Not yet legendary, but warming up: Mitico

Address: Mitico Pizzeria, Kloof Street (next to Hudson’s, where St Elmo’s used to be).

Imali: ± I can’t remember, but cheap (thanks Voronki). Take you own booze – free corkage for now.

Gianni Vigliotti, the restaurateur at Mitico, is worried: “How’s the pasta? Al dente? Do you like al dente? I find South Africans, they like their pasta cooked, hnng? Overcooked. Too soft.”

He shakes his head, pulling his mouth in mild distaste.

We nod drunkenly enthusiastic, appreciatively, because the penne al arrabiata is delicious – al dente, and bursting with a sauce that is layered: pungent tomato and hot chilli that doesn’t sear, but which lingers on the tongue. For such a basic sauce, it’s rich, but also not oily.

We were at Mitico, Voronki and I, to have an impromptu celebratory drink with food after some good news on the publishing front concerning the Black South-Eater’s poetic endeavours. Mitico is new – it opened last week – so it might be some time before the place lives up to part of its name (“mitico” means “mythical”, but also “legendary” and, in colloquial speech, just “fantastic” or “marvellous”).

Mitico doesn’t have it’s liquor license yet, so there is no corkage charge. In fact, when we discovered this and as we had arrived dry, we hesitated. But the waiter suggested we get some drinks across the road. Which we did – some Darling Brew Bonecrusher (lulz)* and Solms Cape Jazz Shiraz – and which meant that our drinks bill was low.

Service was friendly, if a bit slow and inattentive, but we’ll forgive them that for now. Gianni, on the other hand, was anxiously busy, touting the place at the sidewalk entrance, talking to tables, making sure anybody didn’t need anything.

I suppose the best way to test a pizzeria is to go for the classics: Caprese salad starter, a salami, mushroom and olive pizza (the waiter encouraged we try the pizza), and the penne al arrabiata. I’ll eat the caprese, but I’m not a fan of it. I mean, yes, tomato, basil, mozzarella – it’s good and you can’t go wrong and it washes down well with the sparkling Shiraz, but I always think the caprese is more colour than anything else. (By the way, the wine goes well with anything, but I particularly like it with a cheddar or any stronger cheese.)

Caprese done, we lingered before ordering the other two dishes.

But the pizza! I haven’t been to Massimo’s Pizza Club, but whatever Massimo has to offer in faraway Hout Bay (and I trust all the reports I’ve been getting), I believe that Gianni has it on offer right here in Kloof Street. So, mindful that Massimo could trump Gianni, the pizza at Mitico is the best pizza I’ve eaten in Cape Town. I’ve never been a fan of Col Cacchio, I haven’t tasted the pizza at Il Leone, etc., and, recently, I wasn’t impressed by Baccini’s. But I’ll be back for more pizza at Mitico.

It’s thin without splintering like a cracker, it’s not over-loaded with mozarella, the tomato sauce base is simple, never sweet, mildly tart, and the salami is good quality salami and not the fatty, greasy gristle found often on the your everyday pizza in Cape Town.

Don’t get me wrong. You know the Black South-Eater moves between the high and the low, and there’s nothing wrong with a Butler’s pizza when you’re serial slumming (thin base margherita with anchovy and pineapple, ask them to use half of the cheese; try it and broaden your snobbish horizons). I have a soft spot for Butler’s, ever since I was a student, when I had an account as “Kaiser Strozek” (No, Kaiser Strozek, not Keyser Söze), and their pizzas have always, ever since, arrived hot and in less than 30 minutes. But should Mitico get a delivery service, Butler’s will be toasted cheese. Unless they name my favourite pizza “The Strozek.”

 

As mentioned earlier, the pasta was also delicious. Again, that mildly tart, non-sweet, non-greasy tomato sauce and the lingering burn of the chilli. I swallowed down mouthfuls whenever Voronki looked the other way.

As a smoker with dulled taste buds, I like my salt on my food, and with the first mouthful of pizza, I thought it needed a bit of salt. Then I tasted the pasta and also thought perhaps some salt would liven it up. Voronki cautioned against it, wisely so, because with the second bite for both dishes, I thought it was all good. I could taste and appreciate all the flavours and, rare for me, enjoyed what I would normally consider under-salted food. I take my hat off to Gianni and to the mysterious Sicilian and his helpers slaving away in that hot, wood-fired kitchen.

 

I had a macchiato for afters and now I know also where to go for that little upper. Unlike at other establishments, it’s not a mini cappuccino.

So, if you’re looking for a good pizza or bowl of pasta for an informal lunch or an early, sundowner dinner, get to Mitico, take your own booze, get an outside table and watch the outlandish outfits drifting up and down Kloof.

——————-

Notes:

* Thanks to Suip! for reminding about the Bone Crusher link.

Moodyman’s our comeback track (of the week)

Not much of a video but it’s Moodyman enuff said.

Rosé i-Say

Rosé, we tell you is the new hip thing, last year it was Pinot Grigio, the year before that Cava and peachy Prosecco but this summer it’s that pinkish, blush that we all chose to ignore because it was a little bit naff but my how things have changed. The quality for is so much better you don’t need an ice bucket and a big garden with ducks leisurely, dawdling by to enjoy this drink anymore, now you can drink it all year round, it in fact tastes better in winter just like good Gelato.

 Because we at the BSE  like to keep you ahead of the pack, we have prepared our first list of 2012 and it’s a list of our three favourite Rosés…drum roll, please:

 3. Odd Bins Mourvedre

 We like our Odd Bins and Checkers haven’t disappointed with this one at 30 Z-A-R, easy to drink, stock up while the shelves are full before it all disappears.

 2.  The Strawberry Rosé 2011 (Mooiplaas)

 Their ‘other’ label but this one is in no way inferior or less fun, it retails for around 42 Z-A-R

 1. Kanonkop 2010 Kadette Rosé 

The winner by a country mile and the best Rosé that we have consumed this summer. It’s well priced at 42 Z-A-R, undervalued really but please don’t go spiking the price now and is soft, dry and delicately fruity on the BSE palette.

O’ways en vogue

It’s my new favourite shop, stuck just behind Cavendish Square in Dreyer Street Claremont that is where you will find O’ways Teacafé.

As their website points out: Oways is a unique environment where the combination of several of the finest elements of life : tea, coffee, tasty food and relationships come together to generate and promote a pure and positive energy that not only resides within the walls of the Teacafé but also radiates out through the joy and connection experienced by its satisfied customers. Please join us for an experience that will not only delight your palette but will also lift your spirits!

 There isn’t much else to add, except perhaps that the omelets are the fluffiest in Town, the tea experience seductive, the service warm and welcoming and that Lisa who runs the show Oways likes to chat. I typically wouldn’t drive out to Claremont for a cup of tea unless it’s High Tea at the Vineyard Hotel but now I do, now I get in my car a speed down the highway to get to my new favourite shop. It’s not a traditional teahouse, it’s a Teacafé, which is something slightly different as it combines the best elements of both café society and the traditional tea ceremony Feng Shui, you could for instance pick up ORIGIN coffee beans there if you so choose but it’s all about the tea.

They have a delightful menu to enjoy while savoring your tea, Chef Marion Kumpf and her team have created a simple selection of Asian influenced cuisine, everything that I have had on the menu has been superb but the Taiwanese Dan Bing pancake omelet with roasted chilli dip is a must as well as the Dim Sum.

The last time that I was there they sold me rose petals, typically I had to have a slightly bespoke order but this wasn’t a problem, they divvied up their pack and I was able to buy 100g gram of rose petals to flavour my green tea, it’s that kind of place nothing is too much trouble, here’s hoping that they will Oways be in fashion.

Posh Nosh

All of the Posh Nosh episodes are now available on YouTube, Richard E Grant our favourite Withnail is in top form in this the pilot episode.

The BSE has been renewed for a Second Season – {Citation needed}

Exclusive: The Black South Eater has been renewed for a second season {Citation needed} those two Mad Men will shortly return to write about food, music and whatnot {Citation needed} after successful discussions were held in a CBD hotel over the festive season where it was decided to bring back your favourite food blog (god that sounds so boring) {no Citation needed} for an encore.

RK was not available for comment {Citation needed}.

Jenny’s Marriage Proposal Enticing Tiramisu

The best Eggs Benedict, the best Burger and the best Tiramisu those are what comprises my holy trinity of foods and have led me to many a strange locale in search of finding the ‘best’ of these three basic meals.

Did I really have the best Eggs Benedict in the Virgin Lounge in London Heathrow and did it have anything to do with the blurry night before in Edinburgh and a crying baby on the inward leg or was this really the best Eggs Benedict? Then there was a time when I was stuck in Miami’s central business district snuggly hanging out at the restaurant bar across the street from our hotel, ordering espresso, grappa and ‘Marie’s Tiramisu’ which surpassed all that was eaten before. And did we (Mr BSE and I) really often find ourselves in ‘the mall’ in a snotty little suburb ordering ‘that’ hamburger together with the then hard to find Pilsner Urquel professing that it was one of the best burgers we had eaten.

It wouldn’t be a holy grail without some war stories and here is potentially the latest; a recipe that has caught my myopic eye: Jenny’s Marriage Proposal Enticing Tiramisu. It is something that I discovered and have yet to try, in the Jazzanova Homecooking recipe booklet.

On two occasions, blanko marriage proposals were declared to the person who had this Tiramisu. Both proposals were declined, in mutual agreement and with the ‘assertations’ that this episode wouldn’t affect the existing friendships in any way. The Tiramisu got a little legendary, people threatened with not showing up at Jenny’s parties if she wouldn’t promise to make Tiramisu…

3 eggs
4 tablespoons of honey
300-400g mascarpone
2 round sponge cakes, ca. 1,5 cm think
1 cup of espresso (cold)
1 cup of hot chocolate (cold)
Real cacao powder

Separate egg yolk from egg white. Beat egg yolk with honey until frothy.
Mix thoroughly with mascarpone. Beat egg white until stiff. Gently mix with mascarpone mix.
Fill 1/3 of mascarpone mix in a round form, put first layer of sponge cake on top and drizzle half of cold espresso and half of cold hot chocolate over the sponge cake. If you like, you can also add a little Ameretto to the espresso.

Add a second layer of another third of mascarpone mix, then again sponge cake with all the drizzling of cacao and espresso, put the final layer of the last third of the mascarpone on top.

Dredge final layer of mascarpone with dark cacao powder.

Cool Tiramisu for at least three hours in the fridge.

Now I wonder if women only make this Tiramisu and propose on Leap Years in order to find happiness or can’t they wait?

Footnote:

We haven’t tried Jenny’s Marriage Proposal Enticing Tiramisu yet but don’t let that stop you from turning it into an adventure.

Our Darling’s slow brewed beer

In this media drenched, data-rich, channel-surfing, computer-gaming age, we have lost the art of doing nothing, of shutting out the background noise and distractions, of slowing down and simply being alone with our thoughts. Boredom-the word itself hardly existed a150 years ago-is a modern invention. Remove all stimulation, and we fidget, panic and look for something, anything, to do to make use of the time. When did you last see someone just gazing out the train window on a train? Everyone is too busy reading the paper, playing video games, listening to iPods, working on their laptops, yammering into mobile phones.

Instead of thinking deeply, or letting an idea simmer in the back of the mind, our instinct now is to reach for the nearest sound bite. In modern warfare, correspondents in the field and pundits in the studio spew out instant analyses of events as they occur. Often their insights turn out to be wrong. But that hardly matters nowadays: in the land of speed, the man with the instant response is king. With satellite feeds and 24 hour news channels, the electronic media is dominated by what one French sociologist dubbed ‘le fast thinker’ – a person who can, without skipping a beat, summon up a glib answer to any question.

In a way, we are all fast thinkers now. Our impatience is so implacable that, as actress-author Carrie Fisher quipped, even ‘instant gratification takes too long.’

…So the smallest setback, the slightest delay, the merest whiff of slowness, can now provoke vein-popping fury in otherwise ordinary people everywhere (Carl Honore, In Praise of Slow).

On 11 July my good friends introduced me to Darling Brew which they got at the Stellenbosch Market, a slow beer, for a slow soul, on a slow birthday except for a World Cup final. A beer that was inspired by the geometric tortoise, which is found only in the Western Cape and the Kalahari and is extremely rare. According to its creators Kevin and Philippa Wood this tortoise captures the uniqueness and the unhurried character that is Darling Brew.

The beer is crisp and light (4% alcohol), with roasted aromas, is natural (preservative free) and has a 4 and a half week brewing time. The apparent response to their SLOW BEER has been excellent.
Currently their little micro brewery is focusing on supplying draught and bottled beers to restaurants in Darling and the West Coast Region.

It is available at The Marmalade Cat, Vyge Valley Farm Stall, Evita se Perron and Groote Post. Also available in Riebeek Kasteel’s Auntie Pasti, Paternoster’s Voorstrand, Blouberg’s Carluccis and Stellenbosch’s Slow Food Market.

And in an age of instant gratification I suspect that we are just going to have to wait for Darling Brew to make its mark and find some shelf space at the major Retailers but it is definitely worth all of the enduring slowness that accompanies its quiet revolution. It’s a great beer.

Email: wood@darlingbrew.co.za

M&M: Music and the Menu

A few years ago Alif Tree released a electronic, downtempo, nu-jazz styled album, French Cuisine on the Compost label. A strong album at the time but more ambitiously one which tried to pair the inputs of the DJ with the food. Here is what Alexandre Alif had to say:

How many times have you found yourself at a reputable table, classical or modern, chic or friendly, saliving before hand thanks to the scents exhaled from the dishes and the kitchens, only to feel that some mysterious element stands in the way your desire?

What can this strange force be? Without even noticing it, you have already started to raise your voice, or on the contrary, have you have become silent, shy or dumb in front of the other guests?

Could it be that DJ who had the good idéa to accompany your plates, however light and refined, by a mix which would make even the hottest moments of a spanish club seem lukewarm? Or that again, could it be the exquisite taste of yet another comical rerun of the “Jeux Interdits” DX7 version, or that of Mozart’s Requiem, version “midifile” performed by sir Bontempi himself?

Tell me, how do you feel in front of this tension emanating from the neighbouring table (add to this uncontrolable cigar spirals, cuban of course), scrupulously belching figures of Nikei’s evolution since the beginning of the year? Oh yes, your dish will certainly meet up to all your expectations, impeccable service, perfect lighting (a little dodgy maybe…), but what’s left of the meal itself?

What kind of souvenir or moment is left behind from this heterogeneous atmosphere where the taste, the right taste will only stop at your plate? Oh, that poor table where everything is possible and so many memorable moments have been engraved, that same table is crying out for music. But not any kind of music, and certainly not at any price nor or at any volume.

I now think that you’re ready, besides a few easy recipes which figure amonst my favourite dishes, to try out a few suggestions concocted in a musical vein, far removed from any kind of so called “programming”. One could call them atmospheres, but try not to evoke the common or impersonnal meaning of the term. No, these are more like flavours, a community of rediscovered senses, enabling the table to re invest it’s original meaning, and also allowing your palettes to experience a certain harmony re-designed for infinite tones and privileged moments, so that finally, that onehundreth “sole meuniere”, or that famous home made “pâté” can once again make a claim to that innovating, unique glow. And to complete it all, what would you say to a little suggestion concerning the tones and the light?

So good listening, and …….bon appétit!

Alexandre AL!F

To date we’ve not gone down this pairing route instead we have simply given you a couple of soundtracks to accompany a memorable evening of ‘fine’ wine and dining but it does make for interesting discourse. How to construct a menu and the musical mood for the evening, if you’ve got a menu perhaps we’ve got the perfect soundtrack; drop us a line.

Saint Jacques and leek nibbles – See all of Alif’s menus.

La Colombe

La Colombe
Cuisine: French, Fusion
Ambience: Classic Elegance
Where: Constantia Uitsig Wine Estate Spaanschemat River Road, Constantia Uitsig Wine Estate Constantia

The following quote from Absolute Power, the Pope Idol episode reminds me of how I felt on visiting La Colombe recently:

Screen subtitle – Posh Restaurant

“Most of the women who visit this restaurant worry about whether the menu will make them fat. I worry that it will make me middle-class.”

And while the experience and the food was good, the starter better than the main, there is something about the place that I didn’t like and it probably has something to do with the expectation that it would award winningly fabulous but once it was all said and done it just felt middle class and safe.

Like a Cinema Nouveau experience in Cavendish Square where most things on the cusp of vaguely challenging have been quarantined, La Colombe have mastered that art of keeping things review friendly and agreeable, you are experiencing fine dining but yet there should be more and while you can’t quite put your finger on it something feels dull and a little food boring.

I had a straight three course meal: Springbok tataki starter which was my personal highlight, the line fish main and the Cashew nut parfait with dark chocolate and orange mousse. The others had the Winter special dinner menu which they paired with the selected wines. We all enjoyed our food but I personally felt quietly unfulfilled.