Black South-Eaters

The latest edition of the Monocle features Tokyo in its City Survey Series and one of the more interesting snippets, entitled ‘Eat those words’ describes a comic book series Oishinbo ( The Gourmet) which is now been released in English by US publishers Viz. Apparently the original series has been around since 1983 selling over 100 million copies and stars a young journalist who is obsessed with beating his gourmand father at everything culinary. The plots centre around food and drink and the characters are named after different seafoods.

Well worth investigating, I have already placed an order for a couple of editions which should be shipped in three weeks time so I will keep you informed.

I tend to find the best value wines in that last week of the month, you know the one just before payday when you need your alcoholic units the most, this week was no different, I stumbled across the Welmoed 2008 Shiraz at Ultra (Bottle stores) for R29.95 and it’s surprisingly good.

On the topic of Welmoed, the Radisson stocks their MCC and for a bottle they’ll charge you R120. In that setting, sea, sun and ‘champagne’ for that price you can’t go wrong, you may also want to try their pizzas (the Radisson’s not Welmoed) which were added to the Tobago restaurant menu some six months ago and are delicious and well priced ( R80-96) and, and, and the best blotting paper snack that they have on offer.

Finally I have been let in on a little secret which we need to investigate because apparently Lazari (tel: 021 4619865) does the best eggs Benedict in Town. Situated on the corner of Upper Maynard Street and Vredehoek Avenue it’s certainly close enough to be a favourite locale if the boast is close to true. Our food ‘Holy Grail’ revolves around the best burgers, the best eggs Benedict and the best tiramisu and as always it’s a work in progress but one of these days we will produce a famous list of our best kept secrets.

The first thing I look at is the menu; if they can’t write a menu without a mistake then the food won’t be any good.

– Antonio Carlucci, The Guardian, 5 February 2009

[J]ust as wine becomes for a good number of intellectuals a mediumistic substance which leads them towards the original strength of nature, steak is for them a redeeming food, thanks to which they bring their intellectualism to the level of prose and exorcise, through blood and soft pulp, the sterile dryness of which they are constantly accused.

Roland Barthes, “Steak and Chips”, in Mythologies, (Vintage, 2000; orig. English transl. 1972; orig. French 1957)