Breakfast in Braamies
Beyond the posing and the beautiful people, there’s a delightful place where they know how to appeal directly to your taste buds
The problem with the Braamfontein area is that there are too many beautiful people just hanging out there. They are trendy. They wear very cool clothes. They have gorgeous hairstyles. And they are all over the place. It’s incredible. Where do they get them? Any time of the day you can see them in Braamfontein.
You would think the place was a movie set. And sometimes it is: loads of movie companies, making adverts or action movies, take advantage of the incredible regeneration that’s been happening there. Now restaurants, clothes shops, the iconic jazz joint The Orbit and all sorts of other establishments dot the place. It looks like a small piece of New York City.
I have driven or walked past Daleahs Eatery several times, with the beautiful people sometimes flowing out onto the pavement — eating, drinking and enjoying life in that way that only cool people can.
At these times I have wanted to pop into Daleahs and order a drink and some food. Yet I have always held back. Do these trendy types actually sit in these restaurants for the food, or are they just posing?
It’s a bit like our ongoing chatter about the credit-rating agencies. Look at our political leaders. Every day you hear the presidency and others proclaiming they will be working with business and civil society to turn the economy around to ensure we are not downgraded to junk.
They proclaim how we intend to tighten our belts, watch our spending and grow the economy.
And you want to jump up and clap with delight. Old habits die hard, though. The next minute you hear that ministers are buying new cars and staying in fancy hotels. Then, while the ratings agencies are visiting the country, the Hawks threaten to arrest the finance minister while the ANC decides to do nothing about the fact that businessmen go around offering its leaders positions as minister of finance.
Sometimes you have to wonder if our leaders, and the cool people of Braamfontein, are serious about an issue or just posing. Zuma, it seems to me, has no interest in fixing this economy or our broken politics.
Anyway, off I went with my lovely wife to Daleahs Eatery on a Saturday morning. Saturdays are big in Braamfontein. The Neighbourgoods Market attracts foodies of all kinds — my wife bought some fabulous Spanish desserts while I got some exotic sausages — and the rest of the area is flooded by breakfast hunters who keep eating into lunch and beyond.
Daleahs is a lovely, cosy, warm space, nicely decorated without being pretentious. They serve breakfast all day and have a petite lunch menu. They close at 5.30 pm on weekdays but go on until 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. It is not a five-star, fine-dining establishment; just honest, entrepreneurial flair displaying itself through a small, stylish, neighbourhood eatery. We need more like these. That’s how you get people into jobs.
Only two tables were occupied when we arrived, but I have seen Daleahs full many times. Service was swift and our waiter, Raymond, knew what he was doing.
But here’s why I am writing about Daleahs: the breakfast was phenomenal. We both had the full English breakfast: eggs, beef sausages, tomato, bacon, rye bread. Man! My lovely wife, who was starving, confessed that it was one of the best breakfasts she had ever had.
Her poached eggs were perfect while my scrambled eggs were just right. Beef sausages can be dodgy, but these were tasty and fresh. Bacon? Crispy, juicy. Orange juice? Cold, fresh. Everything worked.
Those trendy people are not just posing. The food is good.