Amongst the many reason to travel to Namibia, you aren't going there for the food. It it bad? No. Is it good? Occasionally.
The typical schedule for a day in Namibia goes like this:
During the day, see beautiful and unique animals. And in the evening, eat them.
Game, my friends, is what's for dinner.
Restaurants
We ate in only a handful of restaurants, staying mostly in lodges far away from towns. Two stand out as exceptional.
Windhoek: Joe's Beerhouse
Joe's is so highly mentioned in every guidebook, I'd figured it would be booked full of Greman and Swiss tourists and not all that good. But it lived up to all the hype. I had the oryx steak, and it was the best steak I had in the country.
Swakopmund: The Tug
Yes, it's right on the beach. And yes, there is an actual tugboat built into the restaurant. But despite those usually off-putting signs, the food was very good. It's seafood and they prepare it straightforward -- letting the freshness of the catch take the attention. Book ahead and get a table at sunset.
Lodges
Zebra River Lodge had a family-style dinner (you and strangers at a table together, you pass the food around). Damaraland had a buffet, with everyone sitting at one large table. Kulala Desert Lodge, Mushara Lodge, and Aloegrove Guestfarm served food to individual tables. We didn't have a bad meal, but there was only one lodge where the food was remarkable.
Etosha: Mushara Lodge
Along with everything else at this lodge, the food was world-class. It was the best food we ate in the country. It was obvious that there was someone in the kitchen thinking about the food, rather than just getting the plates out. Worth staying for the food alone.
Street Food
If you know me, you know my passion for street food. Problem is with Namibia, not too many streets. But there are a couple of items you can find that are unique and certainly worth a try.
Biltong
It's jerky -- dried strips of meat with occasional flavoring. But biltong comes in a variety that puts our beef jerky to shame. Oryx, springbok, kudu are what we had -- and there were a dozen more in the biltong store. Oh, and they have biltong stores. It makes the perfect lunch when you spend the day driving in the car.
Modesa Township: Mopani Worms
You just gotta try 'em. Are they delicious? No. Are the disgusting? Not the taste. Mopani worms are actually caterpillars that are dried, rehydrated and then cooked. Frankly, they don't have much of a taste. But when's the next time you'd be able to eat mopani worms? And don't you want to say that you tried at least one? Don't wimp out!
Solitaire: Apple Crumble
So not exactly street food, but it's something to be experienced. Picture this -- you've been driving for hours through the desert, the gravel road slowly leading you through the occasional mountain outcrop. You have passed no cars in an hour. In this isolation, you finally pull into what looks like the last gas station on earth, Solitaire. Once inside, a black man in the desert speaking German gives you a big slice of apple crumble.
A black man in the desert speaking German gives you apple crumble.
Maybe it shows my insular existence here in the US. But there are many things in my life that I expect. If I had a few lifetimes, I would not have expected that. And that's what I love about traveling.
