The Dogs Bollocks IS the dogs bollocks

Nestled away in an alley off Hope street you will find Dogs Bollocks. You can easily walk past it because there are no big signs,bright lights or gimicks that lure you in. Dogs Bollocks is just a place that sells 50 hamburgers a night in a paper-bag with no eating utensils available. This description sounds ordinary but believe me Dogs Bollocks is anything but that.

Entrance

If you don't look carefully you might miss it

Its opens at 17:00 everyday. I will suggest that you go as early as possible to secure a burger and seating. All the burgers on our night were sold out at 18:30

You enter and immediately it feels as if you walk into a garage that was meant for the 80's. The chef will put a bottle of his self made wine in your hand and give you the bottle opener - "Red or white? Make yourself at home".

Wine @ R55 a bottle!

There's a large black board where you have to write your name and the amount of burgers you want. If it reaches 50 he's done! No compromises. The burgers ranges from R50 - R55. They are HUGE! For the light hearted I will recommend that you share a burger but if you come hungry you will surely finish yours. He will call you when you have to place and fetch your burger and you settle your bill before you leave.

The place was bustling!

The chef's helper! Look at those bun sizes!

Ordinary burgers waiting to become extraordinary!

The team hard at work

The board where you have to write your name on to ensure you get a burger!

We had 'The New Yorker' that consisted of toppings such as tomato, onion, olives and gherkins with a mayo herb sauce. Its really a saucy burger. Be prepared to eat and feel messy. We also had the 'Sweet chilly cheesy' burger that went down more smoothly.

Massive!

Delicious! The sweet chili cheese!

Choose whatever you feel like!

My tips for the burger eating
1. Unlock your jaw
2. Remove some lettuce out of the burger (There's alot)
3.Squash the burger a little bit but dont ruin it :)
4. Shove in your mouth!

Its almost as big as my head!

The place is such a vibe. Everyone looks startled when they first walk in because this type of restaurant style is not whats known to us. Then star to relaxed as you see all the tables fill up with friends,couples and hipsters laughing, eating and generally being really merry. I can blame that on the wine or just the great environment.

He only sells wine so if you want a beer or anything else with your meal feel free to bring it along! No corkage or extra charges!

This is in summary a no-nonsense, anti-frill, vibey eating spot that you definitely have to put on your bucket list.

Bring friends, a big mouth, eat and be merry!

Open: Monday - Saturday 17:00 - 22:00
Address: 6 Roodehek street, Cape Town
Facebookpage: http://www.facebook.com/TheDogsBollocksAtYardCT?fref=ts

Eat out 2012 Restaurants of the year

Eat Out Magazine announced their Top 19 Restaurants to dine at for 2012 yesterday! The 25th of November they will announce the Top 10 and overall winner! Most of the restaurants are situated in the Cape Town/Stellenbosch region! Just another factor supporting that we live in the best city! Its definitely a goal to go and visit as many of these restaurants in the next year to see what' s all the hype about! If you have been to any of them please comment and let me know of your experience!

Babel -  http://www.babylonstoren.com 
Bizerca Bistro -  http://www.bizerca.com 
Delaire Graff Estate Restaurant -  http://www.delaire.co.za 
DW Eleven-13 -  http://www.dw11-13.co.za 
The Greenhouse -  http://www.cellars-hohenort.com/greenhouse 
Hartford House -  http://www.hartford.co.za 
Jordan Restaurant -  http://www.jordanwines.com 
La Colombe -http://www.constantia-uitsig.com 
Makaron -  http://www.makaronrestaurant.co.za 
Overture -  http://www.dineatoverture.co.za 
Pierneef à La Motte -  http://www.la-motte.com 
Planet Restaurant -  http://www.planetbarandrestaurant.co.za 
Restaurant Mosaic -  http://www.restaurantmosaic.com 
The Roundhouse -  http://www.theroundhouserestaurant.com 
Rust en Vrede Restaurant -  http://www.rustenvrede.com 
The Tasting Room -  http://www.lequartier.co.za 
Terroir -  http://www.kleinezalze.com 
The Test Kitchen -http://www.thetestkitchen.co.za 
Tokara - http://www.tokararestaurant.co.za

Blaauwklippen Sunday Family Market - Ultimate relaxation

For a lovely end to your weekend be sure to visit the Blaauwklippen family market located on the Blaauwklippen Winefarm outside Stellenbosch.

Entertainment for young and old is available and even you're furry friend can come and join in on the fun! The children can run around as they please,play on the jumping castles or ride some ponies. For the old there's  wine tasting,  live music and numerous stalls to browse and shop at. Bring a blanket,purchase delicious food and treats and have a Sunday lunch "picnic style".

Loads of trees that supply shade!

What's more lovely than a Sunday afternoon picnic?

A market for the young and old!

Loads of tables,benches and umbrellas are located at different spots throughout the market area

We opted to sit under the large umbrellas and sip on some refreshing mojito's (R25) and G&T's(R20). They also cater for beer and wine lovers! Different live music acts plays each week. An older gentleman entertained us with some nice background music  this Sunday and even in 30 degree weather he barely took a break! Well done!

Lovely mojitios underneath the shade of the umbrellas!

Pina colada or mojito?

Cafe Royale will cater for all alcoholic needs!

Food choices are diverse. We started our afternoon by first browsing through the stalls and sampling some delicious cheeses,breads, pesto's and sweet treats. Then we had the privilege of choosing between pizza's, sushi,pancakes,Lebanese food, Chinese food, pies, gourmet pastrami sandwiches just to mention a few.

Cheeses to taste

Beautifull handcrafted chocolate

I really enjoyed their good old "klapper-ys"

Stock up on you weekly vegetables.

Sun-dried tomatoes and basil pesto packaged in clever reusable bags.

Fresh spicy chicken shwarma (R35)

Chinese stir-fry (R37)

Choose and topping you would like on your tomato base

Shwarma stall

Red velvet cupcakes or a croquette? 

Large pastrami styled sandwiches

Childrens toys, art, shoes, jewellry and more are available for browsing and purchasing. I was very impressed with the prices at a vintage jewelry store. So for a one of a kind pair of earrings or bracelet be sure to pay a visit there.

Loads of stalls spread out under the lovely shade of numerous trees.

One of the sheds that houses some of the food stalls.

Pastel wall art

Jewelry stall with very reasonable priced goods.

Details

Time: Every Sunday from 10:00 - 15:00

Facebookpage: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blaauwklippen-Vineyards-Family-Market/147482601977987
Website: www.blaauwklippen.com/attractions
E-mail: info.themarketarchitects@gmail.com

Location: On the R44 between Stellenbosch and Somerset West
GPS: -33.972672,18.848311

The City Bowl Thursday-night market - The newest gem of Cape Town

I would like to introduce you to Cape Towns newest gem on the block - The City Bowl Thursday Night Market!

I just came back after I spent a whole evening enjoying delicious food and catching up with a group of mates. The whole platform for this was provided by The City Bowl Market. The market usually runs on a Saturday at 14 Hope street and tonight they launched their evening market.

I would suggest that you go as early as you can. The market starts at 16:30 and ends at 20:30. We went early, secured some seating for decent people watching and operated from there.

The tough thing then is to decide what you're gonna spoil your tummy with. Our table chose quite a variety of dishes. I personally started the evening with orange,carrot and ginger juice(R20) accompanied by a platter from the Chinese stall that had a duck pancake, 2 dumplings and a steamed pork bun on it for R35. The really hungry people opted for a juicy burger with all the trimmings and seasoned wedges(R60) while the rest had some homemade pies. Furthermore you can choose from gourmet sandwiches, sushi, stir-fry and soups -  just to name a few.

My Chinese platter and freshly squeezed juice.

Mojitios and burgers! What more do you want!

Sip on a cocktail,beer or glass of champagne and decide what your sweet-tooth craves. Our entire table had the brownies. There has to be something illegal in them(joke) because they were so good! Now to choose what type of brownie we wanted was a challenge. There is a cheesecake, white chocolate, dark chocolate, bar one and original variant or are you in the mood for a red velvet, champagne or caramel and banana cupcake? From this post you can see that you have to come very hungry or definitely plan a future trip.

Impossible to choose a flavour! The "crack" brownies!

The atmosphere was great. The place was packed with beautiful, trendy people! Friends were catching up and families had their dinner together. A Jamaican band played a few songs during the evening. A few jewelry and clothing stalls were also there for a quick spot of shopping or you could buy your fruit and vegetables for the week from the green grocer.

Are you in the mood for smoothies or juice?? 

Waffles, sushi, sandwiches and more!

Beautiful clothing priced reasonably!

Original and smartly crafted jewelry!

The MUST HAVE brownies (R15)

Chinese stall - Tao's

Fresh fruit and vegetables for sale!

If you come early you can be secured of decent seating and delicious food!

I would budget at least a R100! With this you will definitely secure a meal,treat and a drink.

So before you do anything further write in your diary that you will attend this market next week. A great option for some pre-weekend fun!

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/CityBowlMarket
Location: 14 Hope street, Cape Town
E-mail: citybowlmarket@gmail.com