Traditional food, anyone?

 With a tented gazebo on the well-kept bowls lawn, scattered umbrellas, bright African print overlays over pristine white tablecloths, and colourful flowers on the tables, it was a relaxed setting for a sunny Sunday open-air eatout. A jumping castle on the lower lawn kept kids entertained and an exhibition of artworks from David Chinyama and Masimba Hwati added style and spaciousness.
Staff and owners, smartly turned out in red shirts with the Gava logo, (an outline of a jackal) were tending the braai fires and serving from the bain maries and bar set up on the edge of the green. Advertised as ‘sadza with soul’ Gava’s is specialising in traditional dishes. Opening specials were a bargain — offering goat, beef or chicken stew  served with green vegetables, beans and either sadza or rice ne dovi for US$5. Half chickens cooked on the braai were also US$5 and kids were snapping up hot dogs US$2 with chips (an extra US$2).
The restaurant opens officially on April 3 and will be open seven days a week. They promise happy hour deals in the early evenings and specials on food for the first week. We waited a while for our grilled chicken as it wasn’t quite synchronised with the rest of the food. Guess there are a few glitches for the team to iron out to be ready for a more impatient weekday crowd. But on Sunday the drinks were ice cold and a chilled, friendly, family atmosphere prevailed
Competition is becoming stiff in the traditional food trade and just round the block from Gava’s — on Downie Avenue — is Soul Food Restaurant — also dealing in traditional specialities. Set in a suburban garden with scattered thatched gazebos — service was quick. There was no menu and no prices but the waiter gave us a list of what was on that day and we chose the oxtail. A half portion (US$10) was ample for two of us and came served in a small three-legged iron pot. Sadza and vegetables were included but rice ne dovi was an extra US$3. I liked the tiny basket of dried chillies on the table to be crumbled to taste into the food. 
The bill itemises a large range — different meats including duck, guineafowl, biltong with peanut butter, chicken and different offal dishes. I presume they offer certain daily specials but can cook to order with advance notice. Drinks pleasantly are only US$1.
I was on a mission to top up my prepaid ZESA. Technicians turned up a month ago, ripped out the old meter and put in the new system leaving us with an initial 50 kilowatts for the weekend. On their advice we turned off the geyser and limited usage to ensure we scraped through till Monday when I could register and top up my new account. US$100 bought us over 700 units and lasted 5 weeks. Stormy Tuesday saw us down to only 50 kilowatts but I was thwarted in my efforts to make payment. Megawatt house was offline, so no luck there. By the time I got to Showgrounds power was down and you can’t buy power without power! I eventually succeeded at OK in Fife Avenue and found myself driving East on Samora Machel into what seemed like a hurricane. Needless to say the subsequent storm devastation put paid to any ZESA for several days.
All the same the new system works, seems cheaper, and hats off to ZESA for restoring power relatively fast after so much storm damage.
– g.jeke@yahoo.com