{"id":3219,"date":"2009-07-19T14:41:51","date_gmt":"2009-07-19T12:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.whalecottage.com\/blog\/?p=3219"},"modified":"2009-07-19T14:43:52","modified_gmt":"2009-07-19T12:43:52","slug":"you-can-eat-anything-you-like-as-long-as-its","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisvonulmenstein.com\/blog\/cape-town\/you-can-eat-anything-you-like-as-long-as-its\/","title":{"rendered":"You can eat anything you like, as long as its…."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A novel restaurant opened in Cape Town 7 months ago, serving no starter and only one cut of steak as its main course.\u00a0\u00a0 HQ in Heritage Square is no dining option for vegetarians, for restaurant patrons who like a choice of dishes or for those that like to choose when they wish to arrive at the restaurant!.\u00a0\u00a0 Luckily the dessert and the wines are not prescribed, in that a choice is offered!<\/p>\n

With a loft-like yet very simple decor, it has wooden tables covered with brown paper “tablecloths”, which state clearly that one can have anything to eat as long as it’s steak.\u00a0\u00a0 It also serves as a data record, in that one is requested to add one’s name, e-mail address and cell number.<\/p>\n

The waitress was efficient but did not connect with her customers.\u00a0 She explained that they only serve sirloin, and that it is “35-year matured”, getting her years and days confused.\u00a0\u00a0 Asking about the origin of this unique restaurant concept, she explained that it is based on Cafe’ de Paris in Geneva, which has operated for 75 years offering only one dish:\u00a0 Entrecote Cafe’ de Paris.\u00a0\u00a0 The\u00a0 famous entrecote is served with a sauce of which the recipe is a trade secret, but it is thought to be made from chicken livers, fresh thyme,\u00a0cream, white Dijon mustard and\u00a0butter, according to Wikipedia.<\/p>\n

A green salad with parmesan shavings and pine nut kernels is served as a starter – tough if you do not eat salad, as few men are wont to do!\u00a0\u00a0 One is told that the chef recommends the steak to be prepared medium rare, and this is marked as such on the “tablecloth”.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The steak arrived absolutely rare, which is the trade mark of Cafe’ de Paris as well.\u00a0 On checking and receiving the feedback, the waitress took the plates back to the kitchen.\u00a0\u00a0They came back to the table completely overcooked.\u00a0\u00a0 The steak is served with chips.\u00a0\u00a0 The cost of the salad bowl, steak and chips is a\u00a0pricy R 140.\u00a0\u00a0 Desserts are more reasonably priced at about R 25 each.<\/p>\n

The winelist is unpretentious and will not win an award.\u00a0\u00a0 It lists the wines under “Red”, “White” etc,\u00a0but does show the vintage of each of the wines.\u00a0\u00a0 The most astronomically priced wine is\u00a0a Schalk Burger, at R 1 400 a bottle or R 350 a glass!<\/p>\n

One may not arrive after 19h30, we were told, yet many patrons were only seated at 20h00 or even later.<\/p>\n

The entrance on Buitengracht Street is recommended, as parking is freely available there.\u00a0\u00a0 Tables near the bar area are very draughty, as the door to Heritage Square is open.\u00a0 Request a table closer to Buitengracht Street.<\/p>\n

Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A novel restaurant opened in Cape Town 7 months ago, serving no starter and only one cut of steak as its main course.\u00a0\u00a0 HQ in Heritage Square is no dining option for vegetarians, for restaurant patrons who like a choice of dishes or for those that like to choose when they wish to arrive at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[3,20,21],"tags":[1713,1710,32366,1711,1712,1706,252,1709,1707,1714,32373],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t