Last night I had dinner at the Darkie Café. I’m writing about it because:
The Darkie Café is smack in the middle of downtown Jozi, in the mining district – one of just a few restaurants in that area that are open at night.
The Darkie Café has decent food, and it’s fun.
The Darkie Café is called the Darkie Café. Only in Joburg will you find a restaurant with such a name. I like it.
Thursday evening happy hour at the Darkie Café.
Not grungy but not too fancy either. I like the vibe – it’s friendly.
My order: Burger with salsa and chopped coriander. R55 (about $6). It was good. Not sensational, but good. I liked the salad, too.
Michelle’s order: Cheese and avocado pita sandwich with chips. Michelle pronounced it good, although she wished it had haloumi cheese instead of mozzarella.
Michelle (who is also American) and I had a laugh at this “margarita” that she ordered. This is not a margarita, people. Margaritas are served in big glasses, with ice. This here is a margarita-flavored martini. (A margatini?) Anyway, Michelle said it tasted good all the same.
Most Joburgers don’t venture into the city at night at all, and if they do it’s usually to Braamfontein or the Maboneng Precinct. I’m happy to know that there are fun places to go in between those two neighborhoods. The Darkie Café is a great lunch destination, too. It’s open on weeknights until 9:00 p.m. and on weekends until late.
The Darkie Café is next door to the Ashanti Hotel, at the corner of Anderson and Ferreria Streets in Marshalltown. IMPORTANT NOTE: Most online listings for the Darkie Café show the address as “10 Anderson Street”. This address is not correct. If you enter it into your GPS you will wind up in Mayfair, not Marshalltown. (I speak from experience on this.) Use the street corner, not the address listing.
After dinner at the Darkie Café I spent an interesting evening at the Rand Club, another nighttime hangout in the Joburg CBD. I’ll write more on that in a future post, but here is a little teaser in the meantime:
Let’s just say that the Rand Club is nothing like the Darkie Café.
Until next week.
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.
Use the share button below if you liked it.
It makes me smile, when I see it.