Stuff I've Seen People Eat

It must be tremendously difficult to make the meals around here. With so many different nationalities and palates to satisfy and so many logistical limitations (shipping, etc), I'm glad they didn't put me in charge of the DFAC.

I've heard complaints that the food is not spicy enough and that it's too spicy... about the same meal. My French buddy was lamenting the lack of French cuisine. There haven't been any Romanian or Croatian dishes either, as far as I can tell. And of course the Americans complain that the food is "too European."

Along the way, it's been pretty funny to watch what peopledo  eat around here, particularly a breakfast. No kidding, I saw one guy with 6 hard boiled eggs on his plate one morning (I counted). I lost track of how many Macedonians I've seen walking around with a veritable mountain of bacon on their plates. Seriously, that can't be good for you.

Speaking of not good for you, every day at breakfast they have these little hashbrown patties. I've eaten two or three since I've been here, and I always feel a little bad about it because they're surely terrible for you. Last week, a guy in front of me loaded up his plate with five of those suckers. Ouch!

And then there's the baked beans. For breakfast. Usually spooned over toast.


Sometimes it gets pretty hilarious. They often serve a vanilla custard that has the consistency and color of nacho cheese. A Navy guy told me he inadvertently put it on broccoli once, mistaking it for cheese sauce. Yum! An Irish Major I know told a story about the time he spooned out what he thought was a bowl of lumpy oatmeal. His first mouthful revealed it was actually sausage gravy. And in case you're wondering, yes, everything is labeled... but apparently some people don't read the signs.

Of course, some of my best breakfasts have involved stuff sent from home (bagels, english muffins, maple syrup, apple butter, pumpkin bread), but there's certainly no shortage of entertainment here at the ISAF DFAC.