Carnivore

I'll back in the USA now, but I still must comment on my last big adventure in Nairobi, the resteraunt "Carnivore".

People who know me well - actually anyone who has ever had more than a couple meals with me - knows that I'm the antithesis of a vegetarian. My nicknames in Zambia were "Meat" and, appropriately enough, "Carnivore". About 6 different people, at different times, told me that this eating experience in Nairobi was designed expressly for me. How could I pass it up? So, it's 10 times what I spent on most of my meals in Kenya - sometimes you need to splurge for experience.

The anticipation was high as Norah, Josephine (another Poli Sci student at the university), and I headed to Carnivore. We actually got there early, and had to wait in the bar for an hour as they finished cooking and prepared to serve. And what a way they serve too! They cook the food (read - meat) on giant spits on a bbq bigger than any kitchen in any house I've ever lived in. The night I was there, the "exotic" meats were unfortunately only crocodile and ostrich, and gazelle meatballs. I had been hoping for Zebra, a quest unfulfilled in South Africa on Semester at Sea. There was also pork, chicken, beef, and lamb, and a serving tray full of side dishes and sauces. In the middle of this tray is a white flag saying "Carnivore" and as long as the flag is up, the servers continue to stop by your table and carve off meat. It is a fixed-price menu, all you can eat. Everything was delicious. I especially like the ostrich, rare. I had three helpings over the 3 hours of ingestion. Even though we were one of the first tables seated, the place was half-empty again by the time I surrended my flag, currently in my backpack :)

The only problem was one I consistently encountered in Kenya. Carnivore charged me for a glass of wine I didn't have, and in my meat-induced bliss, I failed to notice when I paid the bill - only realizing it later when I was calculating the exchange for the price of the meal. I have to say, almost every touristic destination I went to in Kenya either attempted to bill me for something I didn't order, or charge me more than the prices on the menu. This appears to be a common scheme to watch out for if you plan to travel there.

Even so, the cost of the dinner itself was only $20, a fraction of what you would have to spend for a substantially less generous meal here in the US, so it is a meal I will remember happily. I even bought a Carnivore t-shirt.. ;)