Lentil as Anything is a buffet style eatery set in a
convent in Abbotsford, the concept is simple pay what you think the meal is worth. However, the trust exercise only extends so far, as the charity barely breaks even each month, which is surprising when you consider how many people are in there. Packed to the rafters with young eco trendies, rosey faced mothers, yuppy gays sharing a bottle and shouty teenagers, I ponder 'who left without paying?'
The fare on offer was varied an comforting, baked potato with beans, dahl, salad, rice, pasta, curries and vegetables. I consumed one and a half platefuls with ease and still found room for a small serving of rice pudding. With my belly full save bloaty, I was able to absorb the hippy 'trippy' music on offer, live five piece jamming their way through the evening with a composed sense of contentment. When I got bored of that, I had Charlie
(Chaplin) projected on to the wall overhead, all bases were covered.
I left with a wholesome feeling, after depositing a tenner into the tinbox – a completely different sensation from departing
Naked for Satan after rejecting a handful of used cocktail sticks into the sanitary bin.
I abandoned my bicycle to the rain and attempted to hitchhike back west to Lygon, failing, I dived into the bus shelter when I engaged with a fellow dinner, or rather a young drunk with two Tupperware boxes packed with LAA dishes and a bottle of non-descript ale. We waited wilfully for a bus to appear; I flashed my empty
myki card and hoped on. Arriving home cold and wet some 50 minutes later, shame it’s so far from home.
