Steak & Lobster Night

Today it was steak and lobster night at our dining hall. Nobody announced it, there was no anticipatory murmuring among the hoi polloi, and even when we learned of it people weren't particularly more excited than they normally are at dinner time. This isn't because soldiers and diplomats are snobbish or expect to be served steak and lobster, but because the food here is pretty darn good. (The lobster was a bit dry tonight, but hey, I'm sure that Maine-to-Mesopotamia flight can be rough.)

And I must say generally that military food -- at least that which I've been exposed to at Fort Benning, Camp Sather (the Air Force base by Baghdad Airport) and here -- has been a very pleasant surprise. There's a huge variety of entrees, sides, salad and sandwich items, drinks, and desserts. You can eat as healthy as you want and as much as you want, and everything is always fresh and clean.

The DFAC (Dining Facility something something, aka "mess" "chow hall") here is enormous, and here's how the process works: First you walk across the pathway from the embassy and clear your weapon (if you're carrying one) into a sand-filled barrel. After the Peruvian guard [more on the Latin American contractors working checkpoints in future] checks that you have the proper badge -- I'm telling you, badges are everything here -- you step into air conditioned splendor, wash your hands, and go down one of two "main lines." There, for every meal, you have a choice of three entrees and commensurate sides and fixin's. If the main line isn't doin' it for ya, you can check out the "theme bar" (I've seen Arabic, Chinese, Indian, Louisiana, pasta, potato, and pizza, among others) and get scrumptious chow there. Then you proceed to the salad bar (or you can pick up a slice of cake or pie first) and load up on whatever you want (including at least two types of lettuce, bok choy, and jalapenos). If you still need more food, you can make a detour to the grill -- which offers different items each meal (omelettes for breakfast, sausage 'n' peppers, roast beef, gyro, carved ham, Mongolian stir fry, fajitas, etc.) -- or to the soup station, which features two soups daily. Finally it's time to pick up drinks, which range from various kind of milk and juice boxes (my favorites are the cocktail of nectars and the pink grapefruit) to iced tea (sweet or regular), sodas, several kinds of Gatorade, and, of course, bottled water. Then you go to your seat and chow down.

Unless you want something from the short order grill on the other side of the hall, with the TVs showing sports 24 hours/day. There you can get burgers, dogs, fried fish, chili, grilled cheese or turkey sandwiches, fries, and onion rings. Once a week it's its own separate pasta bar.

After dinner, if you want to make what my JAG buddies call the "walk of shame", dessert ranges from fresh-baked cookies to soft-serve frozen yogurt, Belgian waffles to 10 or 12 kinds of ice cream. Plus the aforementioned cakes, pies, and other baked goodies. And of course many kinds of fresh fruit, including my favorite: kiwi (from New Zealand no less).

Before you go, or before they roll you out of there, be sure to pick up a PowerBar and Gatorade to keep in your hooch. Because you may have to wait as long as three hours before the DFAC opens again for the next meal...