Atlanta etc.: Marilyn Wolf's Food Blog and Restaurant Blog

My friend Shuvra contributes this guest blog from Cape Town where we both attended the same conference. Afrika Bites at Victoria Waterfront. Victoria Waterfront in Cape Town contains a large food court and market called V&A Food Market. The multi-story building is filled with stalls providing inexpensive but very nice snacks, and meals of many varieties (African varieties, Thai, Hungarian, and various others). On my last day on this visit to Cape Town, I had lunch from one of these stalls, called Afrika Bites. Afrika Bites serves South African style dishes, including wraps, burgers, and stews. I chose the beef stew with "pap" balls. Pap is a "is a traditional porridge/polenta made from mielie-meal (coarsely ground maize) and a staple food of the Bantu peoples of Southern Africa" (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugali on 10/25/2018). The dish contained a very generous serving of beef, and was very tasty. The staff patiently introduced me to the various opt...

Our conference enjoyed a very good show and dinner at Gold on the waterfront in Cape Town. The show opened with a display of drumming and a chance for the entire audience to drum together. A hundred drums played at once, even by unskilled people, is a truly impressive experience. This is a touristy experience but one that I enjoyed and appreciated. South Africa's economy attracts people from all across Africa so a pan-African show makes sense. The food was great, too. South African cuisine shows influences from all over the region as well as local ingredients and techniques.