Ok, time for one of my favorite meals of the trip, Jiko - The Cooking Place. I decided to put the full name there as that is where I sat, the Cooking Place show kitchen. I think this is the perfect place to sit if you are eating solo. You could occupy your time watching delicious appetizers being concocted. Or, if you are lucky as I was, have two other solo diners on either side to enjoy in conversation as well as eating the wonderful food. Here is a picture of one of the chefs at work, crafting my appetizer in fact:
One interesting note was that I wasn't given a tour of the restaurant as I have heard from others. My guess is because I asked to sit at the Cooking Place they decided it wasn't necessary.
I knew that this meal was going to be based around whichever entree I chose. By that I mean that I was going to ask for a wine that paired well as well as choose an appetizer that I felt would work well with the entree. I have read and heard so much about the filet with mac and cheese. However, I also knew that I would be getting the filet at LeCellier later in the week. I wanted more variety in my meals for the week so I ended up deciding on the Short Rib and the rest fell into place from there.
To start I had a glass of Warwick Pinotage. The wine was a full bodied red, but with a nice smoothness. Choosing an appetizer was very difficult, especially as I watched a number constructed in front of me. One choice was the Chef's specialty flatbread. On this day it was a Cranberry and Applewood smoked bacon flatbread. It looked really good with thick slices of bacon. I just felt it was too big for me. It did get a thumbs up from the gentleman sitting next to me.
I decided to stay with the beef theme of the meal and had the Tibs Watt in Pannekoeke - Braised Beef Rolled in Crepes with Peppadew-Olive Tapenade:
You are given three of these tasty morsels, but they were so tempting one was already down the gullet before I remembered the photo
These were a perfect start to the meal. Enough to get my appetite ready for the main course, but not overly filling. The beef was dominate, as I think it should be, but was tempered nicely by the tapenade which gave it a slight tartness.
The appetizer was then followed by the main course, Barbecue Beef Short Ribs with Potato, Mushroom Pave:
The online menus show this served with Onion Garlic sauce, but I'm not certain that was the case this evening. The short rib was so tender and flavorful I had to make sure I was remembering to breath
The barbecue sauce was a nice mix of tart and sweet without being overpowering, and I made sure to sop up any stray vestiges of it with the fall off the bone meat. Peeking out behind the short rib you can see some type of leafy vegetablely product. I'm going to say it was wilted spinach and sauteed and wilted is how I like my leafy vegetables. However, I have to think it was there to make people feel good about themselves after stuffing themselves with beefy potatoey goodness. The pave was a great accompaniment. Very thin layers of potato surrounding a layer of mushroom. Very delicious and enjoyed the click of my fork as it plunged through the layers to take a bite.
While appetizer and entree were excellent I made sure to pace myself as to allow room for dessert. I figured I would try to maximize my tasting abilities and chose the Jiko Trio - Flourless Chocolate Cake, Caramel Ice Cream and Chocolate Mousse:
Jiko has a nice selection of teas, so I paired this with some Organic Roobis South Africa. A nice herbal tea that can be an excellent substitute for coffee. It also helped cut the sweetness of the dessert when needed. This was the perfect end for a wonderful meal. The flourless chocolate cake made a slide into third, trailing some caramel with it
Very rich and decadent I would eat a bit of this with some of the caramel ice cream. The ice cream is in the center, winking at you with it's chocolate eyelash. The creaminess of the ice cream was perfect with dense chocolate cake. The mousse was also very nice, but the cake and ice cream are what would make me come back for more of this.
So after a somewhat disappointing lunch, this dinner just blew me away. I am continually looking over my June trip plans to see if I might be able to fit in Jiko to the plans. If it doesn't work out, I will definitely be back here for my October trip.
Coming up next - Mama Melrose!
