The Carnivore

In Nairobi, Kenya, there is an interesting restaurant near the airport named the Carnivore. I'm told that it's one of the best restaurants in town. However, if you have ever been to Nairobi you realize that doesn't say much.

The basic concept is borrowed from Brazilian churrasco barbeque restaurants in which meat is grilled on skewers and then slices are carved onto your plate at the table. The difference is that the Carnivore specializes in wild game - eland, zebra, hartebeest, ostrich, etc. - as well as beef, lamb, chicken, and pork. When I was there in 2002 the wild game was an order of magnitude better than European meats. So much so that one suspected that the European meats were being overcooked to make the local meats seem even better.

When we were there a week ago, most of the wild game was not to be found on the menu. We were told that suspicions had arisen as to whether the game was actually raised on a game farm - as opposed to poached. The only wild game was ostrich and crocodile. The ostrich was very good but you can keep the croc. It's still a good show, but with the giant gift shop and a parking lot full of busses and vans it looks more like Knott's Berry Farm than a barbeque restaurant.