Epicurean Afrikaaner-- SOUTH AFRICA FOOD AND WINE By Scott Chase (Editor's note: Scott is a Dallas attorney who loves food, wine and travel. We thank him for his delightful suggestions.) During the first 2 weeks of October 1999, my wife and I flew to Cape Town and traveled by car, with stops along the way, from there to Shamwari Game Park (about 600 miles east), primarily along the Indian Ocean coast and back again. The coastal part of this drive from Mossel Bay to Tsitsikamma National Park is called the Garden Route because of its many wildflowers, flowering shrubs (known as fynbos) and wildlife. Before commenting specifically on restaurants and wineries, I would like to give the following general comments: All of the restaurants (except where noted) were equal in ambiance, service and food preparation and innovation to the top-tier restaurants in Dallas. Generally, this means that the restaurants were comparable to Landmark at the Melrose Hotel, Traci’s, Barclay’s, Chez Gerard, Sipango etc. However, the prices were ½ to 2/3s less, so the values were unbeatable, particularly since wine mark-up appeared to be about 10% above retail (which is very low). Thus, almost without exception, the South African wines on restaurant menus were never priced above $15/bottle and the best vintages were never over $20. Second, the menus always featured fresh “line fish” that we can vouch were being caught by individual fisherman along the coast because we saw many individual fisherman as we toured the coastal areas. Most menus almost always had at least one innovative vegetarian dish and pasta dishes were fresh and sophisticated. The menus always contained game such as kudu, springbok and ostrich, all of which were lean and tender when broiled. Desserts were varied and often included a cheese selection. The towns of Paarl, Stellenbosch and Franschhoek make up the primary towns of The Winelands and these towns are within 2 hours of Cape Town. In fact, Uitkyk Winery, whose Chardonnay I heartily recommend, draws its name from the Afrikaaner word for “outlook” because it has a glorious view of Table Mountain from its front entrance. Generally, the wineries were comparable in architectural style and hospitality to those in California and France. Franschhoek was our favorite and is in a valley surrounded by beautiful mountains; the scenery is spectacular and equal to the best views in Burgundy. There are many superb B&Bs and restaurants in the Winelands. Specific wine information will be given later in the section on The Winelands. We only stayed in B&Bs that we found through a publication called The Portfolio Guide. It is published in South Africa and it has a website (www.portfoliocollection.co.za). All of the places we stayed were clean and well-appointed, had lovely views of the beach and/or mountains, helpful staff and were very inexpensive. Some proprietors were willing to cook dinner, in addition to the customary breakfast, particularly if the B&B were not near a town with restaurants. Some of the accommodations have kitchens and many have a braii, which is an outdoor BBQ grill. South Africans are fond of outdoor cooking and many grocery stores sell wood and food specifically for braii cookouts. Cape Town Area Cape Town MT NELSON HOTEL DINING ROOM-new South African cuisine, good wine list. Our meal included smoked springbok and bobotie (a Malayan stuffed roll) for appetizers and ostrich and kingklip (the fresh line fish) for main courses and melba pudding and cheese for dessert. The 1993 Meerlust Merlot was superb as was the Haute Cabriere sparkling wine. VICTORIA AND ALFRED WATERFRONT HOTEL-view overlooking the waterfront, new South African cuisine. This was actually our last meal in South Africa and I tried the thinly-sliced crocodile tail. It was similar to carpaccio, although lighter in color. Camps Bay (coastal suburb of Cape Town) VILLAMOURA RESTAURANT-Portuguese food, with a good view of the rocky Atlantic beach from the upstairs dining room. Meal consisted of grilled sardines and Portuguese vichyssoise for appetizers and cod stew and grilled kudu for main courses. Everything was very tasty. Simon’s Town BERTHA’S-overlooking the busy harbor and very near Boulders Beach where the warm-water penguins have a rookery. The atmosphere and menu is casual and our meal consists of mussels in cream sauce and fish pate for appetizers and African vegetable stew and Malay chicken for main courses. The Winelands (1-2 hours east of Cape Town) Franschhoek HAUTE CABRIERE-WINERY AND RESTAURANT. The chef is a James Beard Foundation honoree and the restaurant features the winery’s tasty sparkling wines and a brandy-fortified wine called ratafia. Meal included wild game pate, fresh mussels in cream and ravioli spring rolls. LE QUARTIER FRANCAIS—Menu included innovative vegetable dishes. Our meal included smoked tomato napoleon, butternut risotto and escalope of kudu. LA COURONNE-elegant small hotel and restaurant. The best dish on the whole trip was this restaurant’s gorgonzola souffle. Meal also included roast quail and a cheese course. (photo of dining room overlooking Franschhoek Valley) Stellenbosch LE POMMIER-similar to a roadside diner in the U.S, so the ambiance and food were not as sophisticated as the other restaurants. However, the home-cooked stew and soups were outstanding. Paarl ROGGELAND COUNTRY HOUSE—in house chef for guests, wine from many nearby vineyards. The set menu includes wonderful soups and home-made ice cream. Our 2 meals included locally-produced cheese samosa and cauliflower soup appetizers and veal on bay leaf skewer and fresh salmon trout (a local fish) for main courses. Wineries The following were ones that we enjoyed, generally for their tasty wines, but also for their setting and/or helpful staff: BACKSBERG (Merlot and chardonnay generally available in Dallas) SIMONSIG (has a lovely picnic area) (photo included) REHBOKSKLOOF L’AVENIR GLEN CARLOU (chardonnay is available in Dallas) FAIRVIEW (produces many varietals) THELEMA (recent favorable Wine Spectator write-up and the chardonnay is wonderful) DELAIRE (spectacular view) UITKYK L’ORMARINS (sauvignon blanc and red wine available in Dallas) KANONKOP (known for its red wines and available in Dallas) Generally, the red blended wines are Bordeaux-style, the chardonnays are a happy medium between California and Burgundy and the sparkling wines are varied in terms of dryness. We also visited the tasting room for Boplaas port in Calitzdorp. Calitzdorp is the center of the port producing region of the Little Karoo which is just the other side of the mountains that face the Indian Ocean. South African port is comparable to Australian ports in terms of quality. Plettenberg Bay (Indian Ocean resort town) PLETTENBERG HOTEl (Chateaux and Relais facility). Easily the most elegant of our meals and still very inexpensive. Karoo lamb, fish stew and eggplant lasagne for main courses and tomato tart and carrot/bacon soup for starters. The Hamilton Russell chardonnay was easily the best of otherwise-exceptional chardonnays that we have had. Knysna (on the Indian Ocean and part of the Garden Route) PAQUITA’S--fresh fish and pasta with spectacular patio view of Knysna Headlands overlooking the Indian Ocean. This restaurant is not elegant, but well worth the stop. Shamwari Game Park Part of ½ day tour is lunch with African specialties, e.g., oxtail stew, Afrikaaner (Boer) sausage. Do you have any questions, comments or suggestions? Email: jwdineline@aol.com Copyright © 1998 Inter Active Media Solutions. All Rights Reserved. The interactive components of this site require that you use a current browser version of Explorer; be sure to maximize your window out so you can see the entire page. This page was created by Inter Active Media Solutions.