Plattelander Restaurant Colesberg

Should you ever happen to be in Colesberg, keep left and whatever you do, don't stop.  It's beyond my comprehension that good ingredients can be turned into awful food, but the Plattelander proved that one can. Most travellers on the N1 from Cape Town (the South) or Johannesburg (the North) will have to stop for a bite to eat and sleep over. We've looked forward to our stays and meals in the Karoo, as its cuisine is truly authentic, unique, and mostly excellent. Here, one doesn't expect Haute Cuisine but proper South African fare, or “boerekos" as we call it. We salivate as we wait for our curried and traditional tripe and onions.

A few weeks ago, I invited my dad for lunch; his request? Tripe and Onions. Butch agreed I should give it a shot.

I have only prepared Curried Tripe once before, and my then-husband announced, "This doesn't taste like my mother’s at all." That sealed the deal, and I never attempted this delicacy again.

From a shelf, I plucked my copy of Cook and Enjoy It, a 1975 edition, and, with restraint, I followed Mrs. De Villiers’ instructions to the T.

I think the dish I served was top-notch. My Dad agreed and went home with a Tupperware tub filled with my Curried Tripe in his basket. Butch and I enjoyed a thick slice of Brawn and freshly baked nutty brown bread the next night. Delicious. This was exactly what we were expecting in the Karoo.