American barbecue and torque for Africa at Cafe Carbon in Mandara.

DO you know the difference between torque and horsepower? Does the vehicle you keep closeted until the weekend have ‘torque for Africa’?

Do you arrange your social calendar around drag races and circuit racing at Donnybrook Raceway, meeting up with other petrol heads for contests of reaction and acceleration, and to see how fast your car can go? If so, The Carbon Cafe and Bar at 108 Eastern Road in Mandara, could easily become your second home.

BLT bagel with chips and salad at Cafe Carbon.

Last Sunday morning we took the Arcturus Road, driving past the Kamfinsa Shopping Centre, and in the general direction of Donnybrook Raceway. Knowing that Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison also existed in this neck of the woods, although several kilometres away, the words ‘Abandon hope all ye who enter here’ from Dante’s Divine Comedy, came to mind. Taking a left into Pringle Road and then into Eastern Road, the mood changed abruptly as we turned into the entrance of the Carbon Cafe.

A pack of bikers was already ensconced on the veranda at the cafe, their gleaming steeds parked in the driveway. Lean and mean, to a novice the machines could have been naked cafe racers (sleek, stripped down beasts) or scrambler motor bikes, all capable of providing the ultimate adrenaline rush. The average biker might be described as adventurous, thrill-seeking, passionate or rebellious, but the guys on the veranda looked like regular family men, out to enjoy an early breakfast and an outing with their friends.

The Carbon Cafe in Mandara

Opening at 8.00 am and closing at 16.30 pm every day of the week, Cafe Carbon offers all day breakfast and American style light meals. Hands-on owner Loli is not only a car enthusiast (she owns a Nissan Navarra with a V8 engine);she is also a hospitality pro, having worked as an administrator for some years in an Italian pasticceria (bakery and pastry shop) in Cape Town. She and her partner are passionate about the American barbecue tradition of hot smoking where different meats are cooked in a smoker over low, indirect heat, for up to twenty four hours.

The Bikers depart after breakfast.

The menu offers smoked beef brisket, chicken and pulled pork, to be eaten with either ciabatta, artisan bread or tortillas, and served with a side option of fried chips, mac ’n cheese, sweet southern slaw or a house salad. Bagels and waffles, regular and gluten free, are both made in house, and come with a variety of fillings.

The BLT bagel on the breakfast menu was generously layered with lettuce, tomato and the most delicious smoked bacon I’ve tasted this year. (I’ve yet to discover if the bacon was prepared in Carbon Cafe’s own master built smoker.) A large portion of French fries and a fresh garden salad made this a substantial meal.

Gluten free waffle with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

A dessert waffle, served with ice cream and chocolate sauce and surrounded with popcorn, was disappointingly thin and chewy, possibly because it was made with gluten free flour. Cappuccino coffee, however, was hot and full of flavour, and made from roasted coffee beans produced by the Tanganda Tea Company in Chipinge, in the Eastern Highlands.

Vehicle and bike enthusiasts will find a warm welcome at Carbon Cafe, and two or more bikers can qualify for a bagel and coffee breakfast special for $6.00.

This is not an obvious destination, however, for environmentally conscious Generation Z, born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s, who are said to be disinterested in owning a car or driving. But if you can organise ride-sharing, don’t let a lack of wheels prevent you from enjoying the warm hospitality at Carbon Cafe. Families are welcome, and kids will enjoy the attractive small swimming pool and pretty garden.

We were sipping second cups of coffee when the bikers were ready to leave. Donning their leather jackets and motorcycle helmets, they leapt astride their machines, revved up, and left en masse, triple-cylinder exhaust notes and the exciting noise of VFR V4 engines echoing all the way down Eastern Road.

A Matter of Taste with Charlotte Malakoff