Two thousand and mine, Two thousand and fine, Two thousand and crime, Two thousand and economic crisis. Who knows what 2009 holds for us? I do believe it’s going to be a difficult year for the globalised world, but I feel optimistic about the opportunities for personal growth. Besides it’s not all doom and gloom, what’s bad for the globalised economy is good for the environment; less production = less pollution, less consumption = less waste, etc. It seems that exchange controls and the National Credit Act have gone a long way in shielding us from the global economic meltdown, so let’s give credit where credit is due (economic joke). This doesn’t mean we won’t be affected, it just means it could have been a lot worse.
So far the economic crisis has not put a dent in my social life. The last month or so has been as busy as ever. I ate at Live Bait, Tong Lok, Zula, Wharfside Grill, Vasco’s, Vintage India, Saul’s Saloon and Maestro’s which were all quite good but not mind blowing. I had very nice meals at Pizza Fair, Willoughby & Co, Caveau at the Mill, & Union and Wakame and was not let down by Beluga, Col’caccio and Sevruga. Lunch at Time Cafe at the Colosseum in Century City was not worth the drive (apart from the company). I had a lunch at the Dros in Willow Village (Durbanville) and it’s the perfect place for kids. I think more space is dedicated to kids than diners. My breakfast hunt took me to Miss K and Manna which were excellent, Cafe Sofia was good value, The Loading Bay wasn’t bad and Queen of Tarts was not great. I also popped into the Neighbourgoods market for breakfast a few times and that never disappoints.
On the activities and events side, I’ve been quite busy. A highlight was the cooking course I attended. If that interests you, I have done an updated post with a comprehensive list of cooking courses in Cape Town with details for all of them. I attended a panel discussion on how what we eat affects the environment, from which I gleaned some very interesting information. I went to see the mentalist Banacheck in action at the Baxter, how does he do that stuff? I went to a lovely art exhibition, almost went to the Obz festival and on the music side; I attended Concert for a Cause and the launch of Coda’s excellent new album. I also attended the opening of Bungalow and Kove, two funky new restaurants in Camps Bay (see the restaurant section below for more info). I attended the Mainstay party at Llundudno beach, which was a great party. And I was lucky enough to be invited to do some wine tasting with the experts at Wine of the Month Club, that was very interesting indeed, they certainly know what they are doing. On the topic of interesting, I went on a tour of the Greenpoint Stadium which was very interesting as well.Finally I had a great night out at Karma, I took a group of about 30 people and we were really well looked after. They gave us our own private roped off section including balcony. We had a fantastic time, so big thanks to the management at Karma (check out their website, it’s really impressive).
For your reading pleasure this month, I reviewed Malcom’s Gladwell’s new book, Outliers, as well as the follow on from Globalization and its Discontents by Joseph Stiglitz, called Making Globalization Work. I also reviewed the 2009 Rossouw’s Restaurant Guide. I compiled a summary of Green magazines available in SA and I reviewed a documentary called The 11th Hour. I also revealed the Eat Out Magazine Top 10 restaurants in South Africa and I posted about the Blogosphere survey on 24.com in which Relax with Dax was profiled. I posted my long awaited article on vegetarian restaurants in Cape Town which has been very popular and is well commented. I reminded people about International Buy Nothing Day, my little bit in the battle against consumerism. Every month I have to say something about GM foods, for those who believe the propaganda that they’re going to solve world hunger you must read my post entitled ‘GM foods are not the solution to World Hunger’. Staying with the serious stuff, I posted my review of the World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report which makes for scary reading. To try and break the seriousness, I posted this hilarious video.
There have actually been two polls since the last newsletter. The one was about vegetarians and it seems that 30% of us are some sort of vegetarian, to see how they are broken down into vegan, pescatarian, etc, check out the full results here. The second poll was about how often people go out for dinner in the evening. It seems 30% eat out less than once a week, 47% eat out 1 to 2 times per week and 18% eat out 3-4 times per week. For the rest of the results go here. This month’s poll is about tipping, cast your vote on the website.
As for developments on the Relax with Dax website, I’d like to firstly say thank you to all the loyal readers who read my ramblings and take the time to post comments. Your feedback makes the site more interesting for others and the rapidly increasing traffic really motivates me. To make it easier to keep track of your comments, you can now select the ‘notify me of further comments’ checkbox when you leave a comment and it will email you to let you know someone else has posted a comment after yours. I’ve also added an announcement box which will be displayed above the first post. This will be a place for me to let readers know of developments with the site as they happen. I have also added some advertising to the site. For those of you who think I should be rewarded for my hard work, you can pay me without using any of your own money, just go to the site and click on any of the Google ads and Google will pay me for you! It’s so easy and you can click as many and as often as you like. To give you an idea, I currently make about R10 a month which doesn’t even cover the website hosting costs, so don’t be shy.
Ok, if you read all that, then give yourself a pat on the back. It took me ages to write! I’ve learnt my lesson: the longer I leave the newsletter, the more work I create for myself so in future the newsletters will be on time every month (maybe)! Below is a list of what’s hot and happening in Cape Town for the next month or so. I hope the list helps you to have a fun and interesting month in Cape Town.
Dax Villanueva
Events
16th Jan - 24th Jan: Not the Midnight Mass at Theatre on the Bay. I’ve just been to see this and it’s great fun. Acapella music with some crazy fun stuff thrown in. It’s apparently been running for 21 years and I can see why it keeps going. If you haven’t seen it, check it out, my full review will be up on the website soon. Tickets are R90 or R125. Tickets available at www.computicket.com
16th Jan - 14th Feb: for the Shakespeare fans, As You Like It is on at the Maynardville open air theatre. If you haven’t done the Maynardville park picnic followed by an open air show, then you need to do it for the experience. Tickets range from R80 to R140 and are available from www.computicket.com
30th Jan - 14th Feb: Also at the Theatre on the Bay, for the fans of Monty Python (of which I suspect there are rather a lot), a Monty Python tribute, Pythonesque. See your favourite sketches and learn a little bit about the history of Monty Python for a measly R90 or R125. Tickets available at www.computicket.com
31st Jan: J&B Metropolitan at Kenilworth race course. I’ve been to the Met every year for about 8 years and each time I contemplate not going but end up going and never regret it. Pay R2500 and be a larney or just pay the R150 to get in and have a jol. Get your tickets before the day, I normally go to the Cock n Bull at the Waterfront, but you can find a full list of outlets on the website http://www.jbmet.co.za/
16th Jan - 15th March: Wildlife photographer of the year exhibition at the Iziko Museum. Tickets are R15 and don’t make the mistake I made last year of thinking there’s no urgency because it’s on until the 15th March. Time flies and before you know it, you’ve missed the exhibition.
The Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition owned by the Natural History Museum of London and BBC Wildlife Magazine is an international showcase for the very best photography worldwide featuring natural subjects, which emphasize the beauty, wonder and importance of the natural world.
28th Feb - 8th March: Beauty and the Beast at Artscape. If you’re a fan of big stage productions like the Lion King and Phantom of the Opera then this is another one for you. The tickets range from R150 to R400, book well in advance. Tickets available at www.computicket.com
Kirstenbosch concerts for the next few weeks are: (R50 or R70 if they have a *)
18 Jan: Loyiso Bala and Friends
25 Jan: Prime Circle
1 Feb: The Parlotones*
8 Feb: Arno Carstens*
15 Feb: The Jonny Cooper Orchestra
22 Feb: Cape Philharmonic Orchestra: Carmina Burana*
Don’t forget that there is an event widget on the website which will be updated with events which might not be included in this list, so keep checking the website to stay in touch with what’s what in Cape Town ;-)
Restaurants, Bars & Clubs
There are so many new places which have opened in the last two months or so. I’ll list some and I’ll save the others for a quieter month.
Let’s start with Camps Bay because they pay the most rent. Ignite closed down a while ago and is being converted into apartments. Where the Caltex used to be, three new restaurants have opened. Bungalow and Kove are owned by the same people as Paranga, which has done well for quite a few years. Bungalow has an all white decor, very modern and chic with couches and beds for relaxing. The food is tapas style and you can order a platter of several different items. Kove is a steak restaurant, with darker but also very funky decor. The third restaurant is an Indian restaurant called Gateway to India, the original is in Durban. It’s not for the weak in wallet, with curries starting at R90 and all extras are charged for. In addition, the Vida e Caffe store in Camps Bay is now open later and sells alcohol, offering another spot for sundowners.
Greenpoint is next. The Cape Royale hotel is open and Geisha has moved there from Mouille Point. Next to Geisha is a new steak place called 1800° and on the other side is a Sundance Gourmet Coffee shop. Heading toward town, along Somerset Road, the spot that housed 0932 for a while has killed another restaurant. It’s been replaced by a place called Best Ugly Rythm Bar & Restaurant. I assume that means they have live music playing? Still further down the road, just past the Victoria Junction Protea Hotel, another Cafe Sofia has opened.
Stopping at the Waterfront quickly on the way into town, Alba is now also a restaurant and they are offering an opening special of 2 pastas and 2 glasses of wine for R100. It sounds like they are sharing the kitchen with the Hildebrand downstairs. Karibu is a new place which is offering South African fare such as potjie, bobotie and braai!
Coming out of the Waterfront at the bottom of Buitengracht street we notice that Bojangles has been replaced by the Sea Palace, the Asian restaurant which has moved there from inside the Waterfront. The rent is cheaper but the passing trade isn’t worth mentioning so I wish them luck. Some of their sushi is half price as an opening special, that might tempt you to go visit. Now we’re in town and we meet our third new steak restaurant, Headquarters. In Heritage Square where Strega used to be, HQ is a project by the team that brought you Caveau. What makes HQ unique is that there are no menu options. They only serve sirloin steak smothered with Cafe de Paris butter and pommes frittes on the side. You can choose how it’s done and you can choose your dessert from a selection of ten, but those are the only food choices you’ll get. I’ve eaten at HQ and it’s very good. My review will be on the website soon. Seeing as we’re on steak, let’s just get the fourth and last steak place out of the way, Carne. Owned by Georgio Nava of 95 Keerom, conveniently for him, Carne is located just across the road from 95. A restaurant focusing on good quality meat, it is apparently as stylish as 95.
That’s 9 new places so far, let’s squeeze a few more in. Sticking to town, Manolo’s has become the Opal Lounge, also fancy and expensive. Relish no longer serve food (unless you go to the one in Obz), the downstairs space underneath the bar is a new fancy restaurant called Nova. Chef Richard Carstens offers a gourmet experience of note. It’s not cheap but I’ve heard good things. In Bree Street, underneath the church just after Heritage Square (heading toward the mountain) is & Union. This beer salon / charcuterie is a project of the guys who originally brought you Vida e Caffe. I’ve eaten there, my review is here. Suffices to say, it’s worth checking out.
Ok, that’s enough! More next newsletter.
Website of the month
While the world slides into the quagmire of fast food, some people are making a stand. This is the aim of Slow Food:
Slow’s original aim was focused on preserving the biodiversity of the planet, with its priority preserving the past for future generations. We are anti pre-packaged, homogenised food - fast food that erodes culinary tradition. We promote food cooked with love and care. We believe in flavour, natural foodstuffs, and fresh ingredients rather than the convenience food that dominates today’s eating patterns.
http://www.slowfoodcapetown.co.za/
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