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quickie restaurant review

Andalousse: A Quickie Cape Town Restaurant Review

A few weeks ago, during a very bad week, I was in Cape Town. I couldn’t really taste food but I needed to eat. So when my friend Lucy invited my friend Di and me to have lunch at a restaurant called Andalousse, I accepted. Inside Andalousse Authentic Moroccan Cuisine. Andalousse is a Moroccan restaurant, probably the only one in Cape Town, on Victoria Road in Woodstock. It’s a very busy street and Andalousse is an unassuming place, so you have to look: It’s across the street from the police station and right next to a small doctor’s surgery. Don’t be put off by the location; Andalousse is worth it. I’m no expert on Moroccan cuisine. But the food was delicious and the owner of Andalousse, Moosa, was wonderful. This is a great change of pace from the usual high-end, artisanal Cape Town fare that foodie bloggers normally blog about. (Don’t get me wrong, I love high-end, artisanal Cape Town fare but this is just something different.) Andalousse reminds me more of the secret food dives I love to review here in Joburg. Lunch at Andalousse For three people we ordered: One kofta tajine; One half-order of shish kabab; One half-order […]

September 26, 2017 by 2summers

Quickie Restaurant (and Hotel) Review: Clico Boutique Hotel

Last month Ray and I were invited to enjoy dinner, bed, and breakfast at the Clico Boutique Hotel in Rosebank. I jumped at the chance. People are always asking me for Joburg hotel recommendations, but I rarely have much to offer because who spends the night at hotels in their own city? I was also eager to try Clico’s restaurant as I’d heard good things. My birthday was in July so I decided to schedule our visit on that day, and Clico turned out to be a great place for a sumptuous birthday feast. Dinner at Clico. The garden and pool area at Clico Boutique Hotel. What I liked about Clico: 1) The location. Clico is in Rosebank, just a couple of blocks from the Gautrain station and across the street from the Keyes Art Mile. 2) The service. The reception staff, wait staff, and everyone working at Clico were particularly outgoing and friendly. I offered some feedback after my stay via email, and the Clico management responded immediately in a positive and proactive manner. 3) The wifi. Clico has free, unlimited wifi with a simple password and no silly vouchers or megabyte limits. WHY DOESN’T EVERY HOTEL DO THIS? 4) The […]

August 1, 2017 by 2summers

Quickie Restaurant Review: Rosto in Linden

UPDATE (2018): Rosto has closed in Linden and reopened in the far northern suburb of Kyalami. Linden, a quirky Jozi suburb not far from Melville, has always been one of my favorite dining spots in town. The Cheese Shop is there, as is Hashi. There are at least five great Linden restaurants that I’ve eaten at but never gotten around to blogging about, and at least five more that I’ve heard great things about but haven’t eaten at yet. So when I received an invite to have dinner at Rosto, I jumped at the opportunity to expand my Linden repertoire. Rosto, which is right in the middle of Linden’s 7th Street restaurant row. Rosto is new — less than a year old — and specializes in Italian-inspired roasted chicken and street food. [Did you know that Leonardo Da Vinci invented the automated spit-roaster more than 500 years ago? I didn’t, until my meal at Rosto.] This is a Quickie Restaurant Review so I’ll be quick. What I liked about Rosto: 1) The decor. The restaurant is bright and cheerful and there is enough light to read the menu at night. Inside Rosto. 2) The staff. The people working at Rosto […]

July 10, 2017 by 2summers

Quickie Restaurant Review: Mamasan in Melville

UPDATE (February 2018): Mamasan has closed and I’m sad. Last week I had lunch at Mamasan, a brand-new restaurant on 7th Street in Melville. (Mamasan is so brand-new that it doesn’t have a website or even a review on Zomato yet. But here is its Zomato page as a placeholder.) It was delicious and I have very high hopes for this joint. My lunch at Mamasan: pan-fried masala hake with cos lettuce, grape, cucumber, gherkin, green bean, apple, cashew nut salsa, and dhania vinaigrette. Such a delightful combination of flavors, all for R90 ($6.39). Mamasan is at the top of 7th Street, near the intersection of 1st Avenue, next to the ancient Golf Tea Room convenience store. Here are the reasons I’m excited about Mamasan: 1) Mamasan serves Cape-Malay-inspired cuisine. (You can read more about Cape Malay cuisine in this post.) I love Cape Malay food and there is very little of it to be found in Joburg. Mamasan’s meat is free-range and the menu is pork-free, for the kosher and halaal diners among you. My friend Sandy ordered the “sticky suur vy chicken wings” appetizer, which she really enjoyed. 2) Mamasan has beautiful, well executed decor and a professional, thoughtful menu. This […]

December 17, 2016 by 2summers

Corner House Capital Cafe coffeeshop ceiling

Downtown Joburg’s Newest Secret Coffeeshop

2017 Update: I’m very sad to break the news that the Capital Café has closed. Sniff. 2017 Update #2: A new coffee shop has moved into this space. Yay! It’s called DM Coffee. I haven’t been yet but I’ve heard good reports. Secret coffee shops are popping up in downtown Joburg, in strange, wonderful little corners where the city is coming alive. Craft Coffee in Newtown was my favorite discovery last year. This year’s discovery is Capital Café in the center of the Joburg CBD. Capital Café. I first glimpsed Capital Café a few weeks ago on my friend Jay Jay’s Instagram feed. (Jay Jay’s feed is fantastic, by the way. You should follow him.) I have been looking for an excuse to go there ever since, and finally found one last weekend when I scheduled an Internations Coffee Time get-together there. Capital Café’s coffee is decent. The café also serves nice breakfast sandwiches, baked goods, and other light fare. But this café’s big selling point is not the food or the coffee. It’s the ceiling. Have you seen a more beautiful coffeeshop ceiling in your life? I haven’t. Another look at the Capital Café ceiling. It looks like there was once a grand chandelier hanging from the center. […]

August 29, 2016 by 2summers

A Good Sushi Restaurant in Joburg

This is a quick post to inform you of a good sushi restaurant in Johannesburg. Having spent most of my life on the American east coast, where great sushi restaurants abound, I struggle to find decent sushi in Joburg. The fish is often bland and lacking in variety, there is too much mayonnaise, and the sushi rolls are uncreative. I suppose this should come as no surprise; Joburg is a land-locked city and there aren’t many Japanese people around. But similar to my quest for good Jozi Mexican food, my quest for good Jozi sushi is ongoing. I have discovered a few exceptions to the bland Joburg sushi rule, and Hashi is one of them. A Hashi sushi roll. Hashi Fusion Japanese Cuisine, on 7th Street in Linden, is an actual Japanese restaurant, rather than an Asian restaurant that threw some sushi on the menu as an afterthought. They have all kinds of crazy sushi roll combinations that I haven’t seen anywhere else before, which is a sign of a good sushi restaurant in my opinion. The fish is fresh and the sushi is well crafted. Hashi also serves sushi pizza. Sushi pizza! I wish I could remember what this dish — a […]

August 23, 2016 by 2summers

Quickie Restaurant Reviews: Hell’s Kitchen and Pablo Eggs-Go-Bar

Up until 18 months ago, the east side of the southernmost block on Melville’s 7th Street (between 1st Avenue and 2nd Avenue) was a merry-go-round of opening and closing restaurants and shops. During the six years that I’ve lived in Melville I remember (just off the top of my head) a combination-cupcake-flower shop, a Scottish kilt shop, a bead shop (which moved around the corner), a pizza place, a bland café, an antique shop, a print supply shop, and a bridal shop (where I never spotted a single bride, or even a customer, in the two-plus years it was there), all open and close on that small stretch of street. This is generally the way things roll in Melville. But that half a block has recently become a hotbed of culinary, rock-and-roll trendiness and I have high hopes that the shops and restaurants there now will hang around for a while. I happened to eat at two of the restaurants on that block this week, and thought I’d do quickie reviews of them both. Hell’s Kitchen Hell’s Kitchen was the first new place to move into the merry-go-round block in late 2014, along with Freedom Hair, which I’ve reviewed before. Hell’s Kitchen […]

May 14, 2016 by 2summers

Quickie Restaurant Review: Industry Bakery in Emmarentia

A few weeks ago I organized an Internations coffee gathering at Industry Bakery in Emmarentia. I had been to Industry briefly once before, but didn’t sit down to eat. This time I ordered a couple of coffees and a full breakfast, so I thought I’d give the place a quick review in 400 words or less. Inside Industry Bakery. Before this recent visit I already knew that Industry has a pleasant atmosphere (I love the industrial feel of the interior) and good coffee. But I was surprised by the interesting breakfast menu. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the menu and now I can’t find it online, so I don’t know the exact description of what I ate. But it was innovative and tasty. I wish I could remember exactly what this breakfast dish is called. It was a burrito-like wrap, which tasted sort of like a thin crumpet, with a spicy egg mixture inside. The man sitting next to me ordered these beautiful chocolate flapjacks, which contain no sugar and are therefore “Banting-friendly”. I didn’t try them. The man said they were good but could do with a little Banting-unfriendly sweetener. Either way, I love the look and would […]

April 19, 2016 by 2summers

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