A friend of mine rode into town for the Easter weekend and was camped out at the Holiday Inn, so we decided to head on down to the Silver Spur for Sunday lunch. We tied up our horses outside and strolled in at around one o’clock.
By le connoisseur
It was like walking into the Last Chance Saloon in a ghost town that had died sometime in the 80s. We were the only cowboys in the joint. I could almost see the tumbleweeds blowing across the vast empty prairie. I recall the fake “Western movie” décor from many moons ago, and it doesn’t seem to have changed — still the banquette seating covered in the same mock cow hide and Tiffany lamps.
The hombre who swaggered over to greet us, seemed to have just had his siesta disturbed. I asked him how his weekend had been and he replied “Smokin’ or non-smokin’”. It didn’t seem to make one bit of difference as we were the only customers, but we asked for the smokin’ section, anyways. He led us right to the far back corner which was dark and gloomy — some of the bulbs apparently not working —or maybe it was meant to be part of the ambience.
My partner, being an abstemious type of a dude, asked for a Sprite. Sorry, not a one to be had, either in the restaurant or the bar or the whole hotel —only Coke, Fanta or, strangely enough, Bitter Lemon.
So we ordered a Coke and a beer to quench our parched throats. The coke luckily arrived with ice, but the beer was warm — guess them fridges don’t work too good out in the West.
The menu is fundamentally, as it has always been in this franchise, steaks and burgers. There’s a small Tex-Mex selection, but as they had no avocados they couldn’t do any dishes with guacamole.
Funny that they had no avo, because I had seen at least ten dudes selling them on the street on my ride into town. Oh, and by the way, that old Salad Valley is no longer in operation. It’s a family restaurant and the meals for the little ones are smaller versions of the grownups food — kids’ burger, kids’ steak, kids’ chicken and kids’ milkshake.
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I had the good ole crumbed mushrooms to start, which were pretty good, though oddly, served with mayonnaise, and a bit pricey at US$10. My partner had the cheesy garlic roll to whet his appetite — okay, but neither very cheesy nor very garlicky — followed by the boerewors platter — rather dry and tough and served with a big helping of not great chips and some fried onion rings. We asked about the disappointing chips and were told that they had “a problem with their supplier”. I had the catch of the day — hake fillets. The fish was pretty good, although served with the same mayonnaise as the mushrooms. Guess those cowboys aren’t too big on fancy sauces. I didn’t order the chips, opting for baked potatoes instead. Greek salad arrived just as we were finishing our meal. It was fresh and crisp, although sans the feta cheese and the dressing was out of a bottle.
The experience was improved by the dessert — really good old-fashioned rich and gooey chocolate brownies and excellent filter coffee. Although the food was not so great, the meal was saved by the staff who were doing their best under mighty trying circumstances. I think I counted eight staff for two diners, so it’s no wonder they were feeling a tad uninspired and morale seemed a little low. It appears that the old chief has gone and ridden out of town and the place needs a new sheriff to get a bit of life back into the eating house.
Family Restaurant, 2 Plates Expect to spend US$15 – US$55 per head The Holiday Inn, Samora Machel Ave, Harare
