Shrewd Food

A little piece of France in the heart of Greenside,

There is a little corner of Paris in Greenside, where you can sip your coffee and sink your teeth into an authentic French pastry and let life roll by, writes Andrew Brouard 

Patisserie de Paris
9 Mackay Avenue
Blairgowrie
Call 011 3260913

 Shelley’s idea of hell was
“A populous and a smoky city;
There are all sorts of people undone,
And there is little or no fun done;
Small justice shown, and still less pity.”
Out-of-towners might agree this description suits Joburg, but I love my adopted home town. Even in winter.
Yes, the vegetation dies back and the city is all buff in brown, but here are still places of natural beauty as you will see in the accompanying photo, taken on a walk through Delta Park.
I’m old Joburg. I’m not keen on the newer suburbs like D(r)ainfern and Fourways, with their alienation of pedestrians and fortified Afro-Tuscan villages. I prefer suburbs like Greenside, Parkview and Parktown with their parks, sidewalk cafés and 80-year old houses, where residents still walk their streets.
From Greenside I’ve established a network of locals. It’s five minutes to Franco’s trattoria, 10 minutes to the Corner Cafe or the Fat Zebra. If I cross the boerewors curtain it’s east to the Fisherman’s Plate in Cyrildene or south to Parreirinha in Rosettenville.