The Donkin Coffee Shop

On Thursday, November 17, 2011 the PE Coffee Crawlers visited Conyngham Coffee Shop.  On that day we met Paul Longe, Academy Manager of Umzi Wethu which is a local initiative of the Wilderness Foundation.  The Conyngham Coffee Shop is a Social Project of Umzi Wethu set up to train hospitality students.  At the end of our visit at Conyngham's Paul suggested we make a trip to The Donkin Coffee Shop, another Umzi Wethu project, located at the Donkin Reserve on Belmont Terrace in Central.  Last Thursday, January 26, 2012 eleven Crawlers, Fran and Keith de Beer, Tolla and Maureen Kotze, Beth Vieira, Nomusa Nkomo, June Nash, Leanne Waller, Stella and Beryl Dawson, and Gail Darne, joined me at The Donkin.

This week's Crawlers
Nomusa, Gail, Beth, Leanne, Beryl, Stella,
June, Fran, Maureen, Tolla, Keith

In November at Conyngham's I was "wowed" by the Umzi Wethu student staff.  Their skills as hosts, waitrons, baristas and chefs were top-notch.  The Donkin Coffee Shop staff consists of graduates of the Umzi Wethu Hospitality Academy.  To say their skills are impressive would be an understatement.  The service, hospitality, food and LavAzza and Masterton coffee beverages was all outstanding.  Manager Jean Rigby is very proud of her staff....she couldn't say enough about their skills, positive attitudes and excellent work ethic.  Kudos to waitrons, Nozibela and Nobesuthu, barista, Miselwa, and head chef, Sonwabile. 





Meet the Barista
Miselwa



Meet the Staff
Nozibela, Sonwabile, Nobesuthu



The Crawlers wanted to support The Donkin Coffee Shop project so, along with our coffee/tea, we all ordered goodies from the menu including cakes, scones and muffins.  The menu also includes full breakfasts, light lunches and a variety of hot and cold beverages.  The shop is open Monday-Saturday, 8-4:30 and holidays, 9-3:30.  Catering for on-site private functions for up to 50 people and deliveries of orders over R100 are also available.  As for the decor, I just loved the simple green/white linens with the beaded calla lily centerpieces.  The beading is done by a local gentleman who sells his wares at 8th Ave and Main Rd in Walmer.  Amazing beadwork.... definitely worth checking out.  He also takes special orders like the centerpieces at The Donkin.

The Donkin Coffee Shop opened its doors on Heritage Day (Sept 24), 2011 at The Donkin Reserve.  The Donkin Reserve is a small open public "green" space which was proclaimed by the founder of the city, Sir Rufane Donkin.  The area measures roughly the size of two city blocks and it features indigenous plants, park benches, walking paths, the Opera House, a lighthouse and a memorial.  Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the Donkin Reserve is the touching memorial to Sir Donkin's wife, Elizabeth.  This pyramid shaped structure bears a plaque with the inscription: "To the memory of one of the most perfect of human beings who has given her name to the Town below."  Besides the beautiful ocean view my favorite feature of the park is the welded sheet steel sculpture depicting the history of the people of SA.  The large walkway mosaic leading to the pyramid is pretty cool, too!




The Lighthouse and the pyramid memorial
foreground- mosaic walkway



Steel sculpture





Elizabeth Donkin statue, pyramid mamorial, lighthouse
background - Indian Ocean



Steel sculpture



So, after coffee and cake, the Crawlers spent some time strolling around the grounds of the reserve.  Nomusa, Gail, Fran and I all paid R5 to climb to the top of the lighthouse.  Only Nomusa, Gail and Fran made it all the way to the top..... I got three flights up and my fear of heights struck again!  From what they tell me, the view from the top is spectacular.  Maybe someday...........

View from 3 flights up the lighthouse

All told, the Coffee Crawlers had a wonderful time at The Donkin Coffee Shop.  Awesome coffee, delicious treats, and a little bit of PE history thrown in for good measure.  To all PE residents......  take some time to check out The Donkin Reserve, a little gem right in your own backyard..... and stop by the coffee shop for a great cup 'o joe!

~Thank you to The Wilderness Foundation and Umzi Wethu for your vision
~Thank you to Jean and The Donkin Coffee Shop staff
~Happy Groundhog Day!!!!!! (Feb 2)

Until next week,

Ellen

Friends Coffee Bar and Bistro

I've always been one to take tons of pictures on vacation.  Moving to SA in 2010 motivated me to purchase a "good camera" so I could take better photos on this extended holiday (aka living in SA) I would be on for a few years.  However, I quickly discovered that just owning a nice camera does not a good photographer make.  So, last May I took a 5-session photography course from a local photography guru to learn how to use my new camera effectively.  I learned a lot and, with practice, improved a bit.  In the past few months though I found that I've been slipping back into my old bad habits of taking way too many "auto" shots.

Meet the Owner
Lorna Spittal

So what does all this camera talk have to do with coffee?  Well, I left Friends Coffee Bar and Bistro, Thursday's Crawl site, with a new-found excitement about practicing and improving my photography skills.  When I entered Friends with Fran on Thursday the first thing that caught my attention was the group of large black/white framed photos along one wall of the shop.  Lorna Spittal, owner of Friends, told us that these photos were taken by her husband (not a professional photographer) on his visits to cities around the world.  I loved hearing the stories about the characters in each of the photos.  These black/white framed pics add the perfect artistic touch to the shop's black/red/white decor.  Unfortunately, the photos are not for sale, otherwise I may have purchased the whole lot!

Meet the Manager
Kerri-Lee Mason

Home-made ice cream... Yum!

Friends Coffee Bar and Bistro has been owned by Lorna Spittal and managed by Kerri-Lee Mason for two and a half years.  The shop is located at 5 Vige St. in the Summerstrand Shopping Centre in Summerstrand.  I haven't spent much time in the Summerstrand area so I didn't even know that this shopping centre existed until Thursday's Crawl.  What a find!!!

So, besides the wall photos there's so much to love about this coffee shop..... extended hours daily- 8 am to 8:30 pm with a full menu plus a separate menu of Summer Afternoon Specials, a new ice cream/sorbet/gelato bar with these frozen treats home made by a local couple, FREE WiFi for all patrons, and my fave... LavAzza brand coffee.  As for the coffee, my cappuccino, prepped by barista, Figo, was excellent, and just as I was about to order another, Gail, our waitress, served a yummy looking latte (and some carrot cake) to a nearby table.  Soon, Figo was whipping up a latte for me as well.  Keeping in mind our No-Food-On-The-Crawl rule, I held off on ordering cake but three Crawlers who will go un-named ordered mango sorbet and Ferrero Rocher ice cream.  It certainly looked refreshing on such a hot, humid day.

Meet the Barista
Figo

 

With the new school year just starting in SA last week and uniformed children with eager faces (maybe some not so eager) were everywhere to be seen, this week's Crawlers, Nomusa Nkomo, June Nash, Fran de Beer, Gail Darne, and Stella and Beryl Dawson, shared fond school memories.  Only my siblings would be able to relate to my hot dog/cupcake day story so I won't expound here.  Anyway, after the school stories, we went onto books and reading.... again.  Books come up quite often at the Crawl.  I think we may have the start of a book club once we've exhausted all the PE coffee shops!  Lastly, a ton of talk time was spent with everyone giving me suggestions for vacation spots for when Jeff and Liz come to visit in May/June.  Lots of great ideas..... so much to see and so little time!

This Week's Crawlers
Fran, Gail, Nomusa, Beryl, Stella
not pictured - June

After all the Crawlers left, Fran and I stayed a while and talked with Lorna and Kerri-Lee.  Awesome chatting with you both..... hope we can do it again soon!

All coffee shop things considered.....  coffee, decor, location, hours and hospitality (not to mention WiFi and ice cream!!), Friends Coffee Bar and Bistro is definitely on my short-list of favorite coffee shops in PE.

~Happy Birthday to the President of the PE Fan Club, my father-in-law, Sabie, in Binghamton, NY

   (Januuary 24)

~Happy Birthday to my sister, Elaine, in Erie, PA (January 23)

~Thank you to Lorna, Kerri-Lee, Figo and Gail

~Thank you to Lorna's husband--- your photographs have inspired my inner photographer

~Thank you all my SA/Zim friends for your vacation suggestions... now I have some homework to do!

Until next week,

Ellen

                                                         

   

Zest Urban Cafe

The New Year got off to a great start for the PE Coffee Crawlers as thirteen of us met on Thursday (Jan 12) at Zest Urban Cafe for the first Crawl of 2012.  After a three week respite from the Crawl everyone seemed ready for their coffee/tea fix and some time to catch up with each other.  Zest Urban Cafe provided the ideal spot for both.

Shortly after we all arrived at Zest our hostess/waitress, Bianca, served up our orders and I had an opportunity to have quite a chat with Zest's owner, Jakes Reeder.  Jakes told me that Zest has been in business at its present location in the Times Square Shopping Centre on Heugh Rd. in Walmer for seven years.  He is very enthusiastic about his shop and his enthusiasm carries over to his staff.... a great group of people!  Jakes wants his shop to exude a trendy but relaxed atmosphere and reach a "wide spectrum" of customers from young families to business people to retirees.  He has achieved this goal by having a defined but subtle black/white decor, a breakfast/lunch/dinner menu to suit all tastes (including quite a selection of smoothies!), and extended hours seven days a week.  Zest has inside and outside seating (for approx 100 patrons) with lounge areas, booths, and tables... something for everyone.

Meet the Owner
Jakes Reeder



Meet the Baristas
Tim and Tyler



It has been very hot here in PE recently (even first thing in the morning) so Thursday's Crawlers, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Gail Darne, June Nash, Leanne Waller, Margaret Zoetmulder, Nomusa Nkomo, Fran and Keith de Beer, Prudie Brown, Colleen LeRoux and  Beth Vieira, chose a table inside in air-conditioned comfort to enjoy their tea, smoothies, Illy brand specialty coffees or Masterton's Cameo filter coffee.  Baristas-in-training, Tyler and Tim had no problem keeping up with the onslaught of orders from the Crawlers.  Kudos to the Zest staff!




This Week's Crawlers
Keith, Fran, Beryl, Gail, Leanne, Nomusa, Stella, Colleen,
June, Margaret, Bianca, Prudie, Beth



Nomusa's "Berry Healthy" smoothie

Since we hadn't Crawled for three weeks there was not a shortage of things to discuss at the table on Thursday.  With so much to talk about it's hard to choose what to include in this post but I'll have to go with the topic of phobias.  Acrophobia (fear of heights) and entomophobia (fear of insects) topped the list of the Crawlers' fears.  As a matter of fact, these are two of the most common phobias world-wide.  Unfortunately for me, both these fears of mine have been pushed to the limit more than once in my time here exploring SA.  I hear that phobias can be cured through hypnosis..... but I'm afraid to do that.... (Yeah, you saw that one coming!)  Anyway, one good thing that came out of the phobia discussion... I got a great recommendation for a local pest control guy from Leanne!  He was at my home bright and early on Friday morning to take care of all those creepy crawlies wreaking havoc in my living space!  Now Lou doesn't have to hear my screams as I am walking around the house.

~Thank you to Jakes for taking the time to chat with me about Zest.
~Thank you to Bianca, Tyler and Tim... you all did a wonderful job!
~Thank you to Leanne (my husband thanks you, too!) for the bug guy recommendation
~Thank you to Clinton..... the bug guy!!!!!!!

Here's to another year of PE Coffee Crawling..........

Until next week,
Ellen

                                                                       

Bonamia

December 22's Coffee Crawl at Bonamia was one for the record books for three reasons:   1) We broke the record for the most Crawlers (19) set previously on St Pat's Day (March 17) at Keg and Swan (and not counting Thanksgiving which was at my home)    2) We smashed the 3 hour record for the longest Crawl (set at Blue-Orange on June 9) with a whopping 4 and a half hours!    3) It has taken me almost three weeks to get this blog post up!

So, the first two records were set because of a combination of Christmas spirit and the fact that we wouldn't be Crawling again until January 12.  The third reason was that I was in the States for a few weeks.  My fellow Crawlers were out of sight but not out of mind on the Thursdays that I was away.  On Thursday, Dec 29, I had a not-so-bad cappuccino at the Delta Club in the Atlanta airport.... forgot to take a pic.  On Thursday, Jan 5, I tried to coax my husband/children/grandchildren into stopping at Jittery Joe's in Cleveland, Tennessee for a family Coffee Crawl, but to no avail.  I'll have to catch up with "Joe" the next time I'm in Tennessee.

Now, here I am, back in PE having a cup of Sumatran Single Origin Ethiopian (love it, Shaun!) trying to battle some hard-core jet lag and getting Dec 22's Coffee Crawl posted before tomorrow morning's Crawl!  So, on to Bonamia, the last Crawl of 2011.

Meet the Barista and Manager
Tess and Jaco

Bonamia is situated in the Walker Drive Shopping Centre in Sherwood, a few shops down from Friends and Blends (May 12 Crawl).  Right off the bat I need to give a huge THANK YOU to Bonamia's manager, Jaco Ferreira, and barista, Tess.  With absolutely no notice (the Crawl's MO), both Jaco and Tess immediately got busy setting up a group of tables so that our large group of Crawlers could all sit together.  Orders for tea and Caturra brand coffee started "pouring in" and didn't stop for the four plus hours we were there.  Since it was our Christmas Crawl, most of the Crawlers broke the No-Food-On-The-Crawl Rule and enjoyed a variety of freshly baked cakes, pies, and pastries.  If memory serves me I had 2 cappuccinos, 1 machiato, and 2 Americanos....oh, and a piece of amazing lemon meringue pie.  Good thing I don't take sugar in my coffee.... the caffeine jitters were enough.

Bonamia is open seven days a week with breakfast/lunch/dinner menus and daily evening specials.  The shop seats 70, inside and outside combined.  As for the decor, when we were there Bonamia was decorated beautifully for Christmas contributing to the festive mood of the Crawlers.  In speaking with the manager, Jaco, he told me that Bonamia also does catering (dinners and platters) for all occasions... "no order too big or too small."  So, keep Bonamia in mind for your next event.... I know I will.  ....And my list of catering options continues to grow!!!




This Week's Crawlers
from front left and going clockwise
Colleen, Nomusa, Margaret, Howard, Beth, Ann, Gail, Stella, June, Beryl,
Fr. Dominic, Fran, Therreza, Br. Anstey, Paul, Keith, Marie
not pictured- Lou


Speaking of growing lists, December 22's record breaking Crawler list included: Beth and Ann Vieira, Keith, Fran, Paul and Therreza de Beer, Howard, June and Marie Nash, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Gail Darne, Nomusa Nkomo, Margaret Zoetmulder, Colleen LeRoux, Fr. Dominic Griego, Br. Anstey Kay, and my husband, Lou.  What a crew!  Once assembled the Crawlers' first order of business was to open their Christmas cracker party favors.  I only mention this as an explanation for the ridiculous paper crowns some of the Crawlers are wearing in the pics.  As for talk at the table... considering the non-stop chatter among 19 people over the course of 4 1/2 hours it's tough to even know where to start. 
However, three topics stand out for me:
  1)  SA English idiosyncracies, lovingly referred to as South Africanisms some of which were the cause of some big time confusion and/or miscommunication when Lou and I first moved here.  There is a published book of these that I'm sure to add to my library "just now."
   2)  The Fibonacci Series, a mathematical series of numbers discovered by Leonardo of Pisa (aka Fibonacci) in 1202.  This series is found in the natural world... corn cobs, artichokes, pine cones, nautilus shells, galaxies, the list goes on.....ad infinitum......    Math talk over coffee at a Christmas party?  Those crazy Crawlers!
   3)   Keith's Eskimo (Eskomou) joke.... with its SA spin, it may lose its humor in the translation, so I won't even go there.  (I'm sure Keith will have something to say about this in his comment... stay tuned!)

~ Again, a big thank you to Jaco and Tess for your patience in accommodating the Christmas Crawlers
~ Belated Happy Birthday wishes to my brother, Bob  in Waterford, PA (Jan 4) and to my brother-in-law,
   Joe in Binghamton, NY (Jan 8)

~HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until next week,

Ellen

More Christmas Crawl pics....

Lou missed the group pic but got to Bonamia just in time for a Christmas kiss from Marie!
Where' s the mistletoe?