Tag Archives: Afghanistan

What I’ve Been Eating, 12 Nov 2013

Sorry for the long hiatus.  I’ve been vacationing in southern Afghanistan, and now that I’m back, I figured I’d share some of my meals.

Bagram

Bagram. Mexican Food, Chicken Tenders, Cherry Cobbler

So Bagram wasn’t terrible for the limited amount of time I was there.

Maiwand1

This healthy breakfast was had in Maiwand district, Kandahar province.

Maiwand3

Significantly less healthy breakfast a couple days later, also in Maiwand.

So Maiwand didn’t score too high.  Still better than MREs, though.

Panjwai

Solid Army meal of taco meat and spaghetti. The spaghetti was spiced up with something that gave it a more exotic flavor. Hopefully it wasn’t the moon dust in Panjwa’i district, Kandahar province.

I wasn’t in Panjwa’i as long as I wanted to be, but the food on some bases wasn’t bad.  One in particular had made-to-order burgers every other week.  The one I had (sadly, no pictures) had a chipotle aioli with grilled onions, mushrooms. and jalapenos.  After the long trip to get there, it was phenomenal.

The winner for best DFAC (that’s Dining FACility for the rest of you) has to go to a location in Spin Boldak.  Consistently good meals for the time I was there, with a great dessert bar.  I had a strawberry smoothie there one day.

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Obviously, wearing your reflective belt is mandatory when you’re mixing up some fruit smoothies. Safety first, people. Spin Boldak district, Kandahar province.

SpinBoldak2

It tasted better than it looked. Note my strawberry smoothie.at 1100.

Obviously though, anyone who makes sushi at a combat outpost will win this competition.  Yes, this actually happened.

Spicy Salmon Roll, with water chestnuts and asparagus. Senjaray, Zharay district Kandahar province.

Spicy Salmon Roll, with water chestnuts and asparagus. Senjaray, Zharay district, Kandahar province.

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The finished product. Simple, yet refined. The only sushi ever had at such a remote location? After 12 years of war…there are no firsts.

 

Tonight I’ll be having my first sushi since getting back.  I don’t know that I’ll appreciate it as much as I did with the sushi in Senjaray.  There’s something to be said for having a luxury like that out there…it becomes the best tasting thing you’ve ever had.

 

Other food that I had out there (besides all that wonderful DFAC food) included spicy chicken and lamb from a takeout joint in Kandahar City, some of the fantastic naan flat bread from Panjwa’i, Qabili Palao, and the cloyingly sweet chai (50/50 sugar-tea mix is how it usually tasted).

 

I’m glad to be back, and I’m looking forward to getting back into the food scene.  Suggestions welcome.

Cafe Milano the place to go for international intrigue…?

Afghan Minister Threatened Dismemberment After D.C. Dinner, Official Claims – Buzzfeed

This is the second time in the last several months that Cafe Milano has been in the news due to threats of violence between foreign government officials. A few months ago it came out that the Iranians were planning a hit on the Saudi ambassador there.

I’m gonna have to hit this place and see what the heck is in their food!

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Cafe Milano
3251 Prospect St NW
Washington, D.C. 20007
(202) 333-6183
http://www.cafemilano.net
Book on OpenTable

Afghan Food

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I was going through some of my photos from my time overseas, and came across pictures of food from Afghanistan.

The local food I had in Afghanistan was better than any of that type I’ve had in the D.C.-area…a fact I would fully expect would be the case anywhere else in the world regarding local dishes.

In the top picture is Qabili Palau.  According to Wikipedia, it is “the most popular dish in Afghanistan.”  I certainly saw a bit of it in southern Afghanistan, and it’s a staple at the D.C.-area Afghan restaurants, so I can believe it.  It’s typically made in a broth which imparts quite a bit of taste to the mixture.  Where I was in Afghanistan, the Qabili Palau was moist…much more oily than the stateside restaurant versions that I’ve tried.  It was good enough that some naan bread and Qabili Palau made for a complete meal (heck, even the naan over there was flavorful enough to eat by itself).

The bottom picture shows a veritable feast.  Succulent lamb, delicious chicken (some of the best chicken I’ve had ANYWHERE), tasty tomatoes with eggplant, and an Afghan pudding dessert (Firni) made with cardamom and pistachios.

I only wish I had more of the local food while I was there.  The western food there got boring.

And yeah, Sprite and root beer probably not the best choice to go along with such good food…probably should have had Red Bull.