Sacramento - Crawl #17 Revisited

Last Wednesday evening friends of ours from Arizona in the States arrived in PE on the late flight from Joburg to spend a month visiting with us.  Despite some hard core jet lag after a day and a half of traveling and a 9 hour time difference, our friends Jackie and David, were up  and ready for the Crawl bright and early on Thursday morning!  Jackie is a regular reader of the PECC blog.  In June, 2011 after reading post #17 on Sacramento Jackie decided that should she ever have the opportunity to vacation here she definitely wanted to visit this Schoenies establishment.  As luck would have it Sacramento just happened to be the next  Revisit in the queue for last Thursday's Crawl!  Couldn't have planned it better.
Sacramento is situated on Marine Drive in Schoenmakerskop with an amazing view of the ocean....what a perfect introduction to the area for our guests!

The view of the ocean from Sacramento

Things are pretty much the same at Sacramento since our first Crawl there in 2011 (see June 4, 2011 post).  Mark de la Peyre is still the owner, and delicious breakfast/lunch/dinner selections are Caturra brand coffee still make up the extensive menu.  My favorite part of visiting Sacramento is the nautical themed decor that goes along with the featured story of the 1647 Portuguese Galleon shipwreck on the inside cover of the menu.

The shipwreck story 

Sacramento's hours are Tues, Thurs, Sun, 9-5; Wed, Fri, Sat, 9-9; closed on Monday.

Meet the Barista
Quintin

There were 21 other Crawlers on Thursday at Sacramento joining me in welcoming Jackie and David to South Africa, PE, and the Coffee Crawl.   Dale Mitchell, Margaret Zoetmulder, Margaret Marshall, Beth Vieira, June and Cayle Nash, Leanne Waller, Stella (Ace) and Beryl Dawson, Sylvia Mynhardt, Lee Rodwell, Celeste Hudson, Gail Darne, Jackie and David Dudek, Colleen LeRoux, Myrl Venter, Fran and Keith de Beer, newcomer Gerry Gnadt, Nicoletta Emmens, Janny Meierink, Pierrette De Winne and I had an incredible morning at the Crawl with the lovely weather, Sacramento's inviting atmosphere, and our charming and efficient barista Quintin.  What better way for our guests to begin their South African adventure?

Thursday's Crawlers
Fran, David, Beth, Margaret M., Colleen, Myrl, Jackie

More of Thursday's Crawlers
Beryl, Stella (Ace), June, Gail, Sylvia, Leanne,
Nicoletta, Janny, Lee, Celeste, Pierrette
not pictured - Keith, Cayle, Dale, Gerry

And because missed the group pic....
Margaret Z. and David 

To PECC readers....I won't be posting for the next few weeks.  Lou and I are taking our guests on a road trip to see a bit of the country....perhaps we'll come across some cool coffee shops along the way.  Just before we depart, though, the Crawlers will meet on Thursday, March 13 for our 4th Annual St. Patrick's Day Crawl (starting the celebration a little early!) at Keg and Swan in Sunridge at 10:00 a.m.  If you're out and about stop in and join us for an Irish coffee!  I'm sending out a special invitation to Firefly/Jonker F. to join us.....you have been such a faithful supporter of the Coffee Crawl blog and we'd all love to meet you!

~Thank you to Barista Quintin....absolutely amazing coffee and service on Thursday!
~Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!!!!! - March 17
~A special Happy St. Patrick's Day to all the descendants of Buzz and Katie O'Hara!

Lots of birthday wishes.........
~Happy Birthday to Crawler Mandy de Beer in Guernsey - March 15
~Happy Birthday to Crawler Fran de Beer - March 22
~Happy Birthday to Crawler Margaret Zoetmulder - March 22
~Happy Birthday to Crawler Arthur Marshall - March 22
~Happy Birthday to Crawler Margaret Marshall - Marsh 25
~Happy Birthday to my nephew Brenden in Binghamton, NY - March 28
~Happy Birthday to Crawler Jenny Fowler in Durban - March 31

Until the beginning of April,

Ellen

The only three who got the memo about a uniform for the day
Stella (Ace), Jackie, Beryl

The Pink Fig - Crawl #16 Revisited

In my May 29, 2011 post I likened The Pink Fig to a place called Kokomo made famous in the 1988 song of the same name by The Beach Boys.  The lyrics tell of Kokomo, an idyllic place to "get away from it all."  Now, here we are, three years later for our Revisit and I stand by my comparison of the two places.  Kokomo  is a fictional (though some say it exists) tropical island located off the Florida Keys while The Pink Fig is a renovated farm house turned coffee shop located on Heatherbank Rd. in Charlo.  Couldn't be more different, but both provide for a brief respite from the busy-ness of our pressure filled lives.

Though situated not far from busy PE streets and shops The Pink Fig exudes a relaxed country atmosphere.  You can certainly "get away from it all" by spending the morning, afternoon, (or both as we did on Thursday) chilling out at The Pink Fig.  The decor is perfect for the farm setting on which the shop is located.

Meet the Owner
Chantelle Catherine

Wow! Their own special blend!

New owners since August, 2013, Nadine Parker and Chantelle Catherine, are excited about taking over the business.  Silwood Chef School trained Chantelle is updating the breakfast/lunch/cake menu a bit, though customer favorites, including daily lunch specials and the Sunday breakfast buffet, will remain.
Nadine and Chantelle have changed the coffee brand used at the shop to Masterton's Special Pink Fig Blend, a delicious blend created exclusively by "the Man" himself for The Pink Fig.  A "ground  for coffee maker" version of The Pink Fig Blend is available for sale at the shop....and, you guessed it, I was first in line to purchase some.

Meet the Barista
Juliana

Meet the Baristas
Stanley and Thulani

Baristas/Waitrons Juliana, Stanley (our barista in 2011!) and Thulani kept up with coffee orders from Thursday's fourteen Crawlers all morning.  My cappuccino and Americano were excellent....just what The Pink Fig customers have come to expect.  We were all so impressed with the coffee, the service, the breakfasts and cakes, and the atmosphere that eight of us stayed for lunch.  Kudos to the staff!

Now, the thing for which The Pink Fig is most well known is the children's play area on the property.  This brings me to one very noticeable change for those familiar with The Pink Fig.  Nadine and Chantelle have changed the well-loved Piglet of Winnie-the-Pooh fame logo to a fresh, new logo featuring a fig tree with silhouettes of two children playing (inspired by Chantelle's 6-year-old twin boys).  See the new logo at the top of this post.

Love this door!

Yes, The Pink Fig caters to people with young children and offers the venue for kids' parties, but for the older crowd, the shop is available for all types of social functions and High Tea, there is a 15% discount for all pensioners every Thursday, plus The Pink Fig is fully licensed.  You definitely don't need to have kids along to enjoy some rest and relaxation at The Pink Fig.

The Pink Fig's hours are Wed-Sat, 9-4; Sun, 9-3; Sunday Breakfast Buffet from 9-11:30.  Closed on Monday and Tuesday.

Thursday's Crawlers, June and Cayle Nash, Margaret Zoetmulder, Margaret and Arthur Marshall (welcome back!), Beth Vieira, Fran de Beer, Jenny Fowler, Stella (Ace) and Beryl Dawson, Gail Darne, Dale Mitchell, Elize Pretorius, were in desperate need of some chill-out time after a few hectic weeks at the Crawl.  The forecast for Thursday was sunny, hot and humid.  We chose to sit indoors where we enjoyed a beautiful cross-breeze, though outside seating would have been just as nice as all the tables are under huge shade trees.

This Week's Crawlers
Margaret Z., Jenny, Stella, Beryl, Beth,
June, Cayle, Margaret M., Eliza, Dale, Fran, Gail, Arthur

Did you two call each other and make a plan?

Our conversation at the table at Thursday's Crawl started with a review of the production of Macbeth that is presently playing at The Little Theatre in PE.  Congrats to the director, cast and crew for an outstanding opening night!  Specially featured in cameo bagpipe playing roles were two of my friends from the bagpipe band I'm in.  Nice job Beverley and Patrick!  PE residents, if you hurry you can still catch a performance.  Macbeth is playing at The Little Theatre through March 8.

After our discussion of The Scottish Play the topic somehow turned to climbing Mt. Everest.  A few of the Crawlers know someone who has just left for Tibet to make the trek to the summit of Everest!  We all wish him Good Luck and Godspeed.

~Thank you to Nadine, Chantelle, and The Pink Fig staff - our Crawl to The Pink Fig was relaxing and
   enjoyable
~Hope everyone had a Fat Tuesday!

Until next week,

Ellen