#Johannesburg - 866 posts

In my latest "Favorite Jozi Coffeeshops" post I feature Bertrand, a coffeeshop on Fox Street in Maboneng that feels more like a Paris cafe.

The wooden Newtown heads, a downtown icon since 2001, have recently been refurbished by Mozambican artist Americo Guambe.

It's not easy to find good pizza in the Joburg CBD, especially on weekends. But Ben's Pizza on Loveday Street fits the bill.

Somerset House, a historic building on Gandhi Square, has become the headquarters for JoburgPlaces. There are big plans in the works for this 1906 building.

The oldest surviviing house in Johannesburg, built by Voortrekker Barend Viljoen in 1852 and later owned by the Bezuidenhout, is hidden in Bez Valley Park.

NGC is an upscale neighborhood restaurant in an unusual spot in Blairgowrie. Don't be put off by the tire shop across the road -- this place is classy.

Zietsies is a guest house and private dining room on the border of Brixton and Auckland Park. I recommend it as a place to both eat and sleep.

Mooteebar is an avant-garde cocktail bar on 4th Avenue in Melville. If you're looking for a bit of adventure at happy hour, this is the place to go.

My new series, This Is the East, covers hidden spots on Johannesburg's East Rand. First up is the Croydon Bakery, which opened in 1980.

I went hot air ballooning at Bill Harrop's Original Balloon Safaris and watched part of the SA National Hot Air Balloon Championships.

Food trucks are trendy in Joburg, and in fact all over the world. But serving people lunch out of a truck is actually nothing new.

My June restaurant of the month is Sumting Fresh, a South-African-Asian-American-fried-chicken-street-food restaurant in Norwood.