Steaking My Claim

Where I come from, we eat lamb for veggies, pork for salad and chicken as garnishing.  When we refer to meat, it is definitely bovine if not from wild game.  

Not that I am a pork fan, either.  I know where to get a great salad.

The discussion here is about M-E-A-T, though. Let us remain focused, then.  

I am South African.  We don't play with our food, we also don't draw food on our plates.  Culinary art isn't graphic design. Haute cuisine is only for those who don't understand food.  In between that and a faxed burger, we know what food is. We grow it ourselves.  Unlike people in big cities who only have those pictures to go by.  In colourful recipe books or on artistically improved plates.  

We need our meat to be a number of things. It has to be sizeable, for a start. It has to have some body to it, weight, substance.  And it also needs to look great, not anemic. Of course, we love it roasted to perfection. After all, we took the international BBQ, trained it to our hand, gave it the right attitude and called it a Braai. We even celebrate its birthday every year - yes, we have a National Braai Day!

Now, if someone offers me a steak, it better has to be good. I judge the character of a man by the meat he serves.  

An exemplary cutlet of Beef Fillet was served to me recently. It does prompt me to write a little about it.  Some 300g in weight, it arrived prepared medium-to-well, served with a very fresh, tasty salad and crispy French fries.  

The Beef Fillet was roasted to an alluring brown on the outside, yet it remained tender and juicy. Slicing into it revealed and even pink-grey across the soft texture.  No blood oozing out of it, yet it was soft, succulent and oh so tasty. 

Served with my Beef Fillet was a delicious, creamy cheese sauce, which I soon employed this as a side dish on its own, as I did not want it to infringe upon the taste of the meat on my plate.  On its own, or with tomatoes from the salad dipped into it, or basting the fries with it, proved to be worthwhile.  This man loves his cheese and this little bit of perfection could not be left alone.

I did try it with some of the Beef Fillet and it worked together rather well, something I can recommend.  Wanting my meat secluded in its more natural state is just a personal preference.

By this time, you will want to know where to find your own succulent, tender, juicy, tasty Beef Fillet.  This is at Simon's Town, just look on the map below.

(GoogleMaps link below for your convenience)

We went to Simon's Town using a 1 Day Tourist Pass from Metrorail, making use of the lovely Hop On, Hop Off facility.

Now it is your turn to sit watching the ocean, harbour activity and the people show from the lovely veranda of Harbourview Restaurant. Of course, you can enjoy a soft drink, a choice of excellent locally produced wines or lovely beers, if not a cocktail from the fully stocked bar.


Bon appetit!