My experience at Remex……….16-02-2012

Friends of ours invited us to this little Mexican spot one Thursday night. We have never been to this place but they have a few times and have ranted and raved about it every time, so we figured why not. They literally stumbled upon it while they were still living in Richwood. If you never visit Richwood you would probably also not be aware that this place existed. It is located at the La Piazza Centre next to a grocery store. There is also a bottle store in the same centre. Now whenever you are unsure where to locate your new restaurant, close to a bottle store would definitely not be a bad choice!! Hence this is exactly how my friends found this place!

On Thursday nights they have half price tequila’s and frozen margaritas from 8 until 10. I was really looking forward to having some of their margaritas but unfortunately they were having problems with their margarita machine. :-( They are really not shy on dishing out those tequila’s either! One of our friends that joined us is pregnant so they even went as far as giving her a shot of water for every time we had a shot of tequila just so she wouldn’t feel left out! How cute! J

Seeing as our friends were the experts at this place we let them steer the boat and order for us. Instead of each of us having our own meal we ordered a few different meals and shared. For starters we had the Combo platter for 2: 2 little Chimi Changas, 2 Chilli Poppers, 4 Cheese Nachos, 2 Quesadillas, 2 Nacho Cups with an extra portion of Chili Poppers (4 Tortilla wrapped jalapeno chilies stuffed with 3 cheeses, deep fried and accompanied with a layered dip).

I had never heard of Chimi Changas or Nacho Cups and perhaps you haven’t either. Chimi Changas are explained further on. Nacho Cups are exactly that, a nacho chip that has been moulded into a little cup before being deep fried and then afterwards filled with creamy chicken. It is like having a nacho chip that already has a “dip” on it. Easy to enjoy in a few small bites. Needless to say everything in the platter was really good. Their nachos are homemade and look and taste nothing like the store bought ones. They are rather large and very nice and crispy.

For mains we ordered the Nachos Grande: large nachos topped with various fillings (chili con carne, spicy chicken, seared vegetables, creamy chicken, and covered with melted cheese. Topped with guacamole salsa and sour cream). You get two versions of this dish and of course we had the larger one out of the two, Mucho Hungry nachos (12 nachos).

 

We also ordered Chimi changas: 2 Deep fried burritos stuffed with cheese and chili con carne and a Burrito: large flour tortilla folded into a pocket and stuffed with spicy chicken.

Everything was extremely tasty and not overly spiced. So it didn’t leave me burping chili in the early hours of the morning. It is a very casual place and I will gladly spread the word and be back there. Next time I will just make sure their frozen margarita machine is working!! J

Yours in fun & tequila’s,

Elly D
La Piazza Centre
Nederburg Road
Richwood
0836994257
0844306405
remexcantina@gmail.com
Remex Mexican Cantina Facebook page

My experience at Bar Bar Black Sheep……….02-02-2012

Since I heard about this funky little restaurant that opened its doors in the arty town of Riebeeck Kasteel (where I spend a lot of time as a kid) I have been wanting to visit them. Eventually the opportunity arose when I got send to Riebeeck Kasteel on a work outing. When we arrived there we walked to the back and sat at one of the brightly cloured tables outside. Making sure we got a spot under the fine misty spray coming from the overhead sprinklers. When you arrive, it looks like you are actually at a friend's house having lunch in their back yard. Very cute!

Our waiter was a typical plaas japie. He even had what looked like some proper home-made prison tattoos, but he was very sweet! :-) He just kept on telling us that everything was really good and that their portions were on the larger side. He immediately told us which meal was no longer available, which a lot of waiters neglect to do. There is nothing fancy, apparence wise, about the menu you get given. It is just an A4 print out. Their menu changes seasonally so I guess they don’t bother spending time and money on a plastic menu as it would just be wasted.

I think I was too hungry by the time I looked at the menu because I couldn’t decide on what to have. I thought about having the chicken dish (Smoked paprika chicken – Chicken breast pan fried in olive oil and cooked with herbs, chick peas, cream, smoked paprika, hot smoked sausage, garlic and served with whole roasted sweet red pepper) but the cream in the sauce put me off. The Pork and black bean stew – Pork Knuckle browned and cooked with tomato, turmeric, thyme, paprika, garlic, rosemary, cumin, chilli and black beans served with crusty white bread caught my eye but I thought the pork would still be on the bone and too fatty. I asked the waiter to choose between the chicken and the lamb burger (Bar Bar lamb burger – 100% Leg of lamb mince burger pan friend and baked in the oven. Served with greens, cream cheese, guacamole, capers, bacon and tomato chutney), and he chose the lamb burger. I thought seeing as I was on the quest to find the best burger I might as well try it.

I must say when it arrived, it looked great! The presentation of their meals is really good. The greens it is served with was really nice. Quite different to the usual side greens one would expect. It had cucumber pieces that had been soaked in tzatziki sauce, capers, aubergines, olives, tomatoes, rocket and artichokes. The potato skewer was nicely roasted and well-seasoned. Underneath the burger patty they spread some cream cheese which was quite a pleasant surprise. The burger was good but definitely not as good as the gourmet one’s that I am used to. I want my burger patty to crumble as I try stick it in my mouth. This one was too dense and solid which also resulted in it not being as moist and juicy. The sweet tomato chutney was a great touch to the dish. After having only some of the greens and only the patty and toppings I was extremely full. I suppose he did warn us about the size of the meals! :-) The patty was very heavy on my stomach. My friend ended up having the pork and black bean stew and the pork knuckle wasn’t on the bone as I had feared. Her meal actually looked really nice! Unfortunately I was too full to give it a taste but she enjoyed it.

Overall, it was a good experience and if I’m ever in that area again I will be sure to pop by. The name just cracks me up every time I see it. They have a wide variety of meals on the menu but not a killer long list which is good. This is the perfect little place to go spend a lazy hot afternoon at.

Yours in fun & food,

Elly D

Short Street

Riebeeck Kasteel

022-448 1031

bbbs@telkomsa.net

www.bbbs.co.za

My experience at Jan Cats……….29-01-2012

We were in Stellenbosch for the day looking at wedding venues. While booking the appointments with the various farms the day before we realized we had quite a gap between the last two farms as the last farm could only see us at 3pm. We figured what better way to kill time then to go grab a bite to eat. I quickly had a look on Grand Dining’s website to see if they had any restaurants in Stellenbosch on their list. Turns out, there was actually quite a few, so we settled on this one.

Jan Cats is the restaurant and pub at the Stellenbosch Hotel. The interior of the pub gives you that comforting old English pub feel. We chose a nice little table outside under the shade as it was a Stellies Scorcher that day. Just before arriving there we were at Kleine Zalze, looking at the venue but also having a little wine taste seeing as we had so much time to kill! :-) Therefore we decided to have a bottle of Kleine Zalze Bush Vine Chenin Blanc – Guava, pineapple & peach aromas, clean and crisp aftertaste from their menu. As we arrived we realized the Aussie Open men’s tennis final was about half way so while munching down we could conveniently follow the remainder of the game. The fiancé, for the umpteen time, tried to explain how the scoring in tennis worked. Now I am not stoopid, I get most sport rules and I even know the off side rule! I promise! But tennis, I just can’t seem to get!!

Anyway, to eat I ordered the Rare roast beef wrap – roast sirloin, whole grain mustard and dill cucumber but received the Smoked Salmon Wrap – Smoked Salmon, cream cheese, capers, tomato, red onion with side salad. Thinking about it now, I even pointed to the meal I wanted as I still asked her something about it and looking at the menu those two items aren’t even above each other! Anyway, luckily for her (and for me I suppose) I was in such a chilled mood, must have been the bush vine talking :-), that I said I would have it. Completely different to what I ordered but luckily it was not a bad or unhealthy swop! It turned out to be quite good. They were definitely NOT shy with the salmon!! The side salad also came with a nice mustard seed dressing so I was happy. It was going down perfectly with my chilled white wine.

The fiancé had the Chicken Schnitzel – with mushroom sauce, chips and side salad. It looked really good and he was also rather happy with the choice he had made. After finishing our vino we rushed out of there to make our last appointment and continued trying to listen to the tennis updates on the radio, me slightly less confused and trying to stay with it.

Overall a nice experience! Even with the food order mix up. There are so many other quaint little eateries in Stellenbosch so I can’t say I’ll rush back but definitely worth popping by.

Yours in fun & food,

Elly D

Cnr of Dorp and
Andringa Street
Stellenbosch
021-887 3644

www.stellenboschhotel.co.za

My experience at Hudsons on Somerset……….19-01-2012

I first tried Hudsons throughout the Soccer World Cup. I work at the start of the fan walk so we used to leave our cars at my office and then take a walk down the fan walk to the stadium. The first stop was always Cubana’s to get a cold one and then down Somerset Road to grab something to eat. That is how we discovered Hudsons! What a perfect end to a day, a cold beer, a burger and some footy. Wow that sounded part dyke! I promise my fiancé is actually a MAN! J Ever since then we have been going back to Hudsons for their awesome burgers. I must say before Hudsons I never used to think twice before deciding where to go for gourmet burgers as there was really only one place and that was Royale Eatery! Now after Hudsons have opened their doors it has become a tougher choice. At the moment I am trying to find the best burger in town! So shortly after having been to Royale, I went to Hudsons. During the December holidays we also went to Beefcakes but I wasn’t too impressed. I feel it is quite overpriced for what you get, but then again I suppose I do not form part of their target market. I think perhaps Beefcakes is more of a place to be seen at then a place to go and grab a good burger at!

Not only does Hudsons have amazing burgers but they also have a wide variety of drinks. Everything from amazing cocktails, to some microbrewery beers. Whenever I order a cocktail I ask the waitress about it seeing as I have had many disappointing cocktails and I can’t justify paying R40 bucks plus for something that resembles icy sugar water with some alcohol in it. The waitress ensured me that their Daiquiri’s were huge and really good so that was the only convincing I needed! Oh my word was I impressed when that bowl of frozen strawberry goodness came straight my way!! J This is by far the best Daiquiri I have had and although it is so much bigger than normal cocktails it still is at the normal price which is fantastic!

Just like I have my favourite burger at Royale, I also have my favourite here. It is called The Game – Ostrich patty topped with cranberry jelly, herbed goats cheese and rocket. Can you see the resemblance to my favourite at Royale?? Ha ha!

For those of you that haven’t been to Hudsons before, the burgers are served with no side orders. If you would like anything extra you can order it additionally. So I ordered the side salad with my burger which comes with the nicest dressing. From the picture you can see how wholesome and GOOD the burger looks and they are not shy with their goats cheese or the cranberry jelly. Their patties are just so good and juicy as well!

I’m sorry to whoever I might disappoint here but my favourite burger joint between Royale and Hudsons is………….…Hudsons!

Having said that we will definitely be going back to Royale but unfortunately not as often as we used to! A friend told me about The Dog’s Bollocks and that is definitely next on my list of burger joints to try out! I can’t wait!

Yours in fun & food,

Elly D

Somerset Road (Cnr of Portswood)

Cape Town

021-433 1496

info@theburgerjoint.co.za

www.theburgerjoint.co.za

My experience at Royale Eatery……….06-01-2012

I often find myself craving Royale’s burgers; therefore I wonder why I haven’t written about them before!? When I think back to my first visit to Royale I remember discovering sweet potato fries! Oh what was I missing out on before I knew about sweet potato fries! I have never really been a fan of French fries. The only type I like are the crispy one’s from McDonald’s, but of course I don’t get to eat them often as I never order McDonald’s when I am of sound sober mind. It is usually instigated by my pickled fiancé at 2 ‘o clock in the morning! :-) Needless to say when I discovered sweet potato fries I went crazy as I love sweet potatoes.

 The restaurant has got such a funky vibe to it! Just love the quirky décor. Although the roof décor outside on the patio looks a bit like a mixture between giant lollipops and hanging heads, which freaks me out just a tad!!? More so now after my friend saw them and said, “Imagine how many spiders there must be in those things!!” Major arachnophobia here!! Thanks Rodney!

My absolute favourite burger here (well I suppose I can’t say absolute because that would imply that I have actually had all of the burgers on the menu, which isn’t true) is the Provincial! I used to be the type of girl that would try and never have the same meal twice at a restaurant and always wanted to try something new. My fiancé was the opposite and would go to a restaurant just to have that specific meal. I always used to tease him about that, and now look at me, I have become the same!! When I hear “Royale” I immediately think Provincial!!! However I do put my twist on it by having it with a beef patty instead as oppose to the chicken breast offered on the menu. Oh living on the edge! :-)

This time when we went I told myself before the time that I am going to try and have something different but after reading thru the menu I found myself still craving my good old faithful. I now understand what my fiancé realised so long ago already! We as humans are too scared to be disappointed so instead of trying something new we just fall back into the comfort of the familiar. You don’t want to order something else and after having it think to yourself, “Man I should have had the good old faithful instead!” Or god-forbid someone else at the table orders your favourite while you are trying something new and end up having food envy!! Nothing worse than food envy!

Anyway so the Provincial is as follow – 150g pure beef patty with melted brie and cranberry sauce. It is absolutely amazeballs!!! With this visit I learned that they have 4 different side dishes namely, potato fries, sweet potato fries, salad or veg. The best part is you don’t have to choose between them, you can have a bit of each if you like!! I was very impressed after she told us that because most places will only let you have two sides at most. So I opted for the salad and sweet potato fries. I must say they are quite unexpectedly flexible with their food menu given how strict they are with what time upstairs opens for bookings. It is probably the only restaurant I know where they do not want you arriving early if your booking is only for 7pm. J

To get back to the food, I absolutely love this burger combination. A juicy warm meaty beef patty, with soft strong slightly bitter cheese that has started melting over the patty, covering it like a cheesy blanket followed with the explosion of the sweet cranberry sauce dripping down the sides of it!! Man I think my salivary glands are starting to tingle!! I must say though, that their side salad doesn’t touch that of Hudsons! But more about my second burger experience later. It seems like even the vegetarians like this joint. A veggie friend of mine loves Royale! Which is strange seeing as it is a burger restuarant, but if you peek at the vegetarian options on the menu you will know why. So once again I was totally satisfied and we will definitely be back there again soon!

I still haven't tried one of Royale’s famous double thick milkshakes but will be certain to try one soon!

Yours in fun & food,

Elly D

273 Long Street

Cape Town

021-422 4536

info@royaleeatery.com

www.royaleeatery.com

My experience at In the Vineyard……….16-01-2012

We had some family down from Belgium and took them to Stellenbosch to experience one of our many and wonderful wine regions. Seeing as there is just so much to do in Stellenbosch we decided to rather stay the night so that we could explore it further the following day. We started our day off at Le Bonheur Crocodile farm with a tour, which was truly great! After which we visited a few wine farms and made our way to our accommodation namely, In the Vineyards. Usually when I look for accommodation I make use of www.safarinow.co.za. Occasionally I use www.wheretostay.co.za. Well this time I am grateful I had a look at where to stay’s website because that is how I came across this little gem of a spot!!

After dealing with an extremely helpful Marlene (owner) via email, I booked the accommodation for us. We wanted self-catering and unfortunately majority of the accommodation in Stellenbosch is B&B or Guesthouses. We were a group of 9 and it was also difficult to get a big enough house to sleep so many people. In the Vineyard consists of two semi-detached cottages namely The Vineyard Cottage and The Olive Cottage. It is situated on an olive producing farm namely Uitkyk which is situated at the foot of the Simonsberg mountains.

Each cottage consists of two bedrooms, one with a king size bed and the other with two single beds. Then in the lounge there is also a sleeper couch should you need to accommodate an extra person. Each cottage also has an open plan kitchen and large bathroom with a massive shower and a bath in it. Outside there is a braai on the patio and for those colder nights a fireplace inside each cottage. The views from here are stunning!

If it gets too hot, there is also a concrete reservoir style dam for you to go and cool off in! This is exactly what we did as it was cooking in Stellenbosch that day. Although it is a reservoir the water is clear and the bottom of the reservoir is clean. Right next to the reservoir are a few vineyards in which you can go and take a walk should you wish to.

These little cottages truly have everything you need! They even went a bit further and left water and milk in the fridge along with rusks for you morning cup of joe. They made sure there was blitz and braai wood for us and provided us with a jar of tasty olives from their farm to taste.  If you liked it you could purchase some more. There was also Neil Joubert wines for sale should your supply run out! J It might sound like I am making a fuss over something so small but to me it has always been the small things that count. I have been to accommodation before that offered much less then this and cost more. So to me these small gestures really show that the hosts, Joubert and Marlene, will go out of their way to make you as comfortable as possible!

The location of these cottages is perfect. It is not too far out of Stellenbosch for in case you need to shoot to the shops and also not too close so that you can take in the peace and quiet of your surroundings.

You can check out their website as well for a list of the many activities in the area as well.

At R900 per night per cottage it is an absolute steal for what you get!! If I ever need self-catering accommodation again in the Stellenbosch wine lands this place would be at the top of my list!!

Yours in fun & wine lands,

Elly D

R44 between Klapmuts & Stellenbosch

Paarl

021-875 5433

stay@inthevineyard.co.za

www.inthevineyard.co.za

My experience at Avontuur Estate……….29-12-2011

With New Year’s Eve being only two days away we found ourselves on a sunny December day not sure on what to do. So I suggested Monkey Town in Somerset West as I have always wanted to go there. It was awesome but after a while in the blistering heat I really craved a cold drink! We took a drive down the R44 and came across Avontuur Wine Estate. I hadn’t really heard of them before but they had a nice little patio so we gave it a try. My fiancé ordered us an amazing bottle of Avontuur Sauvignon Blanc 2011 – Tropical explosions with green fig and fresh acidity on the palate. It was quite late in the afternoon already so we just wanted something light.

He ordered the Cheese Platter – Selection of local cheeses and preserves served with biscuits. With this cheese platter they also had a wine pairing suggestion – Above Royalty Noble Late Harvest 2009. Something sweet to go with the cheesy flavours. The platter was really good! Exactly what he wanted. Five different types of cheese with preserved fig, strawberries and grapes. On the picture it might not look sufficient but it totally hit that spot.

After all the festive season’s bad eating I opted for the Greek salad topped with strips of Grilled Chicken Breast with extra avo. It was also really good! Extremely fresh and wholesome! Made me feel a little bit better about all the wine I was gulping down! J

We didn’t stay very long as it was close to the end of their day, but we weren’t rushed by them and had enough time to relaxingly finish our bottle of wine and stare out over the farm and the grazing horses.

I didn’t know this until afterwards but Avontuur Estate is also a very well-known Stud farm. Earlier in December one of their fillies, Val de Ra, won the Gr 2 Tony Taberer Southern Cross Stakes and another lady (Princess Victoria) won the Gr 1 Fillies Guineas. They will also be part of the 2012 Yearling sale later on in this month.

Definitely a little restaurant that I will be sure to visit again should I be in that area and from now on I will definitely keep my eye out for their wines!

Yours in fun & food,

Elly D

R44

Somerset-West

021-855 4296

Restaurant: openhand@polka.co.za

Wine Estate: info@avontuurestate.co.za

www.avontuurestate.co.za