Coffee and Books in Marshalltown
There's no denying the Jozi CBD has a bad reputation, and that reputation is not totally undeserved. There are many places in downtown Joburg that are somewhere between mildly scary and terrifying to walk [...]
Olives and Plates at Wits: A Cake Bonanza
If you live in Joburg and like to eat, you’ve probably heard of an upscale breakfast and lunch chain called Olives and Plates. There are several Olives and Plates restaurants around town, mostly in [...]
Sunday Morning at 44 Stanley Avenue
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house? The entrance to 44 Stanley Avenue. I guess it's [...]
My Top 5 Moments in the Great State of Maine
Given this week's political nuclear bomb blast, it feels like a weird time to publish a light-hearted post about my recent (pre-election) jaunt through the United States. But I'm hoping you've have had enough [...]
Afro-Latin Flavors (and Fun) at Artüro in Melville
Artüro, a new-ish restaurant on 7th Street in Melville, appears Mexican at first glance. As someone who is always on the lookout for Mexican food in Joburg, I was excited to check out Artüro [...]
Sleeping in a Retro Campovan in Kameel, North West
I last visited Kameel, a tiny hamlet in South Africa's North West Province, in February 2020 as part of my (never finished) #10SouthAfricanTowns project. At the time, I was certain I'd be back in [...]
Burgers of the East Rand: Zani in Katlehong
I used to write about food in the East Rand -- the municipality just to the east of Joburg, officially called Ekurhuleni -- all the time. (For a few examples, see here and here [...]
The De Baba Eatery Sparks a Melville Comeback
Ever since I moved to Melville in 2010 -- and since long before that -- people have been portending the suburb's demise. "Melville's not like it used to be," people would say. And I [...]
Early Saturday Morning at the Pretoria Boeremark
A couple of Saturdays ago, my friends Fiver and Stuart and I woke up at before 5:00 a.m. and drove an hour north to the Pretoria Boeremark in Silverton. I've been meaning to check [...]
A Jacaranda Special: Purple Pastries in Westcliff
It's that time of year again: October in Joburg. Jacaranda trees all over Joburg (and Pretoria, too -- more on that in a future post) are exploding with purple blossoms and everything wrong with [...]
Walking Downtown Jozi: A Photo Story
There are many tales of woe in Joburg right now: building fires, exploding streets, absent mayors, water outages, an ever-widening wealth gap, and a general spiral of doom. And these stories aren't exaggerated. The [...]
Asian Food Explorations in Rivonia
I've been meaning to write this blog post for weeks but I kept getting distracted by other adventures: a dazzling community light festival, a 2-billion-year-old meteorite crater, and a Heritage Month tour of churches. [...]