Waiting for Sugar Man

If you have not seen the 2012 Academy Award winning documentary Searching for Sugar Man, rent it today!

Vince and I have become superfans of Rodriguez, the subject of the documentary, since moving to South Africa.

Rodriguez is a poet and musician who wrote, performed and recorded in the United States in the late 70's and 80's. He came very close to breaking through to stardom several times, but was never quite in the right place at the right time.

Little did he know the right place was South Africa! His music became a sensation among the youth in South Africa. But South Africa espoused apartheid and the world's governments imposed sanctions against South Africa. Which meant the country was completely cut off from communication with the outside world. Rodriguez did not know he was a hit in South Africa. Neither did his record company nor his producer nor his agent.

So he dropped out of the music business, moved to Detroit and worked when he could in construction and doing odd jobs. He also raised a couple of incredibly articulate and well-spoken daughters.

At the same time, South Africa did not know what had become of Rodriguez. There were all kinds of rumors circulating that he was dead and that he had even committed suicide on stage.

After the political landscape changed in South Africa and the country rejoined the world in the late 90's, two real Rodriguez superfans from Cape Town got an idea. They decided they would try to find out if their hero Rodriguez was still alive and performing.  He had become legendary, almost  mythical, in South Africa during the apartheid years. It became a holy quest.

The fans did find him (the story of which is documented in the film) and they managed to bring him to Cape Town in 1998 where he performed to a sold-out stadium. The audience was filled with Rodriguez's original fans from the 80's as well as their children.

I met two of them in Joburg yesterday. Mother and daughter, they had both gone to the concert together. I hope Rodriguez comes back to tour South Africa again. His new superfans want to see him live too. We are still Waiting for Sugar Man!

Heritage Weekend in Joburg: Joburg's got soul!

I have a thing about antiques, historic properties and anything vintage. I love 'em. They are more than just things because they have soul.

In the USA, we were surrounded by soul.  We lived in several designated landmark districts and owned a few historic homes over the years, including one that was a former Jersey shore guest house and one that served as a train station in the early 19th century.

Aly with the Mustang @ the Mantoloking 4th of July Parade

We drove several vintage automobiles too including one cherry red 1965 Ford Mustang. We still own a 1973 Ford Bronco which currently resides in Missouri in our friend Ric's barn. Vince constantly flirts with the idea of shipping it over here and taking it on safari. I admit that with its open roll top, stainless steel body, multiple gas tanks, and all-wheel drive, it is the ideal safari vehicle. But with the new plastic rhino horn on its hood and gun-metal grey exterior, I am afraid it might be mistaken for a female black rhino by some notoriously near-sighted bull, so No Go!

But now that you I mention it, the 1955 Chris Craft Runabout boat we ran about on Barnegat Bay would fit right in on the lake at the Transvaal Yacht Club.

I still own a treasure trove of vintage and antique jewelry and clothing that's now safely in storage along with our antique furniture, china and housewares, and cases of vintage wine. I even like my entertainment on the vintage side. I love old movies and I like to see them in old movie houses too!

So you can imagine how disappointed I was with the modern and brand-spanking-new architectural landscape I found when I first got to Joburg last December to look for a place for us to live. The northern suburbs where I was being shown apartments and houses are pretty much devoid of anything old or authentic. I realize Joburg was only developed after gold was found here in 1886 and that the northern suburbs were not even a part of the early settlement, but I was still unprepared for the "lack of African soul" I found in the Sandton area.

With names like The Michelangelo and Oxford Mews, apartment buildings are built to look like they should be in Italy, Fiji, South Florida or Jolly Old England. Anyplace but in Africa. Not even colonial Africa. The malls and office buildings are all sleek and modern ... and not in a good NYC way. Oh well, I thought, if I can get used to the high desert landscape, I could get used to the sanitary architectural landscape too.

Heritage Walking Tour

Since then of course I have ventured out of the "great northern void" and have found much more interesting buildings and historic areas. Thanks to the walking tours I've done with JoburgPlaces, Past Experiences and Main Street Walks, I have not only seen some wonderful buildings and neighborhoods but have learned their legends and interesting historical significance.

Joburg's got soul alright and plenty of it!

And this weekend we saw even more evidence of Joburg's rich architectural history. It was Heritage Weekend and we celebrated by visiting some incredible areas and buildings in Parktown and West Cliff through the Heritage Foundation's special heritage walks. (Yes I joined the Heritage Foundation too, so I will never be lonely for old buildings again!)

We concentrated on the walking tours and buildings associated with the legendary architect Sir Herbert Baker. Born in Kent and educated at Oxford in England, Sir Herbert Baker was the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, 1892 to 1912.

Among the many churches, schools and houses he designed in South Africa are the Union Buildings in Pretoria, St. Johns College in Johannesburg, Wynberg Boys School in Cape Town as well as Groote Schuur, Cecil John Rhodes' remodeled house on the slopes of Table Mountain in Cape Town and the Champagne Homestead and Rhodes Cottage on the historic seventeenth century estate Boschendal between Franschhoek and Stellenbosch. With Edward Lutyens, Baker was even instrumental in designing the city of New Delhi, India. And he designed Rhodes University which I recently visited in Grahamstown.

embarking on the Northwards tour

In fact, examples of Baker's buildings are found all over Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia with a fine concentration right here in the Joburg suburbs of Parktown and West Cliff where he resided for many years.

Our first tour on Saturday was the Foundation's "Northwards to The Stonehouse" tour which took us to two of Sir Herbert's most emblematic buildings in Joburg. Northwards is the romantic home he designed for Sir John Dale Lace and his enchanting wife Jose.  He designed and built The Stonehouse for himself and his family.

The second day we toured the beautiful architecture and gardens of the Pallinghurst and Valley Roads in  Parktown and West Cliff. Many of the owners were at home when we toured and they graciously gave us access inside their homes as well. Some of the owners were just as interesting as their residences too. The current owner of Ye Rokkes for instance had a children's television show in the 80's which featured marionettes which she created and had on display in her home's marionette theater. Like our Kukla, Fran and Ollie, the show was a favorite among Joburg children. In fact, some of the Joburgers who were on the tour remembered watching her show as children.

Northwards' gardens designed by Gertrude Gekyll!

 portrait of Jose Dale Lace in the drawing room

The Stonehouse

The Stonehouse's beautiful gardens

Baker's signature belled roof line

Baker's Kentish brickwork over the window

Baker's signature chimney at St. Margaret's

whoops! a northern hemisphere sundial does not work
in the southern hemisphere!

the historic roads of West Cliff and Parktown

Ye Rokkes

another Baker locally quarried stone design

owner of Ye Rokkes is a  local celebrity

beautiful staircase inside Ye Rokkes

billiard room-turned-marionette theater inside Ye Rokkes

beautiful cliff view

Tudor Ridge

say Cheers to Lord Milner with a G & T at Sunnyside

A perfect way to end Heritage Weekend - and a couple of days of walking tours - was to stop by the Sunnyside Park Hotel for a gin and tonic. The hotel was formerly the home of Lord Milner when he resided in Johannesburg. Milner was the first Governor of the Transvaal. Cheers, Lord Milner!

Give me Downton

The BBC has been broadcasting Season 3 of Downton Abbey in South Africa since early August.

I of course got super excited about this because I assumed it could only mean one thing. This rebroadcast was a precursor to Season 4 which would premiere in South Africa in September at the same time as the UK!

As you may or may not know, Downton Abbey is broadcast in the USA on PBS in January - almost four months after premiering in the UK - causing all kinds of British-American unrest. Well mostly American unrest since apparently the British stopped caring about us ever since we revolted in 1776. Way to hold a grudge, UK.


But I recently found out the horrible truth. Season 3 is being broadcast now in South Africa for the first time! Wha what? That is correct. A full seven months after the USA and eleven months after its premiere in the UK.

Four months is one thing. It is almost quaint ... like queuing. But eleven months? An outrage!

Once the truth settled in, I decided I would have to take matters into my own hands and get my technical man on the case. Vince is going to have to come up with a way to get Downton Abbey in September when the damn redcoats get it. Stream it. Hulu it. Get up on a thatched roof and steal it from the sky with coat hanger rabbit ears. I don't care. Just get it.

Give me Downton or give me death. It is 1776 all over again. Only with better reception.

Cronut Fever spreads to Jozi

The Cronut is the New York version

I finally made my way over to Belle's Patisserie in the nearby Bluebird Shopping Centre to see what the fuss was about this summer back in ol' New York. Little late on this, even by Jozi standards, but I've been busy. By the way if I was still in NY, even with my hectic schedule, I would have been one of the first on line. My how things have changed! Yet even further proof of my Type ZA transformation.

The Cronut was all the rage in the NY pastry world after it was introduced there in May at the Dominique Ansel Bakery in Soho (sigh, Soho.) A marriage between a sugar glazed doughnut and a buttery French croissant, need I say more? Seriously decadent and the germ responsible for the NY epidemic of Cronut Fever.

The idea went viral, quickly spreading copycat versions around the city and the country. 

The Crois-Nut is the Joburg version

Now a pandemic, the fever made it across the Atlantic and the equator to Joburg with the introduction of Belle's CroisNut in August.
 
A few copycats have sprouted up in Joburg too since August, but Belle’s Patisserie was the first and reputed to still have the best in the city so I checked theirs out first. 






I am told that Dominique Ansel presents a different flavor every month and sells only that flavor that month. Belle had a selection of four different flavors. A plain Croisnut. One that is filled with custard. A strawberry-filled and iced Croisnut. And a chocolate-iced and caramel-filled one. We bought one of each.

Once you bite into the "plain" version, you get it. Butter. Sweet sweet butter. It is what has been missing from the donut all along. You just didn't know it. In the end, the plain one is actually the one I preferred out of all of them. The buttery taste is somewhat absorbed in the others by the dominating flavors of strawberry, custard and chocolate. Even though the bigger flavors are enhanced by the butter - let's face it, butter makes everything better - I still think the croissant buttery taste is good all by its lonesome.

Don't know if the Croisnut is as good as the original Soho creation, but it was pretty darn good! Will have to wait a little longer to taste test the original. In the meantime I may have to eat a few more here to truly imprint the taste in my memory.

The Mother of all Pick n Pays

I took a Cultural Cooking class this morning courtesy of the International Women's Club of Johannesburg. Not so much because I necessarily need any more recipes to add to my bulging pile of recipes to try. No. I signed up because it was held at the Good Food Studio in the Mother of all Pick n Pays, the stand-alone Pick n Pay on the corner of William Nicol and Republic.

I pass it all the time on my way to and fro and to be honest, it kind of scared me. It is truly humongous. Like the size of a Super Walmart or Costco or Home Depot in the States. Most of the Pick n Pays I am familiar with are located in malls and shopping centers and are normal size supermarkets. This one is the size of an entire shopping center or mall all by itself. A Pick n Pay-a-saurus Rex.

I figured I would never go there as a part of my regular marketing. My corner market supplemented by stops at the organic and specialty markets work just fine for us. We do not need that much food on hand in general unless we are having a braai or a dinner party for friends. Vince travels alot and it's usually just moi during the week anyway and we eat out several times on the weekends.

The good news about the Pick n Pay-a-saurus is that the parking there is free. I never even saw a parking guard to tip. I was having flashbacks to the good ol' days of food shopping in the suburbs of New Jersey. And I admit, it really did have a much wider range of offerings than my local Pick n Pay.

P.S. the cooking class was good too. And I may have my menu for Thanksgiving - Pork Fillet in Balsamic Vinegar and Horseradish Sauce, Crushed Sweet Potato with Ginger and Green Runner Beans on the side, and a Pear, Pecan and Prune Salad with a Gingered Port Dressing. And for dessert, a Hot Chocolate and Coffee Fondant with Hazelnut Praline Ice Cream.

Not traditional I know, but living in Joburg we are well out of the bounds of the tradition gods.

Happy Spring! Music in the Gardens

Cape Town's Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens has its famous Sunday night summer concerts - can't wait for next season - and Joburg has its own version as well, the Old Mutual Music Concert series at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens.

And this Sunday we went there to hear one of Joburg's hottest bands Prime Circle play as Spring was sprung. A blanket, a picnic (trout caviar, beetroot hummus and peppadew hummus, fresh cheese and sliced baguettes straight from the new Norwood Market), some delicious South African wine, good conversation and great open air music. What a perfect way to welcome the season in style!

Vince with our group watching the show from under a tree

cheese, caviar & hummus spreads from the Norwood Market

Happy Spring!

Encore

Norwood Rooftop Market Grand Opening

Ever since the Rosebank Rooftop Market closed without warning in April we had been hoping it would reopen soon ... either in Rosebank or at the very least, in a new home somewhere else in Jozi.

And today it did when the new Rooftop Market made its debut at the Norwood Mall!

We checked it out to see if our favorite merchants also made the transition. And for the most part they did too.

The new space is nice and bright and spacious!

Vince's coffee man was there. Hooray!

So was the etched glass guy (finally ordered Vince's Big Five-etched whiskey glasses for Fathers Day.)

And the ostrich egg jewelry lady was there too.

Our Sunday ritual is back!