Food on the run

 Usually, I take something from home — and in the past have prepared innumerable lunches for children going to school, picnics for car journeys and more recently, packed lunches  for myself to take to work.
Of course that requires being prepared, getting up early and having the ingredients in stock, making sure the bread is defrosted or that there are left-overs from the night before. Ironically this became easier once children moved out of home.
Firstly, there were more leftovers and secondly no-one to eat them up! So both my husband and myself end up with better packed lunches and not just snatched sandwiches. And sometimes out there fast food is not fast at all. All the same I’ve been trying out some food on the run in a variety of places . My brief foray into fastish food seemed to yield the general rule that the cheaper the food the faster it is produced.
For one dollar and in about five minutes — you can get sadza with chicken stew and green vegetables in a sit down eatery in Domboshawa. There’s a clean table, jugs of water and bowls for handwashing and free entertainment watching the activity in bustling Showgrounds outside. Though luckily this particular restaurant was not quite on the main drag so not too much dust and noise. It wasn’t the best sadza I’ve eaten — a bit on the lumpy side — but for one dollar, and served superfast — no complaints.
Two dollars buys you a spar hot dog — cooked outside Silver Glory Spar on the Kensington pavement and slathered with plenty of sauces — mustard, mayo, ketchup, chillie. We ordered, went inside the supermarket to buy drinks, and by the time we came out again the first hot dog was just about ready to go.
One draw back, a pet hate of mine, is the polystyrene packaging — which turns up forever afterwards in gutters and drains and on roadsides after being hurled out the windows of cars and buses. I would prefer something biogradable — the brown bags that clothe hot dogs on the streets of New York (not that I’ve had one there — but we live in hope.)
Moving onwards and upwards on the price scale into Borrowdale finds me at Antonio’s Mediterranean Deli (recommended by my son — but its taken me a while to get here.) The up-market signature Antonio burger, in this case served on a plate with a proper knife and fork at an outside table was really delicious at US$5. Perfectly cooked meat patty — good beef — and anointed with the Mediterranean flavours of basil pesto and olive tapenade, it was very good. On another occasion I bought a pita to take away (also US$5).
It was well-stuffed with spicy and succulent chicken pieces, salad and tangy sauce and didn’t disappoint. It did come in a brown bag but was messy to eat — especially as I didn’t tackle it straight away so by the time I did the bread was pretty soggy. Both meals, in keeping with my theory, took around 15 minutes to be ready.
None of these things are easy to eat in a car, and in fact impossible while driving. It’s certainly not to be recommended if you are in someone else’s car, which in this case I was — and am still conscious of the grease stain on the passenger seat. (I need to make sure my husband doesn’t read this column!)
It is healthier and less messy to take the time, however brief, to sit and enjoy whatever you’re eating.
– gjeke@yahoo.com