Okay! To “spice” things up a bit, my name is Rachel, and I’m volunteering as tribute to be a guest writer on The Hunger James. Similar to my wonderful foodie friend James, I like pretty much all food. All of it. Except sardines, but like, I’m sorry, who likes those?

 

In a city like New York, you can eat anything. No, I’m not trying to sound obvious. You can seriously eat anything. At times it can be so frustrating to decide on a restaurant, which is why I usually order from the same Vietnamese restaurant that I live above and pick it up in my slippers, but that’s a story for another time. But everyday, you where you have to ask yourself “Well, hmmm do I want Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Vietnamese, Moroccan….” It can be quite a struggle.

 

The other weekend I had guests in from Virginia and naturally the role of choosing nighttime activities fell into my hands. And when I say nighttime activities, I clearly mean eating. So on Sunday, we planned a big dinner of 7 people. The pressure was on!

 

We were traveling to a bar in Midtown later that night, so I decided that we should eat in Hell’s Kitchen, home to so many incredible restaurants. While I was perusing Yelp! and holding back tears of frustration (and starvation) I landed on an interesting cuisine: South African. I mean, when I looked at the restaurant,  1. I didn’t know how to pronounce it and 2. I had no idea what would be on the menu.  I noticed there were tapas and an entrée that included BBQ ribs, so I naturally decided we were going there.

 

And I am so glad we did.

 

I think one of the most important things about a great meal is the atmosphere in which you end up licking your plate. Oops, I meant eat your meal. The restaurant is called Braai, which means barbecue in Afrikaans. The instant you walk down the steps into this sub-level restaurant, you are transported out of New York and into Africa.  Candlelight, deep wood, and white floors create an ambiance that makes you feel warm, fuzzy, and honestly, a bit drunk.

 

First things first, let’s discuss the wine list. I am not usually a fan of South African wines, but we selected a Red from Stellenbosch which was dreamy and rich. The kind of wine that you want to savor sip by sip but at the same time drink the entire bottle. As I was sipping (chugging) my wine, I started to look at the menu and I have never seen a more interesting list of food: Octopus, ostrich, and something actually called “Road Runner” were all on there.

 

There were also normal options like Truffle Mac and Cheese (of course we got that) Salmon, Ribs, and Lamb Chops. My sister, her friend Grace and I decided that since we wanted the entire menu, we should split some tapas. We decided to get 5, because honestly who only gets 3 small plates? We ordered the Truffle Mac & Cheese, Lamb Empanadas, Calamari, Stuffed Portobello with Goat Cheese, and to my hesitation, the Grilled Octopus.