Mzoli's!

Today the student government of our dorm (the members are called wardens) organized a trip to Mzoli's Meat in Gugulethu, which is a township about 15 minutes away from my res. The restaurant itself is a corrugated metal roof with tarp hanging down in place of walls. Since we got there at about 11:00am we were able to get a table and a place to sit, but most people who got there after us brought folding chairs and had to sit outside on the sidewalk. As soon as we got off of the bus, people came up to us selling sunglasses, fedora hats, and goblets made out of beer bottles.

The only thing that the restaurant served was meat. We had to bring our own drinks and rolls, and there was a stand across the street that sold drinks, chips, and ice cream. When it was time to eat, they brought us two big mixing bowls that were filled up with chicken wings, really long beef sausages, and steaks. Since there were no utensils, you just took what you wanted out of the bowl and ate with your fingers.

We stayed at the restaurant until 4:00 because after we were done eating there was a DJ. His name was DJ Spu, and he is supposed to be one of the most famous DJs in South Africa. People would be eating at their table, and when a song that they liked came on they would just stand up and dance at the table. By the time we left, it was a full out party.

When we got back to the res I went grocery shopping, which is still a little bit strange to me because I am not used to all of the brands here and it is hard to evaluate the nutrition facts because it is all in kilojoules instead of calories. I bought potatoes that ame pre-washed, and eggs which aren't kept refrigerated in the store. They also sell ostrich burgers and springbok butter, but I held out :) I have a feeling that I will be learning to cook a lot of new dishes this semester in the absence of my normal favorite foods and without a microwave or toaster oven to cook with.