WHENEVER I go to Roxy Late Night – which is, well, late at night and usually several drinks in – I yell “a glass of red wine and crack bacon chicken wings please!”
Last week I encountered these delectably addictive (hence the name) morsels in the daylight, while sober, at the recently-opened Roxy All Day and if anything, they were even better. The wings are coated in a light, crunchy batter and doused with sticky sweet bacon jam. If you’re going to use a knife and fork, you don’t deserve to have them; lemon soup and lots of napkins are provided for your paws.
Roxy All Day – or RAD – is affiliated with Roxy Late Night in terms of operation and menu so you’ll find a lot of your favourite items available at both, and the daytime venue has several unique dishes and specials. While they’re waiting for their liquor licence to be approved, they can’t sell you alcohol but they can give it to you for free…keep an eye on the Facebook page for more details. It’s a bonus that should not be ignored. Plus there’s R10 coffee…you guessed it – all day.
Open from 7.30am till 5pm on weekdays, and 9am till 5pm on Saturdays, breakfast is of course also served all day, as it should be in any civilised place. There’s a whole lot of super healthy freshly squeezed juices (no kale, for which they score points; that stuff is vile) and smoothies, with a very thin line between those and milkshakes.
Classic toasties like ham, cheese and tomato, chicken mayo, and bacon, egg and cheese are complemented by a choice of “Gourmet Bigs” with fillings like salmon, cream cheese, capers, red onion and rocket, the ultimate Dagwood, and an Asian chicken wrap. Keep it light with a salad, or go for a substantial main meal like a 250g rump with chips and salad (for just R120, come on!) or a cheeseburger with bacon, caramelised onions, rocket and tomato on either a bun or field mushroom.
As it happened on the day we were there, we’d only just made up our minds when Carlo came to tell us about specials, which we ended up having. These included the crack bacon chicken wings, and the revolutionary flat nachos. Introduced at Roxy All Night, this is such a simple yet brilliant idea you cannot help but wonder why no one thought of it before.
Hands up everyone who hates the dry layer of corn chips underneath, and only eats the top one with all the melted cheesy goodness? I’m guessing all of you. Roxy makes them in a flat dish so each fabulous mouthful delivers everything you want.
And then there was our favourite (for this visit, because I suspect they’ve still got plenty to offer) which was the light-as-air waffle with chorizo, feta and spinach inside the batter, topped with bacon, a soft fried egg, and avo (when available). Damn, it was good.
The people at Roxy have hearts of gold too. Every Tuesday and Thursday they invite all pensioners to pull in for a simple R20 breakfast (yes, yes, all day) – coffee, eggs and toast. This is not just about the meal but to give seniors a chance to get out and about and have someone make a fuss of them. Growing old and invisible is A Thing, and I applaud this initiative.
Good free wifi, good vibes, good food, good prices, good people. Roxy All Day is at 216 Albert Road, Woodstock. For more information, call 021 447 0302 or click here.
PS: Carlo, I’m still sorry for what I said when you offered me a tequila.
