The hospitality in Saudi Arabia is legendary; good thing, too, as the cultural conservatism that abounds makes it difficult for a girl like me to enjoy other food- and drink-based activities. Obviously, there are no bars (there aren’t even movie theaters!), so that’s out. Going to a restaurant is an isolating experience: the main dining […]
In many large US military installations around the world, you’ll find fully functioning chow halls, manned by hair-netted cooks dishing out mass quantities of hot, salty food. When those bases get shut down, however, it’s back to the bags: Meals Ready to Eat, or MRE’s. On my recent embed with the last US Marines in […]
Syrian food is fantastic, and as diverse as its neighbors in the Middle East: creamy hummus, fried kibbeh balls stuffed with spiced meat, rice dishes baked in phyllo dough, meatballs glazed in cherry sauce, flatbreads, baklavas, honeyed sweets, tea. Sadly, none of that was available on the frontline, where the Syrian Kurds faced off with ISIS. […]
Road-tripping through Northern Iraq, I’ve stumbled on some interesting regional specialties amid the kebabs and hummus. In Serchinar Restaurant in Zahko (not far from the Syrian border), a platter of grilled meat was served with endless side dishes, including this bright green concoction I’d never seen before: Turns out it was banana slices served in […]
The border between Turkey and Syria is 500 miles long, dotted by hundreds of little villages and anchored by small, fully-functioning cities (complete with airports). There’s plenty of street food: kebab stands, men slinging long footprints of cheese or meat-strewn pide (flatbreads), little storefronts and carts where you can grab a cone of chewy, dense Turkish ice […]
