Eating Out

The typical, local family will eat out only a few times per year on very special occasions, so don't expect to find the streets lined with restaurants. Visitors eat in their hotels, which will probably have both snack bars and restaurants. The locals might get a quick lunch or snack from the stands close to the bus station where there will be cooked meals (prepared by women referred to as "mama ntilie" literally, "mommy/madame dish me out [some] food") and fried foods such as potatoes ("chipsi") or kababs ("mishkaki") prepared by men. Visitors should note that the cooked meals are safer to consume in terms of bacteria. Beverages can be purchased in bottles at the stands although there are people who walk around selling drinks. These iced drinks are usually carried in a large bucket and the same cups are used over and over, so visitors should beware and purchase bottled beverages if possible. There are benches on which to sit and eat.