In extreme cold, a man cannot expend too much energy seeking food. Fortunately, my ‘hood — Observatory in Cape Town — has plenty to offer the modern hunter-gatherer.
For starters, there’s the Obs Deli, truly the stuff of dreams. This former corner shop isn’t your poncey Italian eateria, but a modest and engaging space, a quality thread in the community fabric. Owned and furbished by the entirely affable and industrious Grant Anderson, it is a convenience store with a difference, offering a home-cooked meal of the day for about R15, as well as jams, pickles, preserves.
They’re all made by his no doubt very sweet mum, who lives in the country somewhere. And those homemade thingies also include peanut-butter biscuits and cappuccino muffins. Three cheers for mum!
In fact, Anderson’s family is crawling all over the place. A cousin imports the coffee and four-month-old son Joshua charms the clientele. Anderson’s chirpy sister, Erica, also lends a regular hand. After being open for only six weeks, she is clearly going to have a rough time resisting the confections piled in front of her. Her present strategy is to offer them to customers to make things easier for herself, which seems to work, up to a point.
For on-the-spot entertainment, mention Pick ‘n Pay or Century City to our friendly proprietor and lean back awhile. Anderson is passionate about community and totally dedicated to providing a space for local people to engage and interact with each other.
“This place will evolve into whatever the community wants it to be,” he says. “But they need to learn how to take advantage of that.” I can see a clear way of taking advantage, eyeing the cappuccino muffins.
‘”I’d like to be a comedian but I’d be too kak,” he says. “But I get a kick out of seeing people chatting. This place binds people, instantly.”
Indeed, while my backside warms the wood, I meet a babe who lives in my street, a beautiful chap called Mitya from around the corner, as well as Desi, who’s buying one of the Obs Deli’s cakes to give to an elderly lady who is moving out of her nearby home after living there for more than 50 years. This is why I live here. It’s got soul.
Nobody’s soul is in better shape than the legendary Roshni Pather, who has been cooking her outstanding Indian cuisine for 38 years without having a holiday or ingesting a single strand of meat, drop of milk or shred of cheese. She owns and runs Lemeez, a block south of Obs Deli, and is at it from 10am to 10pm, six days a week.
When she moved to Observatory 18 years ago the queues ran around the block. Canny locals know that she caters for private functions. Yet millions are unaware that she also grinds her own spices and sells coriander, chutney and ghee.
Liesel, a vegan friend new to the ‘hood, has found nirvana here. Others find crayfish samoosas, kingklip curry, chicken breyani and a daily assortment of vegetable dishes.
For R10 a medium curry and rice can feed two smallish tummies in very pleasant fashion.
Vito Pather, the intensely laid-back son of the proprietor, is another attraction. He serves up fresh smiles, except when he’s testing an old can of mace that hangs on the back shelf — a can of which he seems unreasonably fond.
However, a recent discovery shades even these two favourites. Although I have to pump up my bicycle tyres to get there, phoning ahead brings satisfaction a little closer.
“Egg foo yong” is a special codeword only understood by the taste magicians at A Fu Chinese. Prepared by Shanghai-born Victor Su, it’s basically a pocket of crisp stir-fried vegetables and sprouts encased in a scrumptious omelette.
Food like this makes the news that the video machine is broken when I return home quite irrelevant.
Obs Deli, corner Polo and Campbell roads, Tel: (021) 448 1316; Lemeez, 325 Lower Main Road, Tel: (021) 447 6784; A Fu Chinese, 109 Lower Main Road, Tel: (021) 447 1811.