Melville is known for its musty book shops, vintage clothing stores, and a lively bar scene. It’s also known for its rats.
Rats are a common sight in Melville and the most popular bar in town is aptly named Ratz. Joe used to be a regular patron at Ratz, in the good old days when rats ran free around Melville. (Although I’m disappointed to report that Joe never actually saw a rat at Ratz.)
Today, Ratz has had a makeover and is actually quite posh, in a quasi-seedy kind of way.
Yesterday evening Joe took me for my first drink at Ratz, which was a fun Christmas Eve-Eve activity. The bar was festively decorated and the cocktails were two-for-one, which enhanced the Christmas cheer among the clientele. Joe doesn’t drink liquor, which means both of the cocktails were mine.
I started with a Melville Rat (what else?), which is “vodka, archers and malibu, shaken with pineapple and o.j. with a blue curacao float.” It was a little pulpy and turned my tongue blue, but I enjoyed it.
Technically the two-for-one special is for two of the same drink, but I convinced the waiter to let me try a different one. I chose the Ratz Singapore Sling: “a true classic, gin, cherry liqueur and triple sec, shaken with sweet sours and topped with ginger ale.” The Singapore Sling was very similar in appearance to the Melville Rat, but pink instead of blue. Somehow I forgot to take a picture of that one. I wonder why?
I was pretty tired after my rainbow tour of the Ratz cocktail menu. We left at 8:00 but it felt like midnight. Another Melville experience checked off the list.
Merry Christmas! Or as they say here, Happy Christmas. Tomorrow I will be trying my first Christmas pudding. Wish me luck.
How have I never blogged about 44 Stanley Avenue, the coolest shopping and dining complex in Joburg, which is only five minutes from my house?
I guess it’s wrong to say I’ve never blogged about 44 Stanley; I’ve mentioned it countless times over the years (see here and here) when writing about specific restaurants or shops that are there. But I’ve never written a dedicated post about 44 Stanley as a destination and it’s about time I did – especially now, with the holidays upon us.
I’ve been dreadfully uninspired lately, struggling to think of anything I want to blog about despite having a long list of great ideas (many of which you, my readers, provided in September). I’m finding it hard to feel positive about life at the moment. But on Saturday Thorsten and I got the chance to visit Indwe Park, an indigenous garden and sculpture park in Braamfontein, and I knew I had my topic for today.
Given this week’s political nuclear bomb blast, it feels like a weird time to publish a light-hearted post about my recent (pre-election) jaunt through the United States. But I’m hoping you’ve have had enough of the U.S. election horror show – I know I have – and are ready (at least temporarily) for some wholesome American travel adventures. If so, please read on about my four-day visit to Maine, the northeastern-most state in the lower 48, with my sister, Susanna.
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It makes me smile, when I see it.