Pavement Special: Burgers in the land of the brie

29 October 2014 - 02:02 By Kim Maxwell
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RELISH: Daniella van Zyl feels at home in her pop-up kitchen. 'It doesn't feel like work when you're doing what you love,' she says
RELISH: Daniella van Zyl feels at home in her pop-up kitchen. 'It doesn't feel like work when you're doing what you love,' she says

On the corner of Plein and Mostert streets in central Cape Town, a vendor's cool-drink fridge creates a stable surface for a game of dominoes, played by office regulars during their lunch hour.

Metres away, Daniella's Kitchen Pop Up has customers filing in and out.

Daniella van Zyl, 26, operates her recently opened business with boyfriend Stean Bester. She preps food in a tucked-away kitchen off Plein Street. The couple sell similar items at The Palms centre every Saturday.

The shoebox of a space, open until the end of the year, suits the pop-up's tiny menu: all-day breakfast ciabatta, sexy sandwiches, burgers, and a dish of the day (ribs, chicken strips or lasagne, with salad).

A friendly arrangement with neighbouring RAW Espresso Bar to avoid overlaps means you can drink only extracted juice (R25) at Daniella's. It's zingily fresh and made to order from beetroot, ginger, green apple and orange.

A regular customer orders an all-day breakfast ciabatta with egg and bacon (R35).

It's made on the spot.

My "amaze cheeseburger" (R47) has a 10-minute wait. Plump and tasty, it combines tomato, lettuce and fried onions on a toasted sesame bun.

The homemade mustard sauce is sweet, and the fried patty lacks the char of a grill, but as a take-away it easily trumps fast food alternatives.

Woodstock Bakery supplies the ciabatta and burger buns.

Less messy, a "sexy sandwich" ciabatta includes white cheddar with Van Zyl's homemade basil cashew pesto and blistered cherry tomatoes.

The roasted gammon with sweet mustard sauce is popular. There's also chicken with sweet mustard sauce, salad and avocado.

"My parents had a restaurant in Vredendal, so I grew up in one," says Van Zyl.

"I studied in Cape Town and worked in public relations and marketing first, but found myself coming back to food. It doesn't feel like work when you're doing what you love."

  • Daniella's Kitchen Pop Up, corner Mostert and Plein streets. Open Monday to Friday from 7am to 4pm. 073-517-4365
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