Fun Food in Yeoville
Today I went to Yeoville and spent the afternoon at a place called Food.
Food (28 Rockey Street) is more than a stall but not quite a restaurant. Food is a kitchen with a glass counter and two benches, presided over by a man named Sanza.
Sanza is an extraordinary person who creates extraordinary food. After spending three hours with him, I can confidently say that Sanza is among the top five most interesting people I’ve met in Joburg. (And that’s saying something.)
If you want the full story on Sanza, check out this blog post by my friend Caroline or this Mail & Guardian article by my friend Eve. Both stories are great and I see no reason to recreate them. Sanza is famous already anyway: He’s been featured on CNN and Anthony Bourdain and in lots of other places, and I have a feeling this is just the beginning for Sanza.
I’ll save my own Sanza stories for another time. Right now, I just want to show you some photos.
Sanza at Food.
Falafel with carrot salad, hot sauce, and chilies. One of several delicious things I ate at Food.
A soft-serve ice cream truck that pulled up outside Food when I was there. The guys who run the truck are from Sanza’s old neighborhood in Soweto.
Sanza was really excited about the ice cream. He had a right to be because it was really delicious. Also, this ice cream truck is rad.
Sanza and his friend Criminal. (That’s right, his name is Criminal. Although he is extremely non-threatening.) Criminal is a rap artist originally from Malawi but he speaks with an authentic American accent. I would have bet money that Criminal was from Atlanta.
Sanza said many thought-provoking things to me today, but my favorite thing was: “I value my lifestyle more than my life.” I never thought about it before, but I totally agree.
Expect more from Sanza in future 2Summers posts.
Comments
Being born and raised in South Africa but now living in Canada, reading this was like a trip back home and down memory lane. I really enjoyed this, thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!
Me too - Sanza is definitely in my top 5 of the most interesting people I’ve met, perhaps ever. His wholeheartedness could save the world if we could harness and amplify it. And Love the pics - that one of Sanza is beautiful and really captures him! (and thanks so so so much for putting a link to my blog.)
(I am clearly hopeless at leaving comments. I just left one and now the WP asked me to leave my vitals, which I did, and then it asked me to log in again, which I did, and then it decided my comment wasn’t worthy of posting.) But I’ll try again with an approximation of my original comment.
I completely agree - Sanza is in the top 5 of most interesting people I’ve met, perhaps ever. His wholehearted way of living could transform our world if we could harness and amplify it. Also love the pics - you capture Sanza perfectly. (and so so appreciate the reference and link to my blog. xx for that!)
Both comments made it through in the end! I feel your pain though – blog-commenting can be a tricky business. Thanks for the compliment on the pics and no problem on the link. You told the story so well.
This looks yummy, Heather!
Hungry in Ecuador, Kathy
It was indeed very yummy. I can’t wait to go back. xx