It's all Greek in Rosebank's Kuzina

Had dinner with my bookclub at Kuzina, a new Greek spot that opened in the Firs Rosebank not too long ago. I have been to Greece and feel that I do have a penchant for life on an island surrounded by blue waters coupled with a great dose of sun. From that perspective the blues, whites and beige in Kuzina was absolutely welcoming.

I started with pita bread and dip platter, no it is not gratis which is what I was asked by one of the girls who arrived late. Soft pita bread topped with hummus and creamy yet ever so slightly tart tzatziki. Then also the spicy feta with chilli dip was a great suprise that was offset by the mild melitzano salata that has aurbergine and peppers.

So far I'm feeling very very Greek. Then I do choose to diverge and have a not so greek Pimms cup thast comes in a wonderful glass, nothing makes me feel more on holiday than Pimms with lemonade, ginger ale and cucumber of course.

Next up was the mains and I decide to go for two sets of meze, the octopus and prawns saganaki. Now the octopus is grilled and served with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and origanum. The olive oil is just lovely you can taste that it's top good quality olive oil, the octopus is crispy and chewy which I was not expecting. At this point I start to wonder whether I made a bad menu choice or whether I'm not that into Greek after all.

The prawns saganaki  is prawns and mussels in a tomato sauce topped with feta and touch of garlic. Anyone who knows me knows a touch of garlic is not enough, so I found the mild flavours of the dish a bit bland, I mean it was tasty but I like tasty and punchy.

The watermelon salad with mint and feta was wonderfully refreshing with it's very own dollop of olive oil, I think I do do Greek food after all!

 

I ended my meal with Greek Coffee Glikos (means sweet) of course. Just the kick I needed before the rest of my night began. That cup of coffee with the bit of sediment settled at the bottom really took me back to Greece, the only thing that would've been more successful at that is Uzzo OPA!

Here's the question; is the love of Hummus, Tzatziki and Taramo Salata enough?

But all this wondering was offset by my highlight of the night seeing Tasha, yes Tasha's Tasha, enjoying a dinner with her girlfriends there. So I will go back just to work on my Greek sensibilities and perhaps do a bit of people spotting.

http://www.kuzina.co.za/index1.html

Fancy a Quickie in the Motherland

I happened (as I always do lol) to be in the new edition to Rosebank, a quaint slightly upmarket mall next to the Firs and in much need of a coffee. As it was after all only 09:00am. I must admit that I was on route to Vida e Caffe when I stumbled across Motherland Coffee, how american of them *chuckle*

The first thing I notice was the cubano/latin ambient music, but I figured it must be an Angolan or Mozambiquan rendition, which is still the Motherland after all Hallelujah! can I get an AMEN! *double chuckle* What I was pleased to learn is that the coffee is an all African blend of Ethiopan Sidamo and Rwandan Kivu.

I choose their Vanilla that morning which is a mild and milky vanilla latte. Lucky for them I like my coffee mild.

While they don't have the finesse of Seattle Coffee Company or the enthusiasm of Vida e Caffe, there is something very earthy and alluring about Motherland that will have me going back for another cup. Even if it is their comfortable couch nook!

http://www.motherlandcoffee.com/

Midweek Bellinis

Had lunch at an old favourite last week, Bellinis in Illovo.
We (my mum, brother and his girlfriend) arrive just before the lunch rush on a rainy Joburg day. If you go to Bellinis you have no option but to order their Fillet. Well let me be clear it's not that you have no other option so much as you have limited options because they have a small menu, but their fillet is top noch so anything else that could have been on the menu won't be missed.

I ended  up going for the fillet, egg and chips which is one of my favourite favourite meals (yes I do have a very hearty appetite). The steak is cooked to perfection medium to slightly rare is the way I like it, lightly seasoned topped with an over easy egg and a side of thin crispy french fries. The fillet was absolutely tender and juicy, with a slight iron taste (those who like their meat medium to rare know exactly what taste I mean) and wonderfully seasoned with salt and pepper Perfection. I must admit the fries were a tad too crispen for me and they didn't do pre-salting. Nevertheless it is still the kind of meal you'd want on a rainy day.

The food was good, however it seemed a bit like the chef made half our table's orders together, took a quick break and had them served then proceeded to make the orders for the other half of our table. I'm polite but when faced with a juicy fillet and a bursting yolk egg, I hate having to wait for everyone else's food to arrive.
As Bellinis fills up you realise how small it is, which reminded my family of the New York spaces slightly tightly packed although it would be considered somewhat spacious by New York standards.

All in all, it was a lovely midweek lunch. So if ever you are looking for a new yet very established restaurant to have a steak, try Bellinis! But beware you may need a quick nap after, as I found out at my desk in one of my more embarrassing incidents. Next time I'll go for dinner instead.

http://bellinis.co.za/bellinis-menu.asp