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Fussy, fashionable or farce?

Wholefood columnist, Janet Steer, tells us about her quest to find more restaurants that serve real, honest food.

Am I alone in my quest to find more restaurants that serve real, honest food? Am I just fussy or unaware of fashionable food trends? Or is eating out just a farce?

My brother-in-law claims that I am the worst person to go out to eat with. I beg to differ. I cannot deny that I never complain or query the restaurant's offerings, but why is what you get, rarely what you expect?

I do eat a little differently to my friends and family. But I am not totally alien; my husband is my number one fan when it comes to my home cooking. But, I love going out to eat.

And I will continue my search for a restaurant serving honest, simple and clean food... food that feels like a home-cooked meal and doesn't leave me feeling queasy the morning after.

Sushi with mayonnaise must be a South African thing. It baffles me that I have to specifically request that my hand roll is made without mayonnaise. And when I forget to request this exclusion, I get the impression that it is my mistake. I never saw this inclusion in the East. Perhaps mayonnaise should be lumped with the ketchup and take its place in the sauce holder.

I always request a cheese-less pizza. That's not a problem. But if I have spinach as one of my toppings, through experience, I must remember to ask whether it is creamed spinach. Does the word spinach in the toppings list mean creamed spinach? Any vision of soft green wilted leaves quickly becomes a delusion and insipid sludge becomes the order of the day.

Why do restaurants and chefs feel the need to tamper with, tangle and tarnish the food that we eat? Must everything be drowned in a sauce, drenched in oil or buried in spice? On occasion, yes, we want a thrilling experience. But where are the venues that can bowl you over with a balanced but basic meal? They are few and far between.

My most memorable meals have been those in the simplest of settings and from the shortest of menus. I can see what I am eating. I can distinguish one ingredient from the next. I can rejoice in the god-given texture of the food and savour each mouthful for its own intrinsic taste. And most noticeably, the spirit of staff and patrons alike resonates with the food. A palpable harmony prevails.

Fussy Oi it must be difficult to find something you like at a restaurant. I struggle as well. - Shaun   Sushi with no mayo Hi I went to Salushi in Cape Town - in Wembley sqaure they clearly state if there's any mayo in the sushi. Try them! - Jenny   Fussy vegetarian I absolutely agree with you. Also love eating out, but keep on going to the same places over and over again, because I am scared to death of the vegetarian fare at most restaurants. My worst is when I get THE LOOK if I dare ask wheter a soup was made with a meat or veggie stock. Or when restaurants serve those horrible veggie platters with overcooked vegetables and potatoes. Do they think that vegetarians don't enjoy food? - Phil J   Vegetarian food South Africans generally don't have much experience of delicious vegetarian food (few know that the best Indian food is meatless), and this is reflected in unimaginative restaurant menus. There's a popular Chicago restaurant called Blind Faith Cafe that more places should emulate. Their dishes are innovative and cross-cultural - Mexican, Thai, Korean, Mediterrean, etc. And they do what no restaurant here seems capable of - they serve side orders of steamed veggies. AND their clientele are mainly meat-eaters. - J   hippie Wow your brother-in-law sounds right, if you are fussy to that extent then its your fault for not being specific on the order of the food, you are basically taking away the chefs creational license to add a bit of this, remove a bit of that, mix this with that. - Chad   Meat I agree - if it was not for meat I would have been a veteterian too. - Jan Fourie   Good Vegan/Vegetarian Food I recently had an excellent Vegetarian Pasta at Panarottis. Have had some happy meals at La Romantica and Spur Salad Valleys. But the old Mike's Kitchen in Commissioner street was the winner. - Pieter   Sushi Mayo Mayo in sushi isnt South African, its a Californian invention, came with the Californian roll, saw it on food channel the other day. - Loreley Yeowart       Name Email Subject Comment