The Unvegan

You don’t often get the opportunity to drive on one of the coolest roads in the world, and when you do it is important to seize it. The Chapman’s Peak Drive between Cape Town and Cape Point in South Africa is one of those roads that offer breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains. Along the way, you’ll find several restaurants where you can stop for a meal or a snack, but the one that stands out is the Chapman’s Peak Hotel, which is known for its delectable squid dish. I could go on and on about the mouth-watering food, but I’ll let the picture of the drive below do the talking.

Brunch, first come-first served and LA is a combination that doesn’t work. Although I am usually asleep until long after brunch time, I have learned that most people are not. Of these people, many like to go out to brunch, causing other brunchers to wait in crazy lines for food. Compounding that difficulty is the seat yourself system employed by places like Huckleberry Cafe in Santa Monica.

I could go on and on about this, because it really is a terrible system, but I’ll get to the food instead…

If I had to guess, I’d say there are probably fewer than three restaurants in the world that allow you to watch wild penguins while eating. I literally have no basis for this statement besides the knowledge that the majority of penguins are in places no one wishes to eat. The penguins at Boulders Beach, however, are of the African variety and enjoy the beautiful sunshine just outside of Cape Town in Simon’s Town. Some genius built a creatively named restaurant called Boulders Beach Restaurant nearby with an awesome ocean view and occasional penguin sighting.

The Valley is a weird place. Seriously. Despite having worked there for more than two years, I had no idea that there was a section of Van Nuys that felt like being transported to downtown LA. Yet, to grab some Peruvian at Puro Sabor, I found myself in said section. It was definitely weird, but usually the strangest parts of town have the best food. I hoped this would be the case.

One of our guides in Cape Town remarked at how great The Waterfront was and wondered why anyone would leave it. There was certainly something to what he said, and in our continued, easy search for meals, we found ourselves at Mitchell’s Scottish Ale House. Now, I’ve never been to a British resort town, now do I know if such a thing exists, but if I had to picture a microbrewery in such a quintessential town, Mitchell’s would be it. The atmosphere was festive, yet subdued. The beers covered a wide range and the best-looking food was…well…curry.

A friend of mine likes to check out McDonald’s every time he leaves the country, because he is amazed that a burger can be made the exact same the world over. I like to visit McDonald’s to see what sort of regional specialty it might have, but in the case of South Africa, there was no regional specialty to be found (come on, meerkat burger!). Instead, I found a fast food burger chain called Steers.

I’m always up for interesting food combinations. Usually this means mixing meats into wonderful protein concoction, but at Mercato di Vetro in West Hollywood, I was introduced to an especially unique mix of foods. But before I settled on my meal, I got myself a nice look at the entire menu. Menu items were purported to be “small plates,” but carried price tags that said otherwise. Even though I wasn’t paying, I shifted my eyes to food that I could expect to actually fill my stomach with.

On our first night in Cape Town, we took a stroll around the Waterfront to see what it had to offer. The answer was pretty much anything. So, like anyone in the mood for anything, we decided to park our booties at a spot called Den Anker. Purporting to offer Belgian food, the menu had some dishes I had never seen before and I started off with a Belgian beer to lubricate my senses.

As New York is one of the most expensive cities in the world, I expect every meal I eat there to give me a heart attack when I see the bill. When this is not the case, I am overjoyed. With those thoughts running through my head, I found myself at Landmarc in TriBeCa for dinner with a bunch of friends. The majority of the menu intrigued me, but seemed a tad pricey. That’s when I saw the Landmarc Hamburger.

There is a certain awesome feeling that comes with flying thousands of miles and arriving in a place with the food comforts of home. Such is The Waterfront of Cape Town. The place has just about every type of food imaginable, and on our first day we made our way to Ferrymans for a drink and a bite.