lamb chops and Prawns) as well as the Tuna (don't be shy to ask for it to be cooked medium-rare), were just amazing.

The Biscuit Mill, Woodstock: This is a market that is open on Saturdays and is just fantastic. You can buy loads of different food products such as fresh produce, cheeses, pastries etc. Then you also get the back section where they set up a few tables and you can buy the yummiest variation of foods such as Gourmet Pizzas, Dutch Bitterballen, Vlamkuchen, Eggs Benedict Rosti (salmon or bacon), Sirloin Sandwiches, Falaffels etc. Go early, because it fills up really quickly. What an asset for Cape Town! 

Food stands at The Biscuit Mill in Woodstock, Cape Town

Now, shocking as this might seem - and I have admitted in the past that I am one of those weird people who take photos of their food - I didn't take many food photos this vacation. Not good, I know. I'll make that my mission next time!  

SA, your food did not disappoint.

South Africa 2010-2011



Table Mountain



I’m back…well, I’ve actually been back for just over 2 weeks now and I am not ready to be back in cold Colorado yet. Since I’ve been back, I’ve been a lazy little blogger, so sorry about the severe lack of anything even remotely resembling a blog post, but I could not have been bothered.



Wine Area - Paarl



I’ve been to South Africa on vacation so many times, basically once a year, every year for the past 10 years. After all, it is the land where I grew up and where most of my friends and all of my family live and I pretty much love it. In fact, this year, more so than any year before, I absolutely just loved our trip. I usually feel like a headless chicken, rushing from one place to the other, one person to the other, and in the end, I end up not enjoying the whole experience because it feels like a lot of work. This year, we did things a bit differently, we arrived on Christmas Eve (Christmas usually seems to take up a lot of time, because there is still some last minute shopping, food buying and lots of cooking involved). By arriving at the last minute this year, we managed to just literally “walk into” Christmas where everything was already arranged by our families, so we just had to enjoy ourselves and meet our brand new niece and nephew. What a pleasure!

 

Rooi bokke (Red bucks) in Mabalingwe

 Another great thing about this year, is the fact that we took some time to go to Johannesburg for a few days to visit my brother and his family (and my cousins) and over the weekend, we travelled about 2 hours North to Mabalingwe where we spent some time in the “bush”. (on safari/at a game park). It is just amazing how peaceful and awe-inspiring nature can be. Just so beautiful, so perfect and so relaxing. It actually felt like we were on holiday and not on a race to do and see as much as we possibly could. On our game drives we were happy and chatty the one moment and then completely quiet and awe-struck the next. (photos to follow).



Penguins at Boulders Beach 



All-in-all, our trip was amazing. We ate fantastic food, laughed with amazing friends and family and experienced a few take-my-breath-away-type special moments taking in the beauty of nature: Animals in the North of the country, the Wine Area, Table Mountain, penguins at Boulders Beach, Chapman’s Peak and the beautiful harbour and coastline of Cape Town. I’ve always been proud of how beautiful South Africa is. How different and unique it is. The fact that it basically is “a world in one country”. But this year, I’ve finally seen it through the eyes of a tourist (instead of a crazy person rushing around trying to do/see as much as possible), and what I saw was BEAUTIFUL.

Chapman's Peak Drive

Hot or Cold Christmas?

The fluffy members of our family get into the Christmas Spirit

Growing up in South Africa I was only used to having Christmas in Summer. Since then, I've been lucky enough to have celebrated the holidays in white/winter destinations like France (Avranches, Normandie), London and Colorado, USA, and I must say that the whole experience of a white and chilly Christmas was thoroughly enjoyable, but not more so than a summery Christmas. I always hear Europeans and Americans saying  "Christmas won't be Christmas if it is summer", but to me, it was/is just normal. 

South Africans tend to keep the festive season as traditional as possible, with Christmas trees (mostly fake), presents, Santa Claus/Christmas Father and reindeer pulling the sleigh. (how else would the old man be able to deliver all the presents to good little children all over the world???). The only difference is that our Santa sometimes wears a bathing suit and Hawaii-style shirt in advertisements and a lot of people dine outside on Christmas day (at home or at a restaurant), so not everyone slaves away in a too-hot kitchen cooking a huge traditional meal. (and the town where I grew up gets REALLY hot - 90-100+ degrees Fahrenheit, so even though I love cooking, this is not the time of year when I want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen on time-consuming meals).

We usually try to travel back to South Africa for Christmas, to share it with our families, but that isn't always possible. Luckily for us, this year it will be and in 2 days time, we will be taking the extremely long trek down to Cape Town. Door to door, takes about 36 hours, but once you get there and the worst of the jet-lag wears off, it is so worth it.

As usual, Christmas Eve will be spent with my in-laws and Christmas Day with my parents. I'm not sure how that happened, but somehow, we've just created this tradition over the past few years. I'm so looking forward to spending some time with our families and friends during this magical time. After all, isn't that what the Festive Season is all about, spending time with the special people in your life, whether it be your husband/wife, family and/or friends. Hot or cold weather, to me it doesn't matter, as long as I can be with loved ones, I'm happy.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!  

Red or Green - take 3

 Another skew sign...(or rather, the photo is skew, not the sign)

Del Charro, located in Inn of the Governors, was our last lunch in Santa Fe. As mentioned on the previous post, 2 different locals suggested that we go there for lunch and the local score was 2 out of 2. (1. Tia Sophia, 2. Del Charro).

Del Charro is a saloon with a great big welcoming bar and an outside patio with a fireplace. We walked past the place (before we got the recommendations) and I thought, "This would be a cool place to come to for a drink", and the idea of having a meal there didn't cross my mind, but luckily those lovely locals told us how yummy the food was (and how extremely well-priced the menu was - nothing was over $9 or $10.)

The Bar at Del Charro

I love me some buffalo wings. This is not something that is very big in South Africa, people enjoy it, and you can find it at a few places, but my true love affair with buffalo wings and blue cheese dressing started when I worked at a ski resort in Winter Park, CO, just after I finished university. The staff all went to a dive bar on Wednesday-Wing-nights (if I remember correctly), where they served wings at 10cents each. That was so cheap, even us sorry underpaid hotel folks could go and pig out on the yummy wings. (off course they more than made up that money with the copious amounts of alcohol that we consumed with the wings, so it was a win-win deal).

Del Charro from the outside

Now the whole reason for my "trip-down-buffalo-wing-memory-lane" is the following: I had the BEST wings EVER!!! at Del Charro. They were not Buffalo Wings. Instead, they were Chipotle Wings - Yum yum. (Chipotle is a smoke-dried jalapeno chili). The wings were served with ranch dressing (very American) and even though I usually prefer to eat my wings with blue cheese, I didn't miss the blue cheese at all on this occasion, because the wings were awesome. In fact, they were so awesome that I asked the chef for the recipe, which he gave to me and no, I will not share it with anyone - I made a promise. (if you want the recipe, you'll just have to go eat there and earn the right to ask them yourself).

The rest of the food, was also great. I had the salmon wrap served with a red pepper coulis, creme fraiche and cucumber relish and my hubby had the chef's burger with guacamole and bacon . Both excellent dishes and extremely well priced.

We will go back to Santa Fe, NM one day, and when we do, we will definitely go back to Del Charro, Cafe Pasqual and Tia Sophia!

Red or Green - Take 2

We saw the sign...okay - in real life it is upright, but you get the idea...

 

The best dining tip I can give anyone in a new city is to ask the locals. They usually know where you can get the best food at great prices and that way you can stay away from the typical tourist traps. I will admit, there are times, that I don't mind dining in touristy areas, because the view might be stunning or it might be a great vibe, but very often, I find mediocre food at tourist hangouts, because the restaurants know that they don't have to rely on returning business.

As we were walking around in a great little shop called The Chile Shop, we started chatting to the guy who worked there. He was very friendly and eager to help us by answering any questions we might have had without being pushy to get a sale. We asked him for some restaurant suggestions in town and he immediately said "Tia Sophia" and "Del Charro". That night, we had drinks in the hotel bar and as we were chatting with the bartender, she told us that if we were looking for great food at excellent prices, we should go to "Tia Sophia" and "Del Charro", and that is exactly what we decided to do. After all, 2 locals suggested the exact same places...it was a sign.

That night I googled both restaurants and I'm very happy that I did, because I realized that Tia Sophia was not open on Sundays and they only served breakfast and lunch. That helped us plan our second day in Santa Fe. (yes, I am that girl who will plan my day around the restaurant that I'll be visiting.)

The door to yum-ness

We arrived at 12 noon sharp. The reviews for the restaurant were very positive for the most part and all of them said that you had to be prepared to wait if you arrived a bit later, so we got there early and got a table within 10 minutes. Now let me tell you about the decor...I wish I could, but I don't really know what to say about it. It looks like that is the way the restaurant looked when it first opened up and nothing has changed. There are no frills, no fancy things, just basically tables and chairs or booths and a few odd things hanging on the walls. Someone called it “homey”, I don’t know what to call it. Even though I usually like a bit of a nicer ambience, the unpretentiousness of the place just really appealed to me. They don't really care about faffing the place up, or over-friendly service - their goal is to serve excellent New Mexican cuisine, at fantastic prices – and that is exactly what we got. The clientele was a great mixture of visitors and locals and that, mixed with the “let-it-be décor”, the fact that they are not open on Sundays, the fact that people are willing to wait for a table and the great food, are all the clues you need to know that this place has a winning recipe. (or a few, from what we tasted)

The sopapilla was fab - just a bit of honey and I was in doughy-goodness-heaven. In fact, right about now, I'm seriously craving one. The rest of our meal was great too. We both ordered combo’s, the chili rellenos and enchilada combo and the enchilada and chicken taco combo (both come with sopapillas – a type of fried pastry served with food or as a dessert). Both combos were great, both super tasty and both well priced. In fact, I don’t think I saw anything on their menu over $10. Bargain!

In my opinion, every visitor who comes to Santa Fe and would like some honest traditional New Mexican food, should come to Tia Sophia – they won’t be disappointed.

Red or Green?

 When hearing the question "Red or Green?", my answer is "Both!".

Santa Fe is famous for their Green and Red Chile and usually people like one of them, but I love both. On the same place. Right next to each other, on the plate.  (Chile is a sauce made from either red or green chillies). In New Mexico, they serve chile on everything from enchiladas, burritos and rellenos to pizza, burgers and chips.

South Western cuisine is very similar to Mexican food, but have many differences, and since moving to America, I've come to love both. Similarities would be: the use of beans, tortillas and spices but Southwest Cuisine also includes Native American, Spanish Colonial and cowboy food. (and they don't use much tripe and brains)

During our trip to Santa Fe, we had some awesome food. We were starving after our 6 hour drive and started looking for a restaurant as soon as we arrived. We were walking around and I saw an entrance that just called me, but we decided to walk around for a little bit longer before committing to this establishment for our first meal (plus they looked really full) and after a bit of walk around the block, I insisted that we go back. Luckily for us, we arrived at a good time - the first few lunch tables had already left, so there was a table available for us. The first thing we noticed about Cafe Pasqual, was its fabulously colorful and somewhat over-the-top decor, then our attention was gripped by the menu. It was not an easy decision to make, especially after waiter told us what the specials of the day were.

Cafe Pasqual is one of those places where the same waiters work for years, which usually means, the place, food and service is great (the servers are not overly-friendly, so don't expect to make a friend for life, but they were very efficient and knowledgeable about the menu and the service was well-timed). The James Beard awards and cookbooks in the window might give you the idea that there is something special inside the doors, and that is what what we found, so I was thrilled with our selection for our first meal in Santa Fe.

We decided on the salmon burrito and chicken mole. I love mole! It is a sauce made from 36+ spices and chocolate and takes forever to make, so whenever a restaurant serves it, I usually order it and the mole at Cafe Pasqual did not disappoint. I would definitely recommend that anyone visiting Santa Fe, should go eat at Cafe Pasqual, which by the way is named after the Patron Saint of the kitchen - great name for a great place!

Now...I have to admit something shocking...I am one of those food obsessed people who take photos of my plate if I'm feeling particularly inspired, and even though I felt inspired by most of the plates that I received in Santa Fe, the hunger overpowered the desire the take a photo, so I didn't really take any food photos. Shocking - I know! Next time...

Santa Fe in photos

Below are just a few of the photo opportunities in Santa Fe: