Food in the News: Restaurant and Blog Edition

Cooking in a War Zone

Some people liken working in a restaurant during the dinner rush to dodging bullets in a war zone, but at least most restaurateurs don’t have to work in an actual war zone.

That is, except for the foreign women who have come to Kabul, Afghanistan, in order to open restaurants and coffeehouses which serve the local and expatriate (primarily UN aid workers) communities there.

Reading about restaurateurs having a decor based on barbed wire, high fences and armed guards, as well as having to deal with armed war-lords demanding free food or “collecting” non-existent taxes (read: protection money) makes my complaints about the size of the kitchen at Salaam sound whiny and insignificant. In fact, I feel like a privileged, sniveling twit for even worrying about anything compared to that.

I cannot help but admire these women for their toughness and fortitude in the face of a very dangerous situation. While, yes, some of the restaurateurs sound as if they are there just to make a buck, others care that they are helping to rebuild Kabul’s economy, and that they are feeding people in a dangerous place comforting food.

Wolf Served Burger in Italian Bar

You read that right. A wild wolf, forced by hunger, came down from the mountains near Aquila in central Italy, and wandered calmly into a bar. There, it made no threatening moves to the bartender or other patrons, but calmly moved around, sniffing for food. The bartender made a nice juicy burger and tossed it to the animal who–pardon the expression–wolfed it down

And then the wolf left. (Without paying the bill, mind you. He probably let his wallet at home in his lair.)

Or, so the story goes….

Tigers & Strawberries in the Local News

Folks at the Athens News got wind that a popular food blog was based in their very own town, so I got a call from a reporter who came down to Salaam for an interview. It was fun, and the photos turned out well, and we got to introduce the world of food blogging, including A Menu For Hope. In the print edition of the article, which is longer, an excerpt from a recent post was quoted at length, which was really nice.

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