soul union

&Union
I'm not much of a beer taster myself, but from some more experienced mouths; the beers at &Union are different from each other (who knew?) and pretty damn good. For someone who doesn't like beer, they're also a little out of my budget - but there is a discount when you buy four beers at once. &Union's an in-town brewery in Bree street under the old slave theatre (now St Stephen's church or Commonground Innercity) and a lovely little spot for those people who are always at the popular places before they become popular and over-crowded. For non-beer drinkers they also serve wine by the glass or bottle and scrumptious coffee (try the 'pa special' ice coffee), or for the purer; warm milk with honey. I haven't tried the food, but the charcuterie meats and cheeses look and smell phenom. Last night, thanks to a last minute tip-off (thanks murray and twitter), I watched the gorgeous and talented Farryl Purkiss breaking hearts with a guitar and a looping machine. Some seriously amazing stuff, but I know if I owned a looping machine I'd spend all day playing with it and no time passing medicine. Alas, I find other ways to keep me from writing reports that are due soon because Farryl's also fun to edit on Picasa (free from Google).

See their blog.

the truth about truth

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered, the point is to discover them." - Galileo Galilei

number 1 somerset road at the prestwhich memorial. tasting booth at the waterfront. district one museum. clean lines. minimalist decor.  easy vibe. simple style. warm, expert staff. delicious coffee. thick foam. no really, DELICIOUS coffee. fresh food. great little wraps for only fifteen rands. origin's biggest competitor.

and that's the straight-up truth. discover it.

ORIGIN-NIGIRO

Origin is one of those classic places in Cape Town, without which, this blog would be a joke. The home of Origin coffee and the people who are responsible for introducing this city to the ‘flat white’ is on Hudson street, near Cape Quarter. Downstairs is a masculine and warm area, perfect for a winter cup of coffee (or in summer, a coffee crush) and a catch up with a friend, while up the stairs and past the storage and barista-training areas, the space opens up to a peaceful garden of cacti, and some really weird sculptures. It’s upstairs that you’ll watch the local office workers almost queuing up for their daily fixes of the magic stuff.

Origin roasters are proud and passionate about their beans and are enthusiastic educators of anyone even slightly interested. Origin runs a barista course, which it also uses to create employment opportunities. Anywhere that Origin is sold (anywhere worth going); a home-trained barista must be employed, usually immigrants who were previously working min wage jobs.

Nigiro (origin spelt backwards) is a Japanese style teahouse stocking 140 different teas, also downstairs and completely protected from the rich coffee aroma by glass walls. Nigiro serves it’s teas in beautiful glass teapots and also runs a tea appreciation course, complete with thermometers and timers, an eye opener for presumed tea-lovers.

Origin also serves a range of bagels, croissants, etc. and delicious baked goodness. They have a daily menu and the food is scrum, but well-priced.

Like the Facebook group here.

teacups hanging from the chandeliers

Canterbury street has one of Cape Town’s ultimate night scenes (Fez, Mercury, Fiction and the renowned Assembly), but who knew it could be so busy on a Saturday morning – after 9am?

During the day, lower Canterbury is swarming with shiny happy people, the littler ones with chocolate-smudged smiles, most of them carrying ridiculously pink-striped cake boxes. For the hour that I was at Charly’s Bakery, at least fifteen ‘mucking afazing’ made-to-order cakes were collected by people planning and pulling off twenty-firsts, weddings and any other celebrations justifying a cake, really. The bakery’s charming story is painted up onto the wall of the solemn old Jewish book store, now gorgeously bright and bizarre.

The best thing to have there? The choc fudge brownies are a popular choice but only or the brave, chocolate-aficionado or those sharing. Also delicious is the cheesecake and the friendly, pink-clad staff make a good cappuccino. Or try the lumo cupcakes that literally shou "eat me". You’ll want Charly at your next event or party, or use the bakery as an excuse to host one.

this photo's courtesy bronnie bosch (and yes, it is a cake)

Totally worth driving into town for :)

contact them at  http://www.charlysbakery.co.za