We Have Found the Missing Piece

We have been here long enough to have settled into some sibilance of a routine. Long enough to know where we would like to go and how exactly to get there. Long enough to have spoken to our hosts, neighbors, co-workers and the like to find out what our options were for dining, shopping, errands and transport...yet something always seemed to be missing.

In the face of "down time", which there is plenty of, we find ourselves staring and missing our DVR terribly. So much so that we have recently discovered that Hulu.com does not have international rights. So we stare, and do the whole "I don't know...what do you want to do?" conversation back and forth until inevitably we turn on our trusty "go-to"...FLN-The Fine Living Network and hope that we haven't seen this episode of House Hunters yet. Until today....

The "out of the blue" relentless heat put a ca-bash on our walk down the street to the public/free arboretum (so excited that the option still awaits us), realizing that our budget does not allow for such pleasantries as a taxi every time we wish to voyage, and knowing that our small town of Kileleshwa is sleepy at best and offers nothing more than the occasional fruit stand as commerce, a voice resurfaced in the depths of my fading brain....Liza-"I think there's a bar on the next street"......Now wait..don't go getting any panties in a worry bundle...I'm not so bored that I'm going to start drinking. I have taken kindly to a non-alcoholic beverage called Stoney Ginger Beer, and all bars carry that and the possibility of a European Football match on television. So I was off to find out.

First I tested the house phone to let Kristen know that if I did stumble upon an oasis with cheap food, full bar, good people, or even open, I would call her and tell her to get her butt down there, but she could go ahead and stay parked on the couch, because reality is that like being able to catch up on Modern Family, it is just a wonderful dream and not going to happen.

So I set out, took a right (think about that) and ventured to the next street over (100 feet or so) and took a left into the unknown. walked about a mile and found a place to get my hair cut for $2.00 (awesome) and started to head home to the Sunday house of snoozes....BUT WAIT...WHATS THAT? Down the side street closest to our apartment and well on my way back home there were cars parked in front of an un-assuming sign and building, so I went.

Welcome to the Nibs Kileleshwa Hotel Bar and Grill! Truly every bit the oasis I was joking about finding. A shady open courtyard with table and umbrellas lie centered between open air walls on 3 sides and a full (very American looking) bar at the far end, specializing in Naya Choma and breakfast, and 4 different areas with 5 flat screen TVs (as well as a huge movie screen outside for night games. Professional uniformed girls lined the walkway welcoming me to sit down "karibu, karibu" (welcome, welcome). I was too excited to call Kristen so I ran home like Charlie with the last golden ticket.

We walked back the 1/4 mile to the establishment, secured a table and feasted on roasted chicken and goat, irio (see section on choma), kachumbari (Kristen's favorite), spicy chips (fries), beer, and Stoneys. The Manchester United vs. Manchester City game was just getting started and the place was filling up so we pushed our plates aside, reached for a tooth pick and ordered a full roasted chicken to take home and work into meals for the next week (the cooking time is 45 minutes which was perfect since the second half of the game was just starting). We made friends over sporting event camaraderie, were invited back soon and walked home a few hours later a mere $27.00 lighter and set for a few days with our boxed food firmly in hand.

The joy of finding this oasis in a desert couldn't even be undone by getting stung in the lip by an angry bee on the way home...the swelling will go down, but Nibs will still be there.