Women’s Day Part I
Noble Savage – he said:
I think it’s safe to assume that most Gautengers have heard of the Neighbourgoods market by now. To those of you just coming back after realising Australia is like Robben Island without the view, Neighbourgoods is a market in Braamfontein featuring an eclectic selection of street foods, various food-related vendors, and, of course, wine.
We went on the special Women’s day market, because… public holiday. The market is normally every Saturday, but because it was a public holiday, a bunch of people decided it would be fun to have run through the CBD. After dodging all the flotsam and jetsam, we found parking just outside the alley where the entrance to the market is located (don’t worry, it’s safe).
As it was quite early, not all the stalls were 100% ready. At least the wine-in-a-plastic-sealed-wineglass place (AKA Cheers) was ready, so I had me some walkin’ around wine. Everyone has seen the big-ass paella pans, but unfortunately was still in the warming-up process at the time. One for next time is Che Argetine grill – their meat looks amazing (get your mind out of the gutter please)!
Another vendor worth checking out is Sumting Fresh. You can’t miss this place. Just follow the loud signing, normally led by Hezron Louw of Top Chef SA fame.
With the wine quickly eroding my ability to budget, it was time for a late breakfast/early lunch (I choose to call this meal “leakfast”). I decided on a bacon-wrapped mozzarella sandwich from Craving (I think that’s the name – forgot to make notes…). This might have been the closest I have come to a religious experience. What a sandwich!! Juicy bacon covering a cheesy holy grail of delight, on a perfectly toasted roll with all the trimmings – it’s almost explicit how good this sandwich was…
We had other lunch plans, so we couldn’t stay for long. If you do decide to go through, take the whole day. There’s so much worth trying, and you could easily spend the whole day just trying out all the goodies.
Boozy Foodie – she said:
Because my Saturday mornings are always very hectic, I was super excited to see that Women’s Day will be “Neighbourgoods Market” day! I’ve always loved the place – and there are not a lot of places where you can get bubbly and oysters for breakfast! *happy place grin*
So, as usual we started out with a stroll through the market to see what is on offer. We haven’t been there in a while, so it was good to see some new vendors as well! While Noble Savage found himself some ‘party pack’ vino to sip on (it is actually Spier Cab, so don’t judge!), I decided to rather settle for a caffeine fix.
I found Mighty Monk Cold Brew Coffee quite interesting! Apart from the yummy brownies available, and the coffee concentrate that makes a couple of litres of cold brewed coffee, they have “Nitro” coffee on tap (looks a bit like stout beer). The peeps explained to me how it works, and it must’ve been too early for me to properly remember, but all I know it is real good! The last time I had cold brew coffee was a couple of years ago in the US and it good to know that it is making its appearance here – as a good quality coffee.
On the upper level there is a huge bar area with lots of seating available and The Craft Cocktail bar already buzzing, prepping all the yummy ‘pink drinks’ for Women’s Day. As the live band was setting up, we were checking out the Designer section – unique and handcrafted items that you probably won’t find anywhere else. Feeling inspired by all the pretty things around me (yes, I am such a girl), I decided to find me some bubbly. Pity that the oysters were sold out (although we were some of the first people there… so… uhm…). But, there was luckily enough Graham Beck Rose to go around!
While sipping on my ‘pink drink’ it was great to just relax and do some people watching. And that is one of the reasons I love Neighbourgoods. It is a cozy little hub of creativity, vibey activity and gourmet goodies right in the middle of the Johannesburg CBD. A little micro-cosmos of awesomeness and deliciousness, one of my ‘happy places’.
We paid for our own stuff 🙂 And I realise once again how crappy my cellphone pics are! 😛 Anyway, you get the idea.
Social Savage 