Restaurant Week 2013 is upon us

OUT and ABOUT, Jeke and Friends

Restaurant Week 2013 is with us. Sponsored by ZOL and presented by EATOUT, this third time round is bigger and better with more participating restaurants and increased sponsorship.    Brainchild of Eatout, the idea behind restaurant week is to get more people eating out and for the public to have the chance of sampling food from a range of eateries for a reasonable price.  Menus range from $15 to $25 at eighteen restaurants across the capital.
We tried steakhouse DV8  which is located under what still feels the ‘new’ Pick n’ Pay at Kamfinsa Shopping Centre. Tagline is ‘steaks you leave home for’ and steaks and burgers are the house speciality. Gas heaters on the covered verandah provided warmth but we sat inside under what I found quite disturbing fans whirling round very fast on a relatively low ceiling. The slick concrete floor and hard wicker chairs (deeper cushions would have been more comfy) are more suited to summer and I didn’t find it that cosy for an early winter evening.
Much of my ideas of steakhouses come from American detective novels where customers sit in plush, snug booths under dim lighting, ordering sides of onion rings, baked potatoes and green salads to go with their prime beef. DV8 has brighter lighting and no booths (too bad!) but does serve prime Zimbabwean beef and prides itself on cocktail specials and a wide selection of whiskies. Normal fare is a choice of steaks, grills and burgers with main course meats between US$18 and US$24 (with Roquefort sauce) and burgers all around US$12.
Restaurant week US$20 menu features a starter of either chicken livers, mushroom soup or cheesy garlic bread, followed by grilled rump or fillet steak with a choice of sauces – pepper, garlic, pizziola –  or grilled chicken. The $25 menu included dessert of either fruit salad, ice cream with chocolate sauce or Irish coffee/ Dom Pedro.
Mushroom soup was tasty, well seasoned and creamy and I liked the herbal garlic butter served with the brown bread roll.  Chicken livers – served in a sweet barbecue sauce –  were overcooked for our taste and a bit tough.  Loved the piquant, pizziola sauce with my fillet steak though I found the baked potato undercooked — they really need to be fluffy and soft inside to absorb the sour cream and seasoning. My husband had rump steak with pepper sauce and good crisp fries. Portions are large and steaks are served on sizzling cast iron platters.
Nederburg is the offical wine of restaurant week so we chose a Nederburg Baronne (US$15) to accompany our meal. Professional and cheerful service was delivered by Happymore and US$55 for two, including a bottle of wine, felt okay for Friday night out.
Restaurant week finishes on Saturday so see how many you can fit into the next few days! Popular family Italian Da Eros has a bargain three course US$15 menu with vol-au-vent starters, pasta or chicken mains and apple crumble for dessert. US$20 gets you prawn tails, followed by seafood specials and finished with pecan pie or delicious sounding amarula panna cotta. Tandoor at Sunrise sports Club offers a US$15 menu — featuring their delicious    butter chicken and US$20 menus with starter platters, lamb and prawn curries followed by gulab jamon or kulfi. The Pointe in the Avenues has some good deals with the main course on the US$15 menu changing daily.
Tempting options also come from Alo Alo in Arundel village, The Mill in Ballantyne Park and La Fontaine at Meikles.
The website: www.zolrestuarantweek.co.zw lists all participating restaurants and menus — and bookings can be made for all on the Eatout call line 0772 328 688.
– g.jeke@yahoo.com