Brent Meersman The Reviewer

By Sindisiwe Dlamini

Extremely powerful reviews by Brent Meersman who has chaired the Cape Town Press Club since 2013 and is a co-editor of GroundUp. Brent Meersman was born in 1967 in Cape Town. In 1989, at the height of the turbulence surrounding the end of apartheid, he worked as a news photographer. His work has been translated and printed internationally, and he previously wrote for the Mail & Guardian. He has previously worked as a reviewer for the BBC and the Financial Times (London). He is a compulsive traveller, having visited 81 countries on all seven continents, including Antarctica, at the time of writing. He is now the co-editor of GroundUp news.

Cape Town is the ideal location for a restaurant critic. The has eaten everything from Michelin-starred meals to restaurants that serve soup that tastes like salad dressing. his most expensive meal at the Tasting Room was R1 150 before tip, and his cheapest was R25 for injera. In South Africa, foreign chefs have always been at the forefront of the restaurant scene. Until the 1980s, it was assumed that if you weren't from South Africa, you could cook, which wasn't entirely incorrect. The East has always influenced our national tastes the most. Today, globalising Asia reigns supreme, with an avalanche of Asian restaurants springing up across the country. Chef Margot Janse's incredible chakalaka lollipops are a must-try for me. It documented how the restaurant scene is spreading to Vredehoek and Woodstock. And poked fun at food apps and the trendiest newcomers many of which have already disappeared. There are less restaurants’ that focus on our African food in our days.

Il Leone will be challenged by two new Italian restaurants. Mitico Pizzeria Spaghetteria has gotten a lot of attention. Gianni ­Vigliotti and his nephew make the rounds of the tables to ensure that everything is in order with the patrons. The traditional Italian-South African pizza is closer to flammkuchen than wood-fired pizzas. Café Giulia retains its pre-opening vibe and is closed on Sunday evenings. The menu appears to change frequently, and the portions are reasonable. There are also specials, such as cacciucco, a seafood stew from Livorno that is dependent on "fishing weather," according to the chef. The reason why the menus change frequently its because most of the time people get tired from the food. The chef dutifully took down the reservation for 7 p.m. on Sunday night, which included Brent’s name and two other people. When we arrived, however, they discovered that the café was closed on Sunday nights. It appears that some things are were interpreted differently.

The National Arts Festival in Grahamstown was in its 41st year in 2015. With a municipal strike looming a week after service delivery protests, the strong difference between those enjoying an arts festival and those in terrible situations was instead showcased. The NAF returns to its live format with a fully immersive in-person arts experience. The festival is a national event; Grahamstown is its host, not its be all and end all. Artists come from everywhere in South Africa and from 29 countries besides, including productions this year, The audience was then 40% black, but we are a divided nation in many ways. Art serves obvious purposes, such as promoting progressive values and reflecting on the state of the nation, as well as stimulating mathematical skills in children through music and opening eyes. To that end, the festival employs its festival-planning expertise as well as its ability to attract funders such as the European Union to run or support a variety of local projects throughout the year.

It entirely amazed me. It managed to meet and exceed my lofty expectations while also being completely unlike anything I had anticipated. In the first review (bitten by the food bug) Brant made sure to blow my expectations since I just thought he will talk about something about bugs and being bitten only for him to talk about the restaurants. In the second Review (confused but content) He was not clear about what he was talking about. Then in the third review (Rethinking the arts festival), I can't help myself if I sound stunningly unintelligent at times in this review. My thoughts are completely outsmarted. This review is truthful, with its well-developed culture and economy, not to mention a fully developed language known as Newspeak, or rather, Newspeak, which serves to limit speech and knowledge rather than to boost and enlarge it. This deserves a wow.