Before the movie, my friend and I ate dinner at an east African place in Waltham called Karibu. Evidently, the owners, Ugandans themselves, opened the restaurant to cater to Ugandan expats living in the area. When my friend and I walked in, we were the only non-Africans in the place. There were no menus, just a buffet table, staffed by a sweet woman who explained what everything was, took our order, and then brought us plates heaped with food. The food was good, although not fantastic, hearty and clearly authentic. Some was similar to food I ate in Gabon, some not.
I loved that the whole scene was straight out of a little cafeteria that could have been anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa (but was instead in a Boston suburb). The Ugandan men were all sitting around the tables, chatting, and would occasionally get up to serve themselves something from the buffet. They conducted business on cell phones and grabbed sodas from the fridge. Two women shuttled back and forth between the buffet and the kitchen. A few fantastic t-shirts picturing the Obama family hung from the walls, along with art that I'm sure was imported from the homeland. It all brought back a lot of memories.
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14 comments:
I wish I lived in a real city. sigh. Sounds lovely.
The Ugandan cafe sounds fabulous. I will try to check it out if I am ever in Waltham with adventurous eaters. Is it anything like Ethiopian? I used to visit little Ethiopian joints in Chicago and Detroit that were very much like that.
My sentiments exactly Watercolor. It sounds like a GREAT evening. I don't think either movie you talk about is in our area yet...sigh!!!
Sounds like a great restaurant. Does it seem like an appropriate place to bring kids? Are there vegetarian options?
Denise--
The flavors of this Ugandan food were quite different than the flavors in the Ethiopian food I've had. The spices seemed less complex, and the sauces were served with rice or mashed plantain rather than injera. (Did I spell that right?)
Katie--
It's definitely family-friendly. They had high chairs, and I think the staff and patrons would be happy to see kids arrive.
As for veg. options, yes, there are some. My dinner consisted of rice, spinach, mashed plaintain with peanut sauce, and a piece of stewed fish. Obviously, the fish was not vegetarian, but everything else was. They also had some potatoes and fried sweet plantains, too, that would work, and there was a chafing dish of beans, but I don't know if they were flavored with meat or cooked with stock. They staff was really helpful, so I'm sure they'd accommodate you.
Hope you're enjoying your childless week--it's always easier to do when you know they'll be back soon.
It's NONE of my business, but is there any news on the Mr. Coffee front? Have you had The Talk?
Wishing you well.
Sounds like a fun evening! The food sounds interesting. In terms of African food, I have only had Ethiopian (Central Sq and Tremont St, both called Addis Red Sea I think). I have heard a lot of good things about Milk and will have to put it in the Netflix queue.
Thanks for letting me know to check your blog for a review! Have a nice weekend,
Dana
I saw Milk over the weekend and I loved it, too. I am of an age that I actually remember having to pull my car over to the side of the road because I was so shocked when they broke in on the radio with Diane Feinstein's live announcement of the double asassination. I was in college (San Jose State) - on my way to my work-study job - what a horrible day. ...Leslie
love, Love, LOVE that kind of dining experience. It doesn't come around very often. How lucky for you.
i saw this movie with my two oldest daughters this week too. i loved it. i was just a kid in high school back then and remember milk, bryant, prop 6 well. this movie brought it all back and when i looked over at my kids i found myself in tears thinking how different it would be for them and their friends had there never been a man like Harvey Milk.
Watched Critic's choice awards on VH1 last night and Sean Penn won best actor for his role in Milk.
He was so cute with his speech when he said that he won it because he was the best looking.
sounds like a really lovely evening.
I also saw 'Milk' this weekend and totally loved it. Great acting, and I was so impressed with how it managed to be warm and funny AND serious / sad. (Kinda like your blog!)
Glad that you're enjoying the movies! I hope to see Milk soon.
Anyways, I was given a blog award and am passing it on to you!
http://meaningfulrevisions.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/proximidade-award/
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