Shrewd Food – Page 3 – Smart takes on food, coffee & service

FLORIDA ROAD: WALKING THE URBAN LANDSCAPE

A whimsical take on Florida Road. Picture courtesy Urban Lime

Hello Future! Florida Road is being transformed, restored and regenerated. Well, that’s the plan anyway. Ingrid Shevlin discovers what Urban Lime (and a few others) have in mind for this iconic area, destined to become Durban’s high street. Expect an explosionof restaurants.

Jonny and Katie Friedman are the powerhouses behind Urban Lime. On their website they describe the company as “an innovative commercial property regeneration company that transforms and regenerates urban landscapes that have fallen out of fashion into vibrant communities for people, business and enterprise to thrive.”
And that’s no boast. They own and are rejuvenating more properties in Florida Road than any other developer. An impressive number I discovered after Katie took myself, fellow journalist Frank Chemaly and two young food entrepreneurs looking for restaurant space, for a walk up and down Florida Road. The aim was to not only view their properties, but learn their plans for those still undergoing regeneration and renovation. In other words, loads of changes, but not of the skyscape. Urban Lime is, as they say, all about restoring. Not destroying iconic and historic buildings.
Of course you can’t own that many properties and be that powerful and escape criticism on a range of issues. Like accusations of high rents, or disapproval of their plans for the Florida Road of tomorrow, or suggestions they are favouring chains and franchises over the “little guys”.

Food News

HAPPY FOOD

Expect only top quality artisanal food, baked goods, organic produce and upmarket shopping at The Market at Ballito’s Lifestyle Centre, a haven and heaven for foodies. By Ingrid Shevlin

Juices that are organic, cold-pressed and seasonal is Juice Kitchen’s promise.

Communal eating at The Market

Olives galore at The Market

ONE-STOP food markets are hardly new. But here’s one with a difference. A market that focuses on organic products, quality artisanal food and homegrown restaurants. So, no KFC, no Domino pizzas. No McDonalds. No Starbucks. Sure, there’s a place for those chains, just not at The Market, a permanent fixture at the Ballito Lifestyle Centre taking up 1600 m² of retail space.
This is no flea market with imported tat. Instead it’s a sophisticated food paradise offering home-grown, local and community-based food and produce. And it is, right now, the only indoor artisanal food market trading seven days a week in South Africa.
Impressive.

Food News

SWEET DELIGHTS

SUGAR AND SPICE AND ALL THINGS NICE

Fig and cinnamon pavlova

Pistachio and raspberry roulade

When they say .. if you only buy one book, buy this one. It’s true in the case of Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (Ebury Press). It’s that good.

I love, love, love this book. I’ve bought tons of baking books over the years, from modest little books compiled to raise money for charities, to James Martin’s fabulous Sweet (totally weird that it has the same title). Martin’s book is so beautiful and so glossy I was content to perv over the exquisite photography rather than actually bake anything.
But Ottolenghi’s Sweet is different. Yes, it’s also beautiful to look at, but not only are the baked treats desirable, delectable-sounding and different, I wanted to make them. And I felt the recipes were within my capabilities. When I want to bake something delicious, I don’t want to spend hours doing so.

Restaurants

FISH AND WHINE

Fish & Wine interior shot with the a ship’s hull suspended from the ceiling

King prawns

The Fish & Wine Co
Shop B9, The Pearls
7 McCausland Cres, Umhlanga
Call 031 941 6896

Must go down to the sea again …. or not. A seafood tasting evening that ran the full gamut of the good, the bad and the okay. By Ingrid Shevlin

Fish & Wine is a brand new seafood restaurant in The Pearls. The interior space is expansive, the terrace section is expansive. The decor is cool and contemporary. Clean and lean, in fact. Loved the ship’s hull suspended from the ceiling. Frank Chemaly, who was dining with me, joked that it made him feel like Jonah, who was swallowed by a whale to prevent him drowning. A bible parable, sweetie. Clearly in joking mood, he also quipped that the & part of Fish & Wine looked like in “S”, reading Fish Swine. We all laughed.
Fish & Wine is linked to Willoughby & Co, popular seafood restaurants in Hyde Park and Cape Town. For one brief, heady moment I thought it would be a cut above the other restaurants in The Pearls, distinguishable only by their mediocrity. Apart from Cafe La Plage that is, which offers some interesting flavours – and gold plastic toilets and gilded thrones in the lounge area. So, pretty memorable.
But it was not to be with Fish & Wine. Even though it came recommended. Even though it had rave reviews on its Facebook page.

Food News

CROAK CROAK, THE FAT FROG HAS LANDED

From left, Claire Allan, Jenny Clarke and barista Siyanda Sibulawa. Her prize frog is to the right of the picture. It doubles as the tip jar.

Jenny Clarke and Claire Allan are rightly proud of their new venture, a bakery and coffee shop. By Ingrid Shevlin

The Fat Frog Kitchen and Coffee Shop in Windermere road has been open for only two days when I pop in to chat to Jenny Clarke and Claire Allan about their new venture. For Jenny, The Bee-Sting Cake Queen, and Claire, who offers fresh and frozen takeaway meals, it’s a brave and bold move.
Previously Jenny had operated out of a tiny kitchen at Antique Cafe, Claire from home. Now they were in the big league with spacious commercial premises, which include a large kitchen and a charmingly rustic coffee shop. Here customers can sip their coffee while enjoying Jenny’s delicious baked goods.
Jenny and Claire have such a large following that our interview is constantly interrupted by visitors. It’s all air kisses, oohing and aahing. They may be the newest kid on the block, but the word is out. Jenny and Claire are open for business.