Avanti coffee is about to make its debut on the Coffee Route and is being promoted and distributed by Caterware. It is produced and blended using high altitude shade grown Arabica beans.

Not what I would have expected to find on offer to the Thesen Island set but once again a nice touch from Ile de pain. These days it is difficult to know what is and what isn’t a good coffee. One runs the gauntlet of knowing looks, nodding heads and rolling eyes and most of the coffee connoisseurs I know haven’t the faintest idea what good coffee should taste like. And now, its coffee and condensed milk. Ca-phe nau nong, an honest brew which is the stock in trade of street vendors across SE Asia and if there is anything that should blow all that intellectual snobbery right out of the window this is it. Or will it? But at least I have found what I really do like, a shot of strong coffee sitting comfortably on a bed of condensed milk.

I stopped at Cafe François at the Scarab Village on my way through to the airport on Sunday. I had the last of the club steaks and whilst it was not melt in the mouth tender it actually tasted real. The way steaks are supposed to taste. A healthy lump of meat, a hint of sinew here and there and juicy fat. One that require a sharp steak knife and a certain amount of dexterity to work it all off the bone. It was tasty and good honest food. Nothing fancy, not politically correct, nothing pretentious about it at all. Just good honest fare which I grudgingly ordered after finding out that there was no Middle Eastern lamb sandwich which I normally do. It also came a poor third to the lamb roast which I favour on Sunday on the odd occasion we get across there on the weekend and which they didn’t have either.

This then got me to thinking about restaurants that are difficult to forget. I was having coffee with Tanya from Workshop Interiors who started up and ran Ouzeri (sp) in Joburg. I must have been one of her very first clients at the time and unfortunately the restaurant became so very successful I soon ran out of tables. However one thing led to another and this started me thinking about the trinchado and calamari stew at a Palahota in what I think was Claim St. Then there was Braai & Bake in Maritzburg the Pie Cart and a little coffee shop in a side road that did mushroom and bacon rolls. Cape Town for me is still wet misty nights at the Harbour Cafe on the docks, the little trattoria that did a bubbling lasagna and the Magic Sandwich in Sea Point which always had a sign outside saying “Gone to the beach” or “Gone fishing” and finally “Gone away”. Not forgetting the Brass Bell and Kalkies in the Kalk Bay harbour. There was the Greek in RockySt, the Mom and Pop Italian in Corlett Dive, the Fishmonger in Grayston, the Tent in Rivonia and Georges Chicken at the cafe at the Bryanston shops. The roast beef rolls on the mezzanine floor at Sandton City, crostinni at the Italian at the top of Rivonia, Tapas on Thesen island and the Unplugged Kitchen in Broederstroom. Finally there was the Hartford Hotel and an informal German country restaurant out at Lanseria where I learnt to enjoy spatzlie.

Does one still find those sort of restaurants today? Where can you get good honest food besides Cafe Francois?

A bell jangles and the double Dekker steel bridge across the canal pivots on one end, coming to attention to allow the tall- masted Catamaran entrance to the Quay side town house complex. Those of us who live in Knysna are not unduly surprised by the opening of the bridge or the majestic entrance of the beautiful yacht, but the visitors, to Knysna and the waterfront, have a field day with their cameras.

The comfortable chairs at Mario’s are close enough to the water to allow the patrons to reach out and all but touch the yacht as it passes, makes a graceful turn, and comes to rest against the adjoining quay.

The Knysna Waterfront Shops, restaurants, and the Knysna Quays residential area, are relatively new additions to the attractions that draw thousands of visitors, from all corners of the globe, to Knysna.

The lazy, relaxed atmosphere is spiked by the aromas of fresh sea food and other culinary delights and there is no better place to find a seat than at Mario’s where you can slowly scrutinise the menu. The anticipation of tasting a delectably chilled, never before tasted white wine, or a red that hints at chocolate and nuts, gets the saliva working. Your nose is engaged in an intricate duet or quartet with the fragrances wafting from the kitchen. Fragrances that then mingle with the crisp sea air and entice other passing tourists.

You some how manage to make a choice, while your memory conjures up the nuances of taste, texture, and pleasure, associated with the descriptions of the dishes that are on offer.

The meal or dish is more than pleasing. All your senses jostle for position while the entire experience is being embedded in your memory, for reference in the conversations you will have once you are back home with friends or family.

You linger, sipping Irish coffee or some other exquisite extension to the pleasures that your palate has already experienced, and it is almost a sadness to rise and reluctantly bid farewell to the smiling owner and his courteous staff.

Like the tide, you will be back, to extend the pleasures experienced at Mario’s. Its more often the not the restaurant of choice for most locals and that in Knysna says a lot.

Our contributing author Peter Dijkstra runs a workshop offering services which include freelance copy writers and journalists as well as……..property for sale in the Garden Route

If you enjoy a new and uber stylish hot spot restaurant to frequent for a business or pleasure breakfast or lunch meal – allow Lunar cafe to catch your attention, you will be drawn to a new favourite getaway from the usual places in and around town, positioned at the end of Thesen Harbour Town, where parking is ample.

Lunar cafe’s menu has been chosen by the owner and the chef. You will find the food is an unusual fusion, with large portions of Fish-cake salad and Lamb-knuckle fettucini pasta being served at lunch, to name only two of my favourites, gourmet burgers also caught my eye. Their poached eggs laid on a bed of spinach topped with smoked salmon would get me up early to start my busy day. Also please try their quality brand coffee as there are no coffee restraints and coffee is something they pride in serving, so pop in for a cafe late if that’s all that tickles your fancy, they serve home-made biscotti on the side too and freshly baked cakes are adorned on the bar area in large glass holders for you to view – for all sweet tooth people : take note.

Lunar is open every week day from 8am til 6pm, the evenings by special request only, but open on a Friday and Saturday for dinner or after-work cocktails and drinks to begin your weekend and what a hip place to be seen on a Friday… See you there!

(*edit*) Kai Coffee is no more. It was supposed to open in Grey St but never did
(*edit*) The owners of what was Kai Coffee are back at “agape”, 4 Grey street. Go check it out.
If you enjoy a freshly made cappacinno or “flat-white” coffee while you shop for your home furniture and decor or tiles, carpets, decking and flooring, one-stop shop style, then you should definitely visit Absolute Home Decor, in the Knysna Industrial area, on the corner of Vigilence & Waenhoud Rd.

Kai coffee shop is run by the owners of Inside Living, who are German-imported kitchen suppliers, found under the same roof as the Absolute Home Decor showroom. Choose their warm leather sofa or outdoor tables and benches by a water feature and large ferns, to sip your ordered chai tea or quality strong coffee and nibble on a freshly baked gourmet muffin or sandwhich and please try their absolutely delicious carrot cake topped with fruit and large seeds. And they are also famous for a so-called chocolate brownie, which in my baking opinion is more like a chocolate meringue brownie, which slowly melts in your mouth… different but gets both thumbs right perking up.

Lately the sun has been inviting for late morning and early afternoon tea & coffee breaks, you can certainly enjoy these & service at Kai and attain your quotes for your home interiors too – perfect combination to make your sometimes agonizing home specification a more laid-back experience, a very good idea and something new to the Knysna retail scene.

Kai Coffee shop has used the retail market to their advantage and once you have tried and tested their way of life you will certainly be back for more.

Based in Johannesburg Big Talk are specialists in the South African music and entertainment industry. They are professional experienced Entertainment Consultants who will create entertainment concepts to suite any theme or function. They represent and handle all the major as well as the new up and coming performing artists in South Africa arranging bookings, produce, stage and choreograph dance and cabaret shows as well arrange fashion, social and corporate events.

Big Talk have grown with the local entertainment industry and irrespective of whether you are looking for swing bands in South Africa or Classical performing artists in South Africa they can not book the artists but they offer their years of experience as professional organisers and event coordinators. They specialise in Celebrity speakers in South Africa, can book Denim live for you or introduce you to Kwaito in South Africa .

South Africa’s Grandfather, or better known as Tata, enjoyed a special day on the 18 July 2008, the day the world saw Nelson Mandela celebrating his 90th Birthday with his family, smiling from ear to ear and wearing one of his famous bright shirts. Mandela continued to share generously his words of great wisdom with high spirits to all invited to be apart of his celebration. He gave no speech on the day and instead made the best decision to take the day “off” to indulge in the pleasures that were organised for him, we can only imagine the musical maestros, chefs, flowers, friends, family and everything else flown in for his once in a lifetime milestone party.

We, as fellow South Africans and humanitarians, are forever thankful for every year that Nelson remains apart of our lives. Madiba has become our icon in every aspect of strength, peace, kindness, honesty and love, a true teacher and student of life, he has made available the implementation of change, the ability to honour the novelity of living in a “rainbow nation” side by side and opening up our hearts and homes to the belief that our countries history is worth more than just words – he was the first person to give us HOPE ~ the long walk home… let’s not forget that Madiba gave us back our right to take part in international events like the Olympics and Rugby World Cup tournaments, being an apartheid country previously, South Africa was banned from taking part in these events.

Madiba, from all us bloggers out there, we wish you and your family the happiest year filled with love, momentus memories and wildest dreams come true. For those of us who have had the priveledge of meeting you, me included, or not, we are blessed to be apart of your country you rebuilt and apart of the world you have moved in so many ways, you remain timeless.
God Bless Tata.

Who did not catch the “Knysna Oyster Festival Bug”? I have heard from many people that the rife “Bug”, which spread as fast as a viral flu, was caused from eating local cultivated Oysters… true or false as the statement may be, most people have been so bed ridden that the the only thought available was for the closest bucket or toilet bowl – gippo guts, runny tummies and total nausea were the majority share holders of our lives for 2 or 3 days, sometimes even just 24 hours. So where does the history of the bug begin we are wondering? Was it’s ancestors originated from Gauteng 2 months ago and brought down by a vaalie holidaymaker or was the awful bug moulded and brewed in our homegrown soil? Watch this space for more info as we unfold the mystery of the Knysna Oyster Festival Bug!