Connection Cafe

Port Elizabeth has certainly earned its reputation as The Windy City with constant 30-35 mph winds raging through town for the past month.  I believe most PE residents have had just about enough of it and are ready for the sultry breezes of summer that are just around the corner.  I know I am.
PE's other reputation as The Friendly City, however, I can handle year round!

On November 6 the Crawlers experienced both the windiness and friendliness of this fair city as we made our first ever visit to Connection Cafe located at the corner of William Moffett Expressway and Lily St. in Mangold Park.  Thursday November 6 was a beautiful sunny day but the high winds kept us from sitting at the shop's outside tables.  No matter....a warm and friendly atmosphere awaited us indoors.

Meet the Owners
Sandhir and Ranita Orie

Love this

Connection Cafe's owners, Ranita and Sandhir Orie, greeted us as we entered the spacious but cozy shop.  The Ories opened the Connection Cafe and TruFoods Catering in April, 2013.  The shop serves breakfast, lunch, main meals, snacks, pizza, cakes and take-aways along with LavAzza and Ciro brand coffees.  Free WiFi is available for all customers.  The catering side of Ranita and Sandhir's business is available for all types of private events off-site, and at two different venues on-site with seating for 80 and 150 people.

Meet the Staff
Lauren, Jonathan, Malisa

The Connection Cafe is staffed by The Word of Faith College Theology students.  I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the service on Crawl day was the speediest and friendliest we've experienced to date....and this was Crawl #153!  The quality of the food and coffee definitely did not suffer....our breakfasts, cakes and coffees were excellent.   Kudos to the Connection Cafe staff which included Lauren, Malisa and barista Jonathan.  Crawlers Nomusa Nkomo, Vicki Minnaar, Margaret Zoetmulder, June Nash, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Margaret and Arthur Marshall, Nicolette Hijmans, Gail Darne, Colleen Le Roux, Beth Vieira and I appreciate all the efforts of these wonderful young people in making our visit AWESOME!  We are your new best fans!

Connection Cafe's hours are Tues-Fri, 8-4; Saturdays are set aside for functions and events; Sundays, 8-2-ish and again from 4:30-11 pm.  Booking for a Sunday table is highly recommended.  Call 041 399 4411 or 074 497 0177 for bookings or to enquire about TruFoods Catering.  Email enquiries are also welcome:  trufoods.catering@gmail.com

Lemon Meringue

LavAzza Latte

This Week's Crawlers
Nicolette, Beryl, Arthur, Margaret M., Gail, Stella,
 June, Colleen, Beth, Margaret Z., Vicki, Nomusa

*A quick note to PE residents......the Pop-Up Cafe at the Christmas Shop in the Moffett on Main Lifestyle Centre is now open every day now through Christmas Eve.  The Crawlers stopped in for a visit on November 13 for Sumatran filter coffee and cakes compliments of Fat Cats Catering.  Pensioners, take advantage of the R20 coffee/cake special every Tuesday until 11:00!  Pop-Up Cafe's hours are Mon-Fri, 9-5; Sat, 9-3; Sun, 9-1.

~Thank you to Ranita and Sandhir Orie
~Thank you to the Connection Cafe staff....we love you guys!
~Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends Stateside!

Until next week,

Ellen

Faith   Hope   Love

Green Leaf Cafe and 2nd Annual Halloween @ Barnacles

Lou's jack-o-lantern skills!

The craziness of life has yet again gotten in the way of me posting on some of our recent Crawls. Hopefully, by the end of the year I will be caught up and ready to start fresh in 2015.  So, here goes, a double post on the last two Crawls of October.

On October 23 the Crawlers headed to the Green Leaf Cafe at The Donkin Reserve located on Belmont Terrace in Central.  This was our second visit to this shop previously known simply as The Donkin Coffee Shop (see Jan, 2012 post).   Back in January, 2012 this Wilderness Foundation coffee shop business had only been open for four months.  At that time the Crawlers were totally impressed with the Umzi Wethu trained staff.  Now, the shop has been running for almost three years and has changed its name to the Green Leaf Cafe.  Umzi Wethu graduates still continue to staff the coffee shop as chefs, baristas and waitrons serving up luscious baked goods, fresh-to-order breakfasts and lunches, and LavAzza coffee beverages.

This Week's Crawlers
Vicki, Arthur, Margaret M., Nicolette, Beryl, Pierrette, Stella,
Gail, Margaret Z., Beth, June, Nomusa. Leanne

Thirteen Crawlers, June Nash, Leanne Waller, Nomusa Nkomo, Beth Vieira, Vicki Minnaar, Gail Darne, Nicolette Hijmans, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Margaret and Arthur Marshall, Margaret Zoetmulder, and Pierrette, De Winne, joined me at this historical PE site to enjoy delicious coffee, excellent service, and a beautiful ocean view.  Staff members Wendy and Mawanda couldn't have been more accommodating and welcoming of the Crawlers.

Meet Thursday's Staff
Barista Wendy and Chef  Mawanda

The last time we visited, a number of Crawlers ventured up to the top of the lighthouse.  No one was feeling adventurous at Thursday's Crawl, so we just took some time after coffee to stroll the Donkin Reserve grounds.  After a wonderful morning at the Green Leaf Cafe and The Donkin I can only repeat what I said in my Jan, 2012 post.......PE residents, take some time to check out this little gem right in your own backyard!

The Green Leaf Cafe is open Monday through Friday, 8-4 and Saturday from 8:30-2:30.  The venue is available for private functions and off-site catering.  Call 041 582 1303 for bookings or to get info on their catering services.

Our October 30 Crawl was a combination Halloween/Birthday celebration.  Last year Halloween fell on Crawl Day, and Barnacles proved to be the perfect venue for the occasion (see Nov, 2013 post).  The Crawlers decided that a 2nd Annual Halloween Crawl was in order and that last year's site would be just right.  So, off we headed to Barnacles on Thursday, October 30, which just so happened to be my birthday.

In the true spirit (no pun intended) of the holiday everyone dressed up (and brought me a birthday cake!), and Lou and I provided the jack-o-lanterns and buckets of candy.  Our lovely hostess, co-owner Sunette du Plessis, had the patience of a saint as 18 Crawlers, Margaret Zoetmulder, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Gail Darne, Nomusa Nkomo, June Nash, Fran de Beer, Vicki Minnaar, Margaret and Arthur Marshall, Elize Pretorius, Nicolette Hijmans, Elaine Watson, Sandy Venter, Dale Mitchell, Beth Vieira, my husband Lou, and I ordered cakes, breakfasts, House of Coffee beverages, and later on, wine and mixed drinks to go with my birthday cake.  Barnacles offers a full menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner selections........and, they're fully licensed....something for everyone!

Nomusa

Beryl

Dale

The Halloween Crawlers
Elize, Gail, Nicolette, Nomusa, Stella, Margaret Z., Vicki,
Sandy, June, Fran, Beth, Dale, Margaret M., Beryl, Arthur
Not pictured. - Elaine, Lou, Ellen

For the second Crawl in a row we enjoyed a stunning ocean view.  On our first visit to Barnacles we searched the sea for quite a while looking for a show of marine life and were treated to a playful pod of dolphins right near the shoreline.  This year we were fortunate to sight a few whales in the distance!  The Crawlers have agreed that Barnacles is definitely the place for all future Halloween Crawls!

Love my candy corn!

Barnacles is located at 1 Elizabeth Rd. in Seaview.  The restaurant's hours are Mon-Sat, 9-9 and Sun, 9-3.  Call 041 378 2058 to book a table or to enquire about hosting your next special event or function at this glorious seaside venue.

~Thank you to Wendy and Mawanda from Green Leaf Cafe
~Thank you to Sunette from Barnacles
~Thank you to the Crawlers for making my birthday a memorable one!
~Congrats to Byron Keets, Donovan McLagan, and Ishaan Natalie for winning their respective
  events at the SCASA (Speciality Coffee Association of Southern Africa) Championships in Gauteng   last week!  Good luck on your upcoming international events!

Until next week,

Ellen

Bonamia - Crawl #46 Revisited

The Coffee Crawl hit another milestone recently.  On October 16 fifteen Crawlers headed to Bonamia for Crawl #150!  Bonamia was the site of our Crawl #46 which also served as our first Christmas Crawl (see Dec. 2011 post).

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Bonamia is located at the Walker Drive Shopping Centre in the Kabega/Sherwood area.  This spacious shop seats a total of approximately 100 patrons with seating inside and outside.  Since our first visit the management has changed, with Justin and Theresia Muller now running the show. Unfortunately, we didn't get to meet the new owners, but day manager Melissa and barista Alida were most welcoming.

Meet the Manager
 Melissa

Thursday's Crawlers took advantage of Bonamia's extensive menu, and ordered a variety of breakfast items, muffins and cakes to go with their Sumatran coffee beverages.  The service, food and hospitality were all exceptional for our revisit and Crawl #150!  I stepped out of the box for the special occasion by ordering an Irish coffee for the second round (and it's not even St' Pat's Day yet).

My Irish  Coffee

Meet the Barista
Alida

A wonderful Sumatran cappuccino

Bonamia is open every day from 8 am until 10 pm.  Call 041 360 0635 for information on their daily breakfast and lunch specials or to make a reservation.  Also, check out Bonamia on FaceBook!

This Week's Crawlers
Arthur, Margaret, June, Dale, Gail, Nomusa, Nicolette,
Alieshea, Beryl, Stella, Leanne, Beth, Elize, Pierrette

Yum!

So, you'd think that after 150 gatherings the Crawlers would have long run out of things to talk about.......not so.  Crawlers Nomusa Nkomo, Dale Mitchell, June Nash, Leanne Waller, Beth Vieira, Elize Pretorius, Pierrette De Winne and her granddaughter Alieshea, Nicolette Hijmans, Gail Darne, Stella and Beryl Dawson, Margaret and Arthur Marshall and I spent a good portion of the morning discussing Crawlers Lee and Graham's wedding and June's amazing wedding cake.  I also caught everyone up on Crawlers Lou and Liz's running of their first marathon.  Also, since I had just returned from a trip to the States, I brought well wishes and hellos from Crawler friends in America.
And, as usual, at least part of the morning was spent conversing about what has become two of our default (but favorite) topics.....books and music.

All in all it was a phenomenal Crawl #150!  I honestly can't believe we've come this far  Thanks to everyone....Crawlers, coffee shop owners, baristas and waitrons, PECC blog readers...... for making it possible!

~Thank you to Melissa and Alida for making it a memorable Crawl #150.
~Belated happy birthday wishes to Stella Dawson - Oct 25

Until next week,

Ellen