Review Potluck Club and Gallery, Woodstock, Cape Town

Lunch at the Potluck Club and Gallery is a Gastronomic Delight!

Friday 29th April, 2016.

My son Richard is visiting for the weekend, and as a special treat we take him to the Potluck Club for lunch.  He lives and works as a Mechatronics engineer in Pretoria, so we don't get to see him that often. 

It was particularly cool that both my sons were around to go and collect our new Golden Retriever Puppy, Cody-Bear, innocently asleep on Nic's lap in the back of the car.  There was no such sleepy innocence when we got back home I can tell you.  Our pussycat Cosmo scatted as if the devil was chasing him whilst our middle aged Russel's looked upon the madness of a fluffy, bubbly, clumsy ball taking over their quite life in retirement with utter horror.  Our life was forever changed xx  Cody hailed from the Vissers Haven Farm near Ladismith in the Klein Karoo where we buy all our organic chickens and eggies.

 

My son, Nicholas is a Chef at the Potluck Club and is running the pass today, so an extra special occasion for his family.  There is something terribly thrilling about seeing the "chef team" all work together as one big machine, it looks like a crazy, open plan kitchen, but somehow it all just works, this incredible energy of the beautiful young chefs producing the most magical little plates of wonderfulness fills the entire dining room.  Nic has a huge smile on his face, as he is doing what he loves most in the world, he truly followed his passion and has turned into a fabulous Chef.

Up first, we received a steaming hot, crispy, round baby Ciabatta Bread for the three of us to share. "Masa Ciabatta, Chimichurri and Baba Ghanoush (means pampered papa - haha, Tony-Bear always feels pampered when he gets gorgeous bread)" Delicious Ciabatta served up with two incredible cold sauces, the one is a carrot and egg plant sauce, while the other is made of finely chopped parsley, minced garlic and olive oil.  Served with the two sauces is roasted garlic which you squeeze onto your bread and sauce, its totally blissful.  I hadn't had any carbs for about two weeks, so I honestly felt as if I had gone to heaven.  

What is it about carbs?  Particularly really good, crusty warm bread served with fabulous Olive Oil, a pesto or cold sauce that makes one want to commit a crime?

Next up  :
Korean Fried Cauliflower, Amasi and Miso Dip with Pickles - this has to be the most delectable cauliflower I have ever tasted.  I so wish my Dad was still alive so that he could have tried it.  Cauliflower was his favourite vegetable.  This Cauliflower was crisp and light and slightly spicy - I have to gear myself up on Miso Dips, its one of the best spicy tastes I have found recently, now added to my things to do list....

Then :
Fish Sliders -  This was delicate, lightly battered fresh hake in a delightful little steamed bun, dressed with delicious but subtle sauce.  These were totally amazing, I almost wished we had ordered extra....

Next:
Pot Luck Club Fish Tacos: Fresh Ceviche, Black Bean Puree, Avocado and Sour Cream.  These Fish Taco's are a simple must eat at Potluck.  The fish is always different, it depends on what fresh fish they can source - We had Yellow Tail.  They are impossible to eat politely -- our gorgeous waitress Lauren advised us to squash the Taco down slightly, that way you can manage it in two bites ...

All three of us were ooohing and aaahing by this stage and licking our fingers.  The food here is utterly delicious, and the portions are manageable, not over the top large.

We then tried : 
Lamb Abbacchio (Lamb belly) - the Lamb was totally amazing -- succulent, incredibly tender and filled with delicious hints of herbs and garlic.  

Last Savoury :
Coal-fired Linefish, Roast Coconut Masala, Dahl and ginger.  I have never really liked the idea of curried fish.  This fish was honestly all the Cape Malay flavours on a plate.  My husband actually used his fingers to lap up the rest of the sauce, utterly crazy delicious.  We were now fairly well sated - we had truly indulged in deliciousness.

The guys wanted to try a desert so ordered the most amazing little Lemon Meringue Pie - which was Frozen Lemon Cheese Cake and Lemon Hollandaise.  This desert was served in a small glass jar.

Malted Chocolate Fondant Souffle with Halva Ice Cream was served in a small frying pan and was gently rich, but honestly not sweet.  Really good dark chocolate was clearly used and the sweetness came from the Halva Ice Cream.  The centre was delectable and gorgeously runny...  a perfect end to a perfect Friday lunch served by my boy, with my boys.

Potluck Club is the 9th best restaurant in South Africa, and as such you need to plan and book in advance.  This place is well worth the visit, and I have just heard that my wonderful husband has secured a spot for the Mothers Day brunch.  I am salivating already..

Review of Cafe Orca, Melkbos, Western Cape

Gorgeous, Perfectly Cooked, Simple Seafood

Welcome to my first attempt at a restaurant review and my fourth blog...

Cafe Orca is housed in an old refurbished beach house on the beach front in Melkbos.  It is owned and run by two brothers, Jason and Ricky who are very hands on in the restaurant.  Neither of them need to go to gym, they run between the kitchen, the bar and the various separate rooms and patio of the restaurant lending a hand wherever required, ensuring that their customers have a truly spectacular evening.  Ricky always has a big smile and a story, creating a welcoming vibe to this great little gem of a restaurant where people know your name.

The Bear and I visit Orca twice a month at least.  Whenever family and friends from the other side of Cape Town or up North visit us, a dinner or lunch at Orca has to be on the cards.

The service is always great, the waiters are eager, well trained and extremely friendly.  Our waiter last night was no exception.  Tamryn is clearly going to be studying drama some time soon, haha, she has the poise, the perfect pr-enunciation and the gorgeous smile which will do great on the stage. 

Our Tokara Sauvignon Blanc arrived quickly, was perfectly chilled and the Bear and I toasted the beautiful sunset and the beautiful place we live in.

We love to share our food, so inevitably we will order food we both want to try.  I ordered the Cajun grilled Kingclip, a side Greek salad and some glorious Orca Chips, whilst the Bear ordered Cajun Grilled Calamari with chips.

Pure, simple with a splash of lemon.  Pure deliciousness.

 Instead of desert we decided to have a South African invention called a Don Pedro -- the trick is of course the straw test, and these passed with flying colours.  The straw stays upright and doesn't fall over like a limp stick in the wind -- they were pure decadence...

As we were about to leave our waitress surprised us with a parting gift, an Orca special shooter which was simply dreamy.

If you want to go for dinner, remember to book.  Cafe Orca is extremely popular.  They don't take lunch bookings, but the Bear and I have spent numerous hours over the the last 18 months chatting away to other patrons waiting in their bar, sipping on our wine, enjoying the total splendidness of this delightful little fish restaurant. 

http://www.cafeorca.co.za/

Pasta, Glorious Pasta

Intimate Fettuccine Amatriciana Alfresco

Many of us can conjure up all sorts of warm, special memories about pasta.  Where we ate it, what our favorite sauce is, who we were with, who we shared with, and the lovely satisfied feeling you have after eating it.

I cooked my first meal for other people when I was 6 years old.  We were visiting my Godmother Dot and her family in Pinelands and I cooked SpagBog (Spaghetti Bolonaise).  As young as I was, I remember the tremendous feeling of achievement I felt when people just loved my food.  I had to stand on a box as i couldn't reach the stove, but that was the moment i fell in love with food and very specifically with Italian Food.  That too was the time I fell in love with the love you can give to other people by making them food.  Pasta just does this to people, it conjures up all sorts of glorious, warm, fuzzy feelings inside you, and it generates a feeling of togetherness, a feeling of family - particularly extended family.  When my adult sons come home to visit me their welcome home food is Mom's Spaghetti Bolonaise -- even though one of my sons is a chef, this is still his favorite food.  When you look at this image below, you just have to eat it and forget about "not eating carbs, or watching my carb intake, or banting"... haha...

Hot Chick

My husband the Bear is crazy about Curry -- any type of curry.   He calls curry a "Ruby Murray" -- Cockney Rhyming slang language :) Curry rhymes with Murray :).....

We love  chicken, but will only buy wholesome, organic, free range chickens which I source from www.vissers-haven.com.  They deliver to our area every month, and also offer a whole host of other farm goodies and home baked products which are worth a try.  I really believe in helping sustain small businesses as this is the only way we will grow our country's economy, and we should particularly be encouraging farmers to stay farming and growing our food.  Our farmers can do with all the support we have to offer right now as the drought has really caused a huge amount of suffering and angst.

Great British Cousins Dinner party in Cape Town

Well, here I am, fresh off my Bloggers online course, attempting my first Blog...

My husband's cousin, Toni and her new boyfriend, who hail from the mud island came to stay for the weekend.  We planned a weekend full of fun typical Cape Town things to do, one of which was a dinner party with some of our local friends.

The Home Dinner Party sends shivers up some peoples backs, but I absolutely love it.  I adore the preparation, the menu research, preparing the invitations, deciding on the table decor and finding the right wine for each course.  Its also particularly wonderful when people have thoroughly enjoyed the evening and compliment your food.  I cook with so much love and I am sure that people feel that when they eat my food.  One must never forget that people want you to succeed, so even if there are small mistakes you will be easily forgiven.

The table was going to have an African feel, in other words, all the wonderful browns, burgundies, yellows and reds which epitomize the warmth of our continent .  It was time to use that very special  cloth my mom gave us for a wedding present two years ago.  To match the table cloth I found some incredible Cheetah serviettes, paired with cream Georgette napkins, red candles and Jenna Clifford Red wine glasses, we were ready to go!!!

The Menu

Champagne and Pomegranate seed cocktail on arrival.  Don't they just look incredibly sexy?

Starter

Light and fluffy Smoked Salmon Pate, served with a micro green salad, decorated with edible pansy flowers and a slither of gorgeous peach and coriander.  I made the starter the day before as it needed to settle in the fridge over night and it saved me time on the dinner party day to spend time with our relatives showing them the beautiful Blouberg Beach front area, the On the Rocks restaurant and Blue Peter pub where we had a few drinks.  Our starter was paired with Capaia Sauvignon Blanc, a gem of a wine from a farm off the N7 about 10 kilometers from Melkbos.  For more information, please follow the link to www.capaia.eu.

Mains

Oven roasted sirloin, smothered in French Dijon mustard, black pepper and extra virgin Olive oil, prepared medium rare, coupled with tricolor organic carrots cooked in orange juice and ginger, runner beans with slithered almonds, golden roast potatoes, beautiful Yorkshire puddings (done the old fashioned way with no rising agents), sweet little Brussel Sprouts and old fashioned roasting pan red wine gravy.  The main course was paired with de Grendel Rubaiyat, one of the Durbanville wine valley's top five wine farms, a fabulous wine, with a wonderful ruby nose, goes beautifully with red meat. The Rubaiyat is De Grendel’s flagship wine, first made in 2007 when cellar master Charles Hopkins was asked by Sir David Graaff to make an “icon” for the Estate For more information on this wine, please follow the link www.degrendel.co.za. 

Lasts

The final course was a cheese board, accompanied by preserved figs and ginger, fresh figs and grapes served with various biscuits and a few tiny carrot and red velvet cup cakes.  Desert wine was from Muratie Stellenbosch, quite honestly one of the best cheese paired desert wines out there.  For more information on Muratie, please check out their web site www.muratie.co.za