My experience at Greek Fisherman……….09-03-2012

Our department at work was looking for a team-build activity to do and it was up to me and another guy to come up with different team-building ideas. While I looked into more typical team building activities (e.g the Amazing Race etc.), my colleague came across a sailing idea. After pitching all our different ideas to our boss he decided that he didn’t feel like doing anything strenuous so we agreed on the sailing trip. Not that this would require any actual working together as a team but I suppose being “forced” to socialize with one another would also count as team building! Drinking and eating is more like our departments idea of team-building in anyway! J

This deal included an hour trip on a sail boat and then a two course lunch at one of two restaurants in the Waterfront for R130 per person. Not a bad deal if you ask me! So we booked it.

We chose a Friday naturally as one never goes back to work after these type of things! We could not have chosen a more perfect day, even if we were Mother Nature herself! Usually I don’t react too well to not having my feet planted firmly on land! I never really get extremely sick but I always feel woozy! Luckily this time I was fine and I even managed to slog down an ice cold cider on that awesome Cape Town day (while all the other plebs had to spend the day at work)! J Before the trip I thought an hour would be too long but when it was over I was quite surprised at how quickly it had gone.

We chose Greek Fisherman for our lunch and we had the following options for starters and mains:

Starters:

Greek Salad – A selection of crisp lettuce, tomatoes and cucumber, topped with feta cheese and olives.

Mixed Greek Dip Platter – Taramara, tzatziki and hummus served with home-made pita bread.

I opted for the Greek Salad which was nothing to write home about, but then again what can one expect from a Greek Salad. It was served with a vinaigrette dressing which spiced it up a bit.

Some of my work colleagues went for the Mixed Greek Dip Platter. I wasn’t too impressed with this platter and was quite thankful that I hadn’t ordered it. The people who actually had it also didn’t really enjoy the Taramara and it didn’t even come with olives. To me that would be one of the first things I would expect on a Greek Mixed Platter. I suppose the name did say dip platter.

For mains the options were:

Sirloin Steak with mushroom sauce – Well aged sirloin steak topped with a mushroom sauce.

Calamari and Fish combo – Calamari grilled in a herbal garlicky butter sauce, grilled fish in lemon butter.

I am not sure what the linefish was but it looked like hake. I also can’t imagine that they would use anything else but hake as it is usually used as the “house” fish. I didn’t taste it myself but from what I saw the calamari didn’t look too great, which was confirmed by my friend not eating hers.

I had the sirloin steak, which (as you can see from the photo) was a monstrous piece. It was quite crispy on the outside and nice and tender on the inside. I really enjoyed the steak. The mushroom sauce was also quite tasty, but even without the sauce the steak has a very nice flavour to it. When it arrived I did notice (also visible from the photo) that there was quite a bit of oil lying in the plate. This is not really something anyone wants to see as they are about to dig into a chunk of cow.

I found the meals to be quite simple and it only came with one portion of starch, no greens. To be honest I didn’t really expect too much, as one never really does with these types of specials. It is obvious that they have to cut somewhere in order to make the special worthwhile for them, but overall it wasn’t a bad experience.  I couldn’t finish my steak event though I really wanted to.  I am also sure that the food from their A la Carte menu is fancier.

Yours in fun & lazy team-builds,

Elly D

Shop 157

Victoria Wharf Shopping Centre

V & A Waterfront

Cape Town

021-4185411

info@greekfisherman.co.za

www.greekfisherman.co.za

My experience at The Dog’s Bollocks……….01-03-2012

One of my friends told me about The Dog’s Bollocks a while ago already and we thought we’d kick of our new monthly girl’s night with this pop up burger joint. For someone as OCD as me it took a while to get used to the idea of just pitching up at a place, without being able to have booked, not 100% sure where it was and without a guarantee that you would actually get fed! We knew we had to get there early as well as he only makes a limited (30) number of burgers a night. My anxiety was fuelled by our lift being late to pick us up and my pregnant friend’s freaking out about whether she will get fed or not as food has become her best friend!! Ha Ha! But it is totally not as bad as I had made it out to be. I think we eventually got there at about 7:30. A couple of our friends were there already so they had organized a table for us. You order in the sequence in which you arrived, so there was one more 3-seater ahead of us before we could order.

By day you would never guess what happens behind that rolled down garage door. But once it is open this magical little alley appears, decorated with furniture and lamps from the 80’s and some massive statue dude in the corner! It reminded me on the type of furniture we had as kids! J The owner and chef is Nigel Woods. Unfortunately I didn’t have a chance to have a proper chat to him as to where he is from and what made him decide to do this, seeing as he was too busy, but we will definitely be back there so then I might have a chance to chat to him properly! We are planning on going again to take the boys there as it is such a man’s jol as well. What more could a man ask for? Massive burgers and you can take your own beers!

He sells Ukuva iAfrica U-Tube Wines as well which he makes himself. It is basically a glamorized papsak. It comes in a hard cardboard tube which fits two bottles of wine, for only 50 bucks!! Bargain! He has white and red wine. You can take your own drinks and ice (as he only sells his wine) as well at no corkage fee. He is very chilled! Make sure to take some glasses as well and anything else you might think you’d need.

There are quite a few different types of burgers to choose from, much to my surprise. I would have thought that there would be a smaller variety seeing as it must be so difficult to make so many different sauces per order. But it seems like he has it waxed. The picture of the blackboard menu shown was only the specials of the day. Inside there is a bigger board with more choices on. He also makes nachos! He said the only reason he makes them is because personally he loves nachos!! Two of the girls with us had to take food away for their starving men at home but decided to wait till all of us had eaten to place their orders. By then his burgers were finished for the evening so their guys had to settle for nachos! He puts a meaty gooey cheesy mess on the nachos which makes it delicious but I’m not sure for how long those nachos will stay crispy for if you don’t eat them immediately!

There is none of that stress to get all the meals out at the same time like at a restaurant. He shouts from the grill as soon as something is ready and then you holler ass to go and get your yummy burger. He has a good little system that works. First he crisps the buns and then adds a little bit of mayo to the top lid and adds the tomatoes, gherkins, onions and lettuce to the bottom half of the burger. The lettuce pieces he uses are by far the most enormous leaves I had ever seen! I have no idea where on earth he gets it from!! My friend had the Peppered Mushroom Burger. She was one of the girls that got there first so she got her burger before us.  I had a taste, and it was delicious. I couldn’t wait until mine arrived.

I had the Chilli Chocolate Molé Burger. It….was.…amazing! I was afraid that the chocolate might be too overpowering as I didn’t really feel like chocolate, but you could hardly taste the chocolate. Just the right amount of what I can only think is a dark chocolate, was used to tone down the chilli. Just enough chilli and just enough bitter sweetness to make it a perfect match. Much to the laughter of everyone else, I attempted to eat my burger with a knife and fork seeing as I was trying to get as much of it in my mouth and as little as possible on my lap! J It was really massive! I could not finish the entire burger. I ended up chucking most of the bun and just having the good stuff!

Like I mentioned earlier it was a really cool experience! Something completely different and it really works. We will definitely go back there. Keep in mind he doesn’t serves chips or any other side dishes with the burger but after you see the size of that thing you would not want anything else! But if you do you could always have nachos with it! When we got home we did all smell quite smokey but I think it was a combination of the grill smoke as well as the people smoking at our table.

He is open on Monday to Saturdays from 5pm until 10pm. This part of Roodehek Street is also a one way so make sure to enter it from Buitenkant Street and not from Hope Street.

Yours in fun & pop up burger joints,

Elly D

6 Roodehek Street (opposite red building)

Gardens

Cape Town

083-4407843

http://ukuvaiafrica.withtank.com

The Dog's Bollocks Facebook page

My experience at Il Leone……….29-02-2012

It was the fiancé’s birthday, he is a leap year baby, and so seeing as it only comes around once every 4 years I thought I’d spoil him a bit. Not that I never get him anything for his birthday the other 3 years. Would have been much cheaper for me if only it worked like that!! J

We first went for sundowners at Tobago, the restaurant at the Radisson Hotel, where we had an overpriced glass of wine. Mainly paying for the view I guess. In retrospect I was quite grateful for this seeing as on the way to Il Leone we went through a roadblock. Luckily I had nothing to worry about seeing as I only had a 1/3 of a glass of wine (at a full glass’ price).

If you haven’t been to Il Leone before, please do yourself a favour and get down there. I never regret having discovered this restaurant a few years ago at the Taste of Cape Town.

The restaurant was softly lit, creating a really romantic mood. We sat at a table upstairs overlooking the street down below. It was a nice warm summer’s night so there were even some people sitting outside on the small patio.

We ordered a bottle of Haute Cabriere Chardonnay/Pinot noir, which is one of our favourite wines! Seeing as the food here is so good, we didn’t want to spoil our appetite by having a starter! Therefore we only ordered mains and thought we’d decide about the dessert later.

I didn’t catch the name of our waiter but he was really goofy and made us laugh the whole night. Some free entertainment for the evening. After he explained the specials to us quite comically, I couldn’t decide what to have. Usually when we go out for dinner I never order pasta but seeing as we were at one of the best pasta restaurants in Cape Town I figured, before the time already, that I would have a pasta dish. One of their signature dishes, that the fiancé fell in love with when he tasted it for the first time at Taste of Cape Town, is their Shelled prawns sautéed in chilli, garlic and white wine. Tossed with cherry tomatoes, fresh rocket and roasted pine nuts. Served with linguine. You won’t find this on their menu though as it is listed as a special. So every time we go there, he has it. Although he tried to not be predictable and have it he just couldn’t resist it. The previous time we were there he also had it and I had their Lamb Ragu. So seeing as he was ordering the same again I just couldn’t get it over myself to order the ragu again! Then we would be about as exciting as an 80 year old couple going out for their annual anniversary dinner. That night the ragu was veal though and not lamb so it wouldn’t have been exactly the same but still, potato potaoe. Seeing as I was indecisive, I mentioned to the waiter that the Veal Ragu had caught my attention but that I had had it before. He then told me about the Vitello Porcini: Veal steak with Porcini mushrooms served with fresh greens and mash potatoes, which was one of the specials. Either he had forgotten to tell us about it initially or I hadn’t been paying attention. Seeing as it wasn’t on their menu I couldn’t get the exact description of the dish for you. I tried to ask the waiter what it entailed and he said; “Well it’s Veal with Porcini mushrooms!” Ha ha ha! Bless him. I decided to go for that.

Although I didn’t have pasta I don’t, for a second, regret ordering the Veal!!! It was absolutely to freaking die for!!! The veal steaks were very thin, like minute steaks but so so tender! I could tear it apart with your hands! The Porcini Mushrooms were also divine! Just cooked for long enough, as not to lose their firmness. The veg was still nice and crispy, accompanied with fluffy smooth mash potatoes. I absolutely could not get enough of this goodness! Every single bite was like palate heaven!!! I did of course also taste the fiancé’s pasta which was amazing as usual! It had just the right about of bite to ensure that the chilli wasn’t overwhelming.

While looking at the menu for mains we noticed their dessert menu, which actually played the major role in us not ordering starters! J Seeing as it was his birthday I suppose he deserved to have his cake and eat it too! We noticed the Tiramisu: homemade Italian specialty and it being the fiancé’s favourite (yes another favourite) we ordered some for dessert. It was ok. Definitely not the best tiramisu I have tasted. I will even go as far as to say that the tiramisu I’ve had from woolies’ was more flavourful. It just lacked those complex levels of flavours that you expect from a tiramisu. I thought the portion was a little bit on the small side as well. I remember it being quite a bit larger the previous time we had it.

None the less, it was an absolutely perfect evening!! Definitely one of the restaurants in Cape Town that I am in love with! I don’t think I will wait a whole year again before going back there though!!!

Yours in fun & birthday celebrations,

Elly D

22 Cobern Street

Corner of Prestwich

Green Point

Cape Town

021-4210071

illeone@mastrantonio.com

www.mastrantonio.com/illeone/

My experience at Col’Cacchios……….19-02-2012

Another one of our locals is this awesome pizzeria. Before discovering this pizzeria I would have never thought that I would come across a pizzeria that makes the best salads ever! This is what I love about them so much! Not only do they have amazing gourmet thin based pizzas but they also have the most amazing salads! A few years ago I remember myself saying that I will never actually order a salad at a restaurant as a main meal because it would never fill me. Well a few years later when your body doesn’t metabolize pizzas as good as it used to, you find yourself opting for the occasional salad on the menu. Having said that, I will seldom order a salad at another place because I know there is no way it would live up to Col’Cacchios’ salads.

Their salads are so massive and bursting with goodness that on a few occasions I have actually not been able to finish them. Even though I mostly order salads when visiting Col’Cacchios, I always steel a slice of pizza from the finance. Just having salad and no pizzas at a pizzeria as great as this one, would just be wrong. Another great thing that they have is wheat free bases, which opens their menu up to the unfortunate folk that can’t eat wheat. They clearly know that their pizzas are so good that people might struggle just deciding on one, therefore you can order two halves from two different pizzas. What is nice about this as well is that you can try something new, without running the risk of missing out on your favourite pizza. In this case you pay half of each pizza’s price.

I ordered the Brioso: Lettuce, rocket, roasted beetroot, roasted butternut, feta, crispy onions, butternut chips, pomegranate arils, green yoghurt dressing, seasoned chicken. Standard it comes without the chicken. I don’t like those root vegetable chips so I always ask that they leave the butternut chips off. The green yoghurt dressing they use is amazing !

The fiancé had half of the Stagionata: ham, mushroom, olives, artichokes and half of the Carricciosa: salami, olives, asparagus, mushroom. Stagionata is his favourite so he felt “adventurous” and tried something different with the other half. Even though their ingredients are so similar! J Both were really good of course.

There is no question that we will be back there. Once or twice we have had bad service and the occasional bad meal but 95% of the time their food is totally delicious!

Yours in fun & pizzas,

Elly D

Shop 15 Seaside Village

Cormorant Road

Bloubergstrand

021-554 2725

blouberg@colcacchio.co.za

www.colcacchio.co.za

My experience at Yo Eastern Fusion……….26-02-2012

I have wanted to write about Yo Eastern Fusion for ages now as we go there all the time! This is by far our favourite sushi spot! I have never been a fan of sushi buffets or all you can eat as with buffet the sushi isn’t always the freshest and with all you can eat you always end up eating too much and then feeling sick. Also one of my favourite sushi items is seared tuna sashimi and I am yet to come across a buffet or all you can eat that includes sashimi.

This restaurant initially started out in Melkbosstrand right on the beach. That is where we discovered it. Then they sold it and moved to the little Woolworths centre in Sunset Beach. So we continued supporting them at their new location. Not only is their sushi the best value for money you will find anywhere, but their normal noodle/rice meals are also really good. I am yet to have a bad meal there. They continued to open a branch in Plattekloof as well, which we have only visited once to see what it was like. A few years ago when Eden on the Bay reared its head they opened a restaurant there too. I must say in the beginning while the Eden on the Bay branch was still finding their feet the service there was shocking and they often didn’t have tuna so we stopped going there for a while. In the mean time they have improved and we now go there most of the time as oppose to going to their Sunset Beach branch.  

This past Sunday we went to Yo Eastern Fusion again. When we crave sushi there isn’t even a question as to where we will go, except maybe on some Sundays when Beluga creeps in as an option. That’s also only when we don’t mind a bit of as drive. Being so used to the value of money at this place, Beluga only becomes worthwhile to me when they have their half price sushi special. I will never go eat sushi at Beluga when it is at full price.

We were starving when we got there so we immediately ordered a Prawn, crab stick and avocado salad to start with. Sometimes they add too much mayo for my liking, so we always ask for it on the side just in case. This particular day the salad took a bit longer than usual, but it was delicious as always.

For mains we had Salmon Sashimi, Seared Tuna Sashimi, Salmon Roses, Prawn Fashion Sandwiches and Tuna California rolls. They also have the best Prawn Tempura Rolls. Once again we weren’t disappointed. The sushi was extremely fresh and wasn’t left standing after being plated as the Seared Tuna Sashimi was still slightly warm. Accompanied with a bottle of Kleine Zalze Bush Vine Chenin Blanc I could not imagine a better way to spend the last bit of your Sunday afternoon. Of course we will be back there again and again for plenty more delicious sushi experiences!!

Yours in fun & sushi,

Elly D

Eden on the Bay

Bloubergstrand

021-554 4752