Food

The food here is amazing. I treated myself to an absolutely delicious lunch at an Italian restaurant, Trattoria which is close to the city center. I opted for two appetizer as the pastas and other entrees looked to hot and heavy for heated Nairobi. I had a simple avocado plate with a basic lime vinaigrette....nothing to write home about. My second choice was out of this world. Smoked Sailfish on a bed of spinach and lettuce, served with black olives, capers, sliced red onion, drizzled with olive oil, lime juice and a side of freshly made tartar sauce. My stomach's growling as I write this.
I went to a bbq joint/pub called the Hood in one of the suburbs here. Mainly to watch soccer games but also to meet some friends. The place was relatively packed and was mainly people coming for the afternoon meal....at 5. Oh yeah, dinner is served super late. I'm used to geriatric serving times of between 5 - 7 but on weekends, you will generally have a dinner to attend or one that you are hosting that doesn't commence until 9 p.m. Meat is the celebrated main course here, so much so that they have slabs of it hanging in the window, much like a butchery and you pick your cuts, they grill it there and serve it interestingly enough in a french style. They wrap it up in foil, throw in onions and other spices and when it comes to your table, it's steaming hot and pour the anjou (sp?) sauce onto a plate, then on a cutting board, at your table they cut the meat up in bite size pieces and put them on the sauced plate. The meat in question? Goat....loads of it. There is some lamb if you want but the special is goat. (yuck) Tastes like it smells.
The selection of restaurants here is incredible and everyone has their favorite. On my way to the Hood, I passed a Lebanese, Thai, Japanese and a French restaurant....in Nairobi. I guess it's a sign of the times. The getting-there part is a harrowing experience and an entirely different blog. Kenyan driving is a whole new experience in death defying stunt work. Actually, I know a certain New Yorker and Canadian who would fit right in from day one.
I went to a garden dinner last night, very formal and the meal was amazing. Zanzibar fish and coconut soup, many entree choices: veggie lasagna, chicken pilau, tikka, more meat, on grills all over the garden, lamb on a Turkish spit....I looked like a starving refugee by the time I sat down with my plate. Hungry now, more later.