Feast-ive Season

It’s that time of the year again – a time to reflect back on the year that’s passed and a time to enjoy good times with family and friends. And what better way to celebrate than satisfying your taste buds with your best buds.

So as the streets of Jo’burg empty out like the food shelves at Woolworths on Christmas Eve, the DimitrIon clan decided to venture a little further North than Pretoria to experience the true essence of a White Christmas and all the clichés associated with this time of the year. After touching down on the island of Cyprus and deciding against reviewing the airline food we realised that our quest for a winter wonderland wouldn’t be that simple – even though it’s supposedly mid-winter, the blue skies and 23°C weather weren’t conducive to sitting by a fireplace, sipping on gluwein!
Instead we headed to the coast and got comfortable at “our” restaurant – a place where the food is almost as good as the name. We positioned ourselves at the Demetrion Restaurant’s best table on the water’s edge at the little harbour in Liopetri and ordered a bottle of ouzo to compliment our yummy fish lunch. As is tradition in this part of the world, we shared a whole lot of meze dishes. Greek salad, various dips, olives, saganaki (fried cheese), haloumi (one of Cyprus’ best exports), baby prawns, fried calamari, merides (tiny fried fish) and the best grilled octopus. The whole meze concept, although typical throughout the year in the Mediterranean, typifies the spirit of the festive season – sharing good food and good times with those closest to you.

We finished off our meal with a complimentary (and supposedly digestive) Zivania – the local witblitz and washed it down with a traditional Cypriot coffee. As tradition would have it, we turned the cups upside down, allowing the coffee sediment to decorate the cup, enabling an old local to “read it” and tell us our fortune for the year ahead – Dimitri’s expecting twins and Ion’s expecting many trips. Both cups had signs of fame, fortune and good times…

DimitrIon wishes you all a fantastic festive season and hope that 2008 is filled with all the things that make life good.

Until we eat again in the New Year,

Your Taste Buds,

DimitrIon

Cilantros - Parkhurst

Charming Cilantros

This week we went back to one of our favourite neighbourhoods of Parkhurst to a restaurant called Cilantros. Our friends Basil, Maria, Dave and Dimitri’s wife, Sasha joined us.

We started with a salad to share. It had goat cheese, parmesan shavings with peppadews and a drizzle of pesto, yummy and fresh.

Dimitri put his menu aside and spoke with the owner to discuss his meat choice. The owner convinced him to go for the T-Bone, and so he did! The 600g T-Bone was served with chips and a large lemon half. The owner recommended that he keep sprinkling fresh lemon drops on his T-bone as he masticates it. Sasha had the Salmon with a side order of noodles and asparagus. This combo was fantastic and she loved it!

We ended of with the traditional espresso and a chocolate mousse cake, which was luscious- take a look at the photos on: www.YourTasteBuds.com.

We sat inside due to the rain, but sitting outside would be recommended. The lights inside the restaurant need to be repaired as they kept changing intensity, which was distracting. The owner runs a tight ship, which can dampen your experience, depending on how you handle it.

Until we eat again,

DimitrION

Vida e Caffe - Sandton

Our Saturday morning Yoga class...


This week takes us to our favorite post yoga stop, Vida e Caffe in Sandton, Joburg.. Our entourage consisted of Nadia, Clint, Dana and Sasha. Vida e Caffé has a modern but simple twist to serving coffee with a Portuguese legacy. Coffee the second highest commodity after money is what Vida e do well. (We not sure about the new launch of their beers in some of their stores). At the self service counter, Dimitri and Sasha started off with a freshly squeezed orange juice and ion went with the iced coffee option. Dimitri and Sasha ordered the smoked salmon and mozzarella sandwich while Ion went with the Chorizo (a traditional Portuguese sausage) sandwich option. To get the freshest selection, always ask for the sandwich to be made for you.

The main reason we love going to Vida e (Sandton) on Saturdays is the live jazz. There are 3 musicians playing relaxed jazz while we sipping on espressos.

As always we ended our meal with an espresso, at Vida e they serve all their coffees with a 70% dark chocolate, the best! Dimitri’s favorite item on the menu is the Pasteis de Nata, a traditional Portuguese sweet made with pastry and custard.

The only thing we find a little mystifying is that the menus don’t have prices next to the items. What are they trying to hide?

For this week, we would like to find out where is your best Espresso. Email us at: best@yourtastebuds.com

Until we eat again,

DimitrION