Zimbabwean cuisine is built around sadza, a thick maize porridge that is to Zimbabwe what rice is to much of Asia. Sadza is eaten with virtually every meal, shaped into a ball with the fingers and dipped into a relish — usually a stew of meat, vegetables or beans. The skill is in the relish, and every family has their own version. In restaurants you will find sadza ne nyama (with meat), most commonly beef or chicken in a tomato-based sauce.
Adventurous eaters should try madora — fried mopane worms, the caterpillars of the emperor moth, which are a protein-rich delicacy in rural areas and increasingly on urban menus. They have a crunchy texture and earthy flavor, especially good when dried and fried with tomato and onion. Biltong (dried cured meat) is ubiquitous and excellent, often made from beef or game. Crocodile and impala occasionally appear on restaurant menus in tourist areas.
On the drinks side, Mazoe Orange Crush is a national institution — a bright orange cordial that every Zimbabwean grew up drinking. Chibuku, a commercial version of traditional sorghum beer, comes in cardboard cartons and is an acquired taste — thick, sour and mildly fizzy. Zimbabwe also produces decent beer (Castle Lager and Zambezi are the most popular) and has a small but growing wine industry, though South African wines dominate restaurant lists. Tea and coffee from the Eastern Highlands are excellent and increasingly available in specialty shops in Harare.