It looks like KBR is thrashing around in a valiant but vain effort to end criticism of its food service operations here. We’ve seen what we think is an executive chef type here lately, a white guy, presumably European (in contrast to the food servers and cooks, who are said to be Sri Lankan). We’ve noted a few decent-tasting menu options, mostly a spin on curried noodle dishes (similar to the curried Singapore Noodles available at every Chinese take-out place back home). Then again, we had a big Commanders’ Conference here this past week, lots of VIPs on-base, and they had to eat at the DFAC, so that may have been a factor in the less-than-eminently-crappy food.
Tonight was Japanese-Themed Food Night. Hmmmm, an interesting concept, but can they pull it off? We’ve had several Mexican nights, and the offerings there alternately puzzled and repulsed me. I missed Sri Lankan night, went to the wrong DFAC, but in passing someone who had a take-out container, it looked and smelled very good. Sorry I missed out on that, as Sri Lankan food has a reputation for being very spicy.
Sooooo … it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t atrocious either. The offerings included fried rice, overcooked stir-fried noodles with chicken and vegetables, teriyaki chicken, some kind of beef in a brownish sauce with onions, and tempura vegetables. On the salad bar, they included kimchi and sunomono, a Japanese vinegared cucumber salad with baby shrimps. Not so sure that kimchi belongs on a Japanese menu, but the spicy cabbage, while not up to the standards of a DC-area Korean restaurant, at least had enough heat to keep it interesting. The beef dish was notable for not being tough as shoe leather … by KBR standards, it was downright tender!
I worry that my taste buds are adapting here, that crappy food doesn’t actually taste like crap after five weeks in-theater. Or maybe, on a subconscious level, I’m rationalizing that, since a body needs some level of sustenance, I must not be eating crap. Matt – was that Hegelian, or more from the Kierkegaard school?
After this tour wraps up, I’ll be dragging my bride on a food tour, savoring all the tasty delights I was denied for six months. REAL Japanese, REAL Chinese, REAL Thai, REAL steak ... oh, wait, we can do that on the grill at home.
So, turning back to the title of this post … remember the Vapors, the English one-hit wonder band that released that great song in 1980? Well, the lyrics apply quite well here in Afghanistan …
No sex no drugs no wine no women no sin no fun no you no wonder it’s dark
i dont know if it notifies you of new comments, so look throughout ive been adding several snide comments. caps just ended a 9 game win streak with a loss wednesday night against detroit. they play new jersey tonight. i think somewhat the birthday hockey game tradition was upheld last friday night. i went to a game versus carolina with two guys from work. we drew straws to see who would drive, and the other two could enjoy "free"-(comparatively to the price inside verizon, they are. tell me otherwise and ill call you a liar) beers on the ride up and then enjoy a couple more in the garage-rules/laws be damned. so were all feeling a nice buzz and theres this guy on the concourse at verizon wearing a pens scarf-of all things. well your son had the "somewhat drunk" audacity to yell "hey! nice scarf... FAG!!" to this individual. then once seated, two lonely canes fans came strolling down the stairs into our section, to which i blurted, "hey why dont you carry your asses back to raleigh!" he responded matter of factly, that "raleigh is a very nice place" i replied that it wasnt, in fact it sucked. he went on down to his seats. overall, a good time was had by all. especially the three of us. am i to understand that theres no beer over there? to hell with that, you need real hot wings and beer. i wont go into details of what kind and where, because thats cruel. or do i....
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