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.
Artüro, a new-ish restaurant on 7th Street in Melville, appears Mexican at first glance. As someone who is always on the lookout for Mexican food in Joburg, I was excited to check out Artüro after spotting a photo of a platter of tacos on the “I Love Melville” Facebook page.
Ever since I moved to Melville in 2010 – and since long before that – people have been portending the suburb’s demise. “Melville’s not like it used to be,” people would say. And I used to chuckle at those people until a couple of years ago, when I’m ashamed to admit I became one of them.
It’s that time of year again: October in Joburg. Jacaranda trees all over Joburg (and Pretoria, too – more on that in a future post) are exploding with purple blossoms and everything wrong with the world feels right again (mostly). To make matters better, Joburg’s hospitality industry actively promotes jacaranda season and there are some really cool promotions on, like the jacaranda-themed “Bubbles & Sweets” menu at the Four Seasons Hotel in Westcliff.
I’ve been meaning to write this blog post for weeks but I kept getting distracted by other adventures: a dazzling community light festival, a 2-billion-year-old meteorite crater, and a Heritage Month tour of churches. Now I’m back on track and ready to tell you about my food explorations in Rivonia.
I’ve always been intrigued by Kensington, a suburb just east of downtown Joburg. Kensington is similar in many ways to Melville, where I used to live, and Brixton, where I live now: An older neighborhood, filled with big trees and houses with pressed-steel ceilings, populated by lots of quirky artists and other creative types. Kensington is only about 20 minutes’ drive away but I feel like I haven’t spent enough time there over the years to really get to know it.