Uganda Highlights: The Rolex

Matoke never grew on me while I was in Uganda. I defer to a colleague's description - no matter how often I tried it, or what sauces it came with, it still tasted like "musty socks." I know this may be a hard thing to hear for any Ugandan, for whom the yellow mush is comfort food.

But there's another Ugandan specialty that is worth writing home about: the rolex. No, it's not a fancy watch. The local name for "rolled eggs," it's street food, made of eggs scrambled with random veggies, lots of grease, and rolled into a chapati. Some claim it originated just 8 years ago at Makerere University, but it's a national dish by now; we found it all the way in the southwest reaches of Uganda.

I had it 3 or 4 times while I was in Uganda last month, and each time it hit the spot in the way that a bacon cheeseburger or rava dosa usually only can for me. Maybe it's because we were starving, sweaty and tired after being "in the field" when we ate these. Maybe it was the special seasoning of Ugandan dust and old pan grease that drips out the end of the chapati on that last bite.

Whatever the reason, it's a pretty special thing. David will tell you that himself.