We started our Iberian excursion with a photograph of this statue, taken in 1971
Don Quixote is still questing in 2018
This has been a bit of a
restaurant week for us. We have visited three restaurants and enjoyed each one
and each has a different style. We are coming close to the end of our Iberian
trip and show you Toledo and Madrid this week.
We have written frequently about the challenges presented by the drought that has afflicted us for the last year. There is some good news. It has just been announced, perhaps a bit irresponsibly, that our dams have enough water to carry us through the next year. It has to be remembered that they are still, on average, less than half full and the coming summer will be dry, as always. The biggest dam, Theewaterskloof, is at only just over 30%. We have become inured to responsible use of water, and we need to keep the good habits. The Western Cape will always face a challenge of balancing water supply and consumption
Iona tasting before supper at Hussar Grill, Camps Bay
At one of the recent trade wine tastings we met the manager of the Camps Bay Hussar Grill and he invited us to one of their regular Monday evening guided wine tastings - a different wine farm presents the tasting each week. You can phone and ask to attend should you be in the area. They start at 6.30 and you need to book. They can only accommodate 35 people. Our invitation was also for dinner afterwards. The Hussar Grill is up Camps Bay Drive, and not on the sea front. We were welcomed at the bar…
Supper at The Indian Oven, Hout Bay
We are always on the hunt for good authentic Indian food - and we do mean Indian from the sub continent, not Cape Malay or Durban curries (which we like) but Indian is our favourite. Lynne's 27 years in London made her a firm fan and John is also very keen. Friends who live in Hout Bay kept raving about their local so, as we were in the neighbourhood, we decided to give The Indian Oven a try. It is at No.18 on Main Road, the road that leads to Chapman's Peak Hotel and thence Chapman's Peak Drive. Up a few steps, it is one of a few shops in this row. We found parking outside. It only took us 20 minutes to drive through from Sea Point and there is a bus route as well, so we might take the bus for lunch another time…
MENU's Iberian Exploit 13. Toledo
It is so great when a plan comes together and it did on May Day. We had booked our AirBnB in Toledo in what looked like a central place and boy was it ever. A mansion block on a main road with a lift to the large and comfortable apartment which was just 300 meters from the escalator that takes you up the steep hill to the old town. There was safe, free parking in the area too, near the local park. Once we were settled in, it was time for some lunch and our landlord recommended this local restaurant, Reconquista. It was a Public Holiday, so many places in the area were closed…
MENU's Iberian Exploit 14. Madrid
Our final stop in Spain was Madrid and we had no idea how much this city had grown. Put it in the same bracket as London and New York - it is vast. We had to exit the motorway half an hour before we even saw the City and enter a rather daunting series of ring roads to get to our AirBnB, which was on the other side of the city. We had purposely booked somewhere on the outskirts as it had good rail connections to the city and we had no desire to drive into the centre. Probably one of the nicest places we booked on our tour, it was a small apartment attached to a large house with a kitchen, diner, lounge, bedroom and our own sheltered courtyard. It was a sunny courtyard some of the time, as we were still being plagued by Europe's very wet and chilly Spring! The owners are English and Dutch, so communication was no problem and they were very friendly and helpful. They have lived in Spain for many years…
We had this as a starter in Madrid and it was one of the best dishes we ate while we were travelling. Lynne was determined to make it here, so it was tonight’s supper. You do need the ripest, most flavourful tomatoes you can find. If you don’t eat fish, you might like to substitute the tuna with hard-boiled egg, or small diced and browned in olive oil aubergine or courgette cubes. See the whole recipe here
is one of the wines we tasted at the Hussar Grill this week. From Iona in Elgin, it has just been released. It is a blend of 57% Shiraz, 15% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 7% Mataro (aka Mourvedre) & 3% Viognier, made by winemaker Werner Muller. See more…
28th June 2018
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
Phones: +27 21 439 3169 / 083 229 1172 / 083 656 4169
Postal address: 60 Arthurs Rd, Sea Point 8005
Recommendations of products and outside events are not solicited or charged for, and are made at the authors’ pleasure. All photographs, recipes and text used in these newsletters and our blogs are © John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus. Our restaurant reviews are usually unsolicited. We prefer to pay for our meals and not be paid in any way by anyone. Whether we are invited or go independently, we don’t feel bad if we say we didn’t like it. Honesty is indeed our best policy. While every effort is made to avoid mistakes, we are human and they do creep in occasionally, for which we apologise. This electronic journal has been sent to you because you have personally subscribed to it or because someone you know has asked us to send it to you or forwarded it to you themselves. Addresses given to us will not be divulged to any person or organisation. We collect them only for our own promotional purposes. If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please click here to send us a message and if you wish to be removed from our mailing list
No comments:
Post a Comment