‘Keeping calm’ with pancakes at Deli-cious in Borrowdale

American breakfast at Deli-cious.

A Matter of Taste with Charlotte Malakoff

Your blood pressure may have been spiking on Monday morning as you speed read through the list of externalisers of foreign funds, or perhaps you were breathless with anticipation as Zimbabwe and the West Indies battled it out at Harare Sports Club for the World Cup Qualifier next year. Whatever your cause for anxiety, help is always at hand at Deli-cious Food Emporium at Sam Levy’s Village, where the chef’s motto is ‘Keep calm and eat pancakes’.

By way of a change, instead of being at work and upright at my computer last Monday morning, I found myself at Deli-cious Food Emporium in Sam Levy’s Village. While seated in dappled sunshine on a wooden deck , surrounded by leafy green potted ficus benjaminas and a large number of relaxed-looking individuals sipping coffee and eating pancakes, an idea took shape in my mind of regularly getting the week off to a superb start with breakfast at Deli-cious.

Whether you crave American pancakes, farmhouse breakfasts, Canadian french toast, ex-President Obama’s favourite avocado on rye toast or healthy granola and yogurt, you are sure to find it on the extensive menu at Deli-cious. Minimalist breakfasts of toast and coffee are also there for the asking.

The aroma of frying bacon is hard to resist, but I opted for a vegetarian full house breakfast of two poached eggs, baked beans, fried potatoes, mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, sweetcorn fritters and toast ($10). The eggs were perfectly cooked to order – neither runny nor hard, and the fried potatoes were freshly fried, crisp, and all the same size. The fritters were on the heavy side, and I would have liked something lighter – soft within and crisp outside, but the home made chilli sauce and fragrant baked beans helped things along.

George’s American breakfast of two fried eggs and bacon served on flapjacks with maple syrup ($8) was a winner. The flapjacks were light and fluffy, the bacon both crisp and tender, and the eggs gleamed like pieces of gold. Prettily presented with sliced tomato and cucumber with a sprig of mint, it looked as good as it tasted.

Nutritionists now say that eating chocolate for breakfast, be it a slice of chocolate cake or a pain au chocolat pastry, not only makes you happy, but also prevents memory loss. On the strength of this we both ordered foaming hot chocolate in elongated glass mugs. Our attentive waiter offered both brown and white sugar to sweeten the chocolate, but it was perfect as it was.

Deli-cious Fine Food Emporium is one of the best known restaurants in Sam Levy’s Village. Established by Graeme and Jo de Beer in 2004, it is popular with an ever-growing clientele, both young and old. A posse of eight elderly ladies in wheel chairs arrived for coffee and a chat, young couples breakfasted together, and singles checked emails or surfed the internet while enjoying a croissant and a cappuccino.

Born in Harare, Graeme trained in Denmark as a butcher, and now produces a fine range of salamis, hams, bacon and chorizos. Manufactured, cured and smoked in his onsite butchery, all these products are available at Deli-cious. Graeme and Jo are also busy with outside catering, and can provide a variety of platters with 40, 50 or 60 pieces, for your unexpected guests or drinks parties.

Whether you’re reducing your stress levels with pancakes and coffee, or enjoying a well-cooked meal, don’t leave Deli-cious without putting a packet of bacon or a salami in your shopping bag.

Deli-cious Fine Food Emporium

Shop 97A, Sam Levy’s Village

Borrowdale

Open: Monday – Friday 7 am – 4.30 pm

Saturday & Sunday 7 am – 1 pm

Mobile: 0772 329 355

Comments to: cmalakoff@gmail.com