HOUSTON, Dec. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Peli Peli, the only South African restaurant concept in Texas and the first South African fusion restaurant concept in the United States, has been selected as a 2013 Diners' Choice Award winner for the Top 100 American Fare Restaurants in the United States.  The awards were presented by online reservation site, OpenTable, and reflect the combined opinions of more than 5 million restaurant reviews.  These reviews were submitted by verified OpenTable diners for approximately 19,000 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  Peli Peli and Masraff's, a local Houston favorite, were the only restaurants in Houston to make OpenTable's Top 100 list for 2013.

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(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131230/PH38701-b )

According to its website, OpenTable is the world's leading provider of online restaurant reservations seating more than 12 million diners per month via online booking across approximately 30,000 restaurants.  For the Top 100, OpenTable considered all restaurants with a minimum "overall" score and number of qualifying reviews.  Qualifying restaurants were then scored and sorted according to the percentage of qualifying reviews for which "American cuisine" was selected as a special feature.  The complete list of the top 100 American Fare Restaurants in the U.S., listed in alphabetical order, may be viewed at http://www.opentable.com/American.

Approximately eighty percent (80%) of Peli Peli's menu is comprised of American-fare with a unique "South African twist" by Chef Paul Friedman, the owner and executive chef of Peli Peli.  This fusion presented by Peli Peli's menu reflects the culinary melting pot that exists in South Africa.  The other twenty percent (20%) of Peli Peli's menu is comprised of authentic family recipes that cater to traditional South Africans. "I wanted to make sure that Peli Peli reminds South Africans of home," says Chef Paul.  "I want more people to see what South African cuisine is all about, but I also need to feed my fellow South Africans."

Being the only South African concept in Texas has been beneficial in distinguishing Peli Peli from over 7,000 restaurants in the Greater Houston area, but it has also presented a unique set of problems such as being unfamiliar with customers and incomparable to any other restaurant concept.  "It was very difficult at first to get customers to give us a try because most people have never had South African cuisine before," says Chef Paul Friedman.  "But what makes us special is that our cuisine is so different."  Being different, or as they say in Afrikaans - "Wees Verskillend", is helping Peli Peli to create a strong following and win several awards such as Best Service & Best Atmosphere - Readers' Choice Award (Houston Press) and Best Romantic Restaurant - Click2Houston.com.  Currently the 4^th ranked restaurant out of 7,119 restaurants in Houston according to tripadvisor.com, Peli Peli has garnered a reputation for being the perfect place for special occasions.

Press Contact: For information about Peli Peli, please contact Thomas Nguyen at 832-259-2448, 110 Vintage Park Blvd, Suite P, Houston, Texas 77070, http://pelipeli.com/.

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SOURCE Peli Peli