Don't just make art, make food!

June 4, 2010 10:13 AM

"Conflict Kitchen is a take-out restaurant that only serves cuisine from countries that the United States is in conflict with."

The first project is Iranian cuisine served from a striking hole-in-a-wall storefront which clashes brilliantly with the traditional American architecture of the building housing it. The food wrappers will also be in interesting contrast to other fast food litter.

I you live in Pittsburgh their first free event is tomorrow, June 5. Some folks from the area should check in and speak for the food.

Washington Post: Pa. eatery stirs interest in nations in conflict
Seattle Weekly: Conflict Cuisine: I Can't Believe Someone Didn't Think of This Sooner

posted by KS (66 comments total)

Too bad GW Bush isn't still president; the amount of cuisine from countries that the United States is in conflict with would be rising daily.
posted by leftcoastbob at 10:17 AM on June 4, 2010

gah, we're squeezing the bandwidth dry... wait, I'm a doctor, step back everyone and give the wifi some room to breathe...
posted by infini at 10:17 AM on June 4, 2010

Cool. Related is one of my favorite cookbooks: Cuisines of the Axis of Evil, and Other Irritating States: A Dinner Party Approach to International Relations
posted by .kobayashi. at 10:18 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

Very keen! And I thought baking was simply science for hungry people (source).
posted by filthy light thief at 10:19 AM on June 4, 2010

If they expand to include the presence US Military Bases and CIA "advisors" you'd be able to order damn well anything.
posted by yeloson at 10:19 AM on June 4, 2010

I've been meaning to get to both the Waffle Shop and the Conflict Kitchen. I will try to deliver a report.
posted by chinston at 10:20 AM on June 4, 2010

mmmm....militaindustrialicious
posted by DU at 10:20 AM on June 4, 2010 [3 favorites]

but...next door, there are WAFFLES!!!!
posted by HuronBob at 10:22 AM on June 4, 2010

First item on the menu: cheeseburger.
posted by plexi at 10:23 AM on June 4, 2010

its pittsburgh, expect to find mashed up hidden fries with that
posted by infini at 10:26 AM on June 4, 2010

its pittsburgh, expect to find mashed up hidden fries with that

Well, that would be fries and slaw. What kind of jagoff eats a sandwich any other way?
posted by el_lupino at 10:28 AM on June 4, 2010 [7 favorites]

I can't wait to try their extraordinary rendition of bibimbap.
posted by 2bucksplus at 10:31 AM on June 4, 2010 [7 favorites]

i have linked to primantibros before i'll have you know
posted by infini at 10:32 AM on June 4, 2010

My grandparents live in Pittsburgh and were I to take them to this place it would go right over their heads.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:32 AM on June 4, 2010

What kind of jagoff eats a sandwich any other way?

I was en route to Pittsburgh, and a family was sitting near me. The mother was talking about how the first thing she wanted when she got off the plane was going to Panera. I was mildly disappointed, but then was instantly buoyed by the father saying that they would instead be going to this place where they serve coleslaw and french fries on a sandwich.

In my mind, there is no foodstuff that place truly represents Pittsburgh as well as that sandwich.
posted by jangie at 10:33 AM on June 4, 2010

Well, that would be fries and slaw.

Yo dawg, I heard you like starch, so I put some fries in your sandwich, so you can eat a lot of starch. I think I'm doing this wrong.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:35 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

KS: "Conflict Kitchen is a take-out restaurant that only serves cuisine from countries that the United States is in conflict with"

Oh, so Everything-Everything Else fusion, then?
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 10:36 AM on June 4, 2010 [3 favorites]

my kitchen is plain confused...
posted by infini at 10:37 AM on June 4, 2010

And that *closes history book* is how one Pittsburgh resident with a craving for maple syrup led to creation of the 51st state.
posted by Durn Bronzefist at 10:39 AM on June 4, 2010 [3 favorites]

The site has been metafiltered, so I can only speculate, but I bet their menu is enormous.
posted by Panjandrum at 10:41 AM on June 4, 2010

I'm surprised they don't offer a vegetarian option.
posted by chara at 10:42 AM on June 4, 2010

Pittsburghfilter: 0 to Primanti's in 10 comments or fewer!

I love this, but I'm bummed that there's only the one dish. And that it's not suitable for herbivores.
posted by jocelmeow at 10:42 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

Related: Thomas Friedman's Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention, which suggested that no two countries with McDonalds in them had ever gone to war with each other. Arguably, the NATO bombing of Serbia proved an exception to the rule.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 10:44 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

Aw heck, I will totally be heading over to check that out tomorrow. Impromptu meetup, anyone?
posted by punchtothehead at 10:47 AM on June 4, 2010

Pittsburghfilter: 0 to Primanti's in 10 comments or fewer!

oi! I resemble taht snark
posted by infini at 10:47 AM on June 4, 2010

How exciting! Anti-US, very limited menu, and the single item available is Iranian. I guess it would just be too dull and old hat to discuss the questionable results from the last Iranian election, the bloody subsequent crackdown on protesters, and the current move to arrest women in "improper" clothing there. Then there's the nuclear proliferation issue -- but hey, as long as the US doesn't like the country of origin, the food must be great.

I can't wait till they move on to North Korean cuisine, special dishes from Myanmar, and favorite food items of Sudan.
posted by bearwife at 10:51 AM on June 4, 2010 [5 favorites]

HuronBob: "but...next door, there are WAFFLES!!!!"

The Waffle Shop is a performance art space/installation/restaurant thing run by the art school at CMU. The Conflict Kitchen is a spinoff of The Waffle Shop.
posted by octothorpe at 10:52 AM on June 4, 2010

> "Conflict Kitchen is a take-out restaurant..."

I see what you did there.
posted by ardgedee at 10:55 AM on June 4, 2010 [3 favorites]

I think the calls for a meetup! There is yummy Ethiopian food around the corner for vegetarians and a cupcake shop a block away for pastritarians.
posted by Alison at 11:05 AM on June 4, 2010

I thought this was going to be like my idea for The WTF BBQ.
posted by sciurus at 11:07 AM on June 4, 2010 [2 favorites]

rummages in the cupboard for elbow macaroni
posted by infini at 11:09 AM on June 4, 2010

I am trying very hard to convince my partner we need to check this out. Also that he needs to join MetaFilter. So clearly a meetup would further all of my evil plans - will see if I can twist his arm.

If someone gets there before I do, report back, please.

Sometimes I just love this city.
posted by Stacey at 11:11 AM on June 4, 2010

If this were in Seattle, I'd eat here all the time. Partly for the fun of it, but also because Persian/Iranian food is good stuff. In Irvine, Calif., where I grew up, there was always a big Nowruz festival each year.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:12 AM on June 4, 2010

Too bad GW Bush isn't still president; the amount of cuisine from countries that the United States is in conflict with would be rising daily.

I'm all in favor of a gratuitous Bush bash, but to be fair, it's not like Obama has lessened this trend.
posted by cjorgensen at 11:14 AM on June 4, 2010 [2 favorites]

If you want less politics and more psychology with your lunch, CMU also runs the Behavioral Café:

Choosing between the slice of pound cake or an apple? Carnegie Mellon researchers studying decision-making want to learn from you — and thanks to the new Carnegie Mellon Research Café, they can. The café is part coffee shop and part behavioral decision research lab, located in downtown Pittsburgh on the second level of Fifth Avenue Place.
...
Topics include trust and fairness; memory and decision making; how people decide to save or spend; how to reduce obesity; public health issues like diet, exercise and smoking; privacy; perceptions of inflation; managerial decision making; and dynamic decision processes.

posted by octothorpe at 11:14 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

so I put some fries in your sandwich, so you can eat a lot of starch.

A couple popular items in Japanese convenience stores are the yakisoba sandwich and the spaghetti sandwich, which are basically noodles and sauce in a bun. It always struck me as a "but why, though?" item. Noodles, fries, bread: you gotta keep 'em separated.
posted by Kirk Grim at 11:18 AM on June 4, 2010

It's not like Iranian food is hard to find (not sure about Pittsburgh but at least in DC); it's just generally called "Persian". "Burmese" places aren't terribly uncommon either.

And a lot of what is served in Korean restaurants in the US is, at least according to my Korean-American friends, actually regional cuisine that traditionally was from the northern provinces. You wouldn't refer to it as "North Korean food" though, probably because North Korea, which has only existed as a state since 1948, didn't invent any of it.

It'd be interesting if they actually found food items that had been developed in Iran, Myanmar, or North Korea in the time those countries have existed as political entities in their current form. The Iranian one might not be bad, but I'm pretty sure the North Korean meal would be ... sparse.
posted by Kadin2048 at 11:23 AM on June 4, 2010

Article from local paper with more pictures.
posted by dforemsky at 11:26 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

They've always served Eastasian food.
posted by schmod at 11:28 AM on June 4, 2010 [3 favorites]

There's a fairly nice article covering it in the local paper's food section this week.

Octothorpe I've got to tell you that the idea of the Behavioral Cafe fascinates me. There are so may politics involved with the regular office kitchenette, I'd love to hear the research that CMU uncovers.
posted by librarianamy at 11:30 AM on June 4, 2010

We need to start a war with Turkey. Then this place can finally have Turkish Delight.
posted by reenum at 11:30 AM on June 4, 2010

Anti-US

So you're saying the Death to America milkshake was OTT?
posted by dirigibleman at 11:32 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

Drat, you've taken the name for my microtonal fusion band AND my next Apple II game.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 11:35 AM on June 4, 2010

Pittsburgh? So does this mean that the Ben Roethlisburger will be a featured item while he tries to redeem himself?
posted by geekyguy at 11:37 AM on June 4, 2010

I can't wait till they move on to North Korean cuisine, special dishes from Myanmar, and favorite food items of Sudan.

I don't really get this. I think it would great to see these cuisines served. It seems more like a gesture of support for different cultures and peoples, which are distinctly separate from the governments or militas that run their countries.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 11:49 AM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'm pretty sure the national dish of North Korea is a picture of Kim Jong Il eating a sandwich. Knowing the Dear Leader is receiving adequate nutrition should be enough to sustain a true patriot.
posted by electroboy at 11:54 AM on June 4, 2010 [3 favorites]

If this were in Seattle, I'd eat here all the time. Partly for the fun of it, but also because Persian/Iranian food is good stuff

Lucky me, my best friend here in Seattle is Iranian, and she and her husband have given my husband and I a lot of culinary education about the cuisine. So, I am glad to tell you, Cool Papa Bell, there is great Persian/Iranian food in Seattle, with a full menu even. Hope it is OK with you that the owners and operators like the US, which has provided asylum for them from one of the most right wing religious reactionary revolutions in history. Here's a good place, the Caspian Grill. Kolbeh restaurant, whose website seems to be having problems right now, isn't bad either. Finally this coffee house has a Persian slant.
posted by bearwife at 11:55 AM on June 4, 2010

Conquering countries with excellent food worked for the Dutch and English.
posted by kirkaracha at 11:59 AM on June 4, 2010

Persian food you say? I think I know what I'll be checking out on my next trip to Chicago, along with some tattoo places.
posted by Halloween Jack at 12:14 PM on June 4, 2010

I think the idea of a Skype meal sharing with people in Iran is totally brilliant! This is what the internet can do, bring us together in our ordinariness!
posted by mareli at 12:37 PM on June 4, 2010

I can't wait till they move on to North Korean cuisine, special dishes from Myanmar, and favorite food items of Sudan.

I can see where you're coming from, and the "only serves cuisine from countries that the United States is in conflict with" has to come off as pretty provocative, but if you read the wrapper, you'll find a good deal of dismay over how the Iranian gummint has and is doing bad in Iran.

Not much a one for kimchee, myself. Still, looking forward to the wrapper.
posted by IndigoJones at 1:51 PM on June 4, 2010

Hope it is OK with you that the owners and operators like the US, which has provided asylum for them from one of the most right wing religious reactionary revolutions in history.

Indubitably, but if they are in favour of American military intervention in Iran then I will donate $100 to a charity of your choice.
posted by atrazine at 2:44 PM on June 4, 2010

Wonder if any patriotic restaurants are pushing for them to be "under new management"
posted by orme at 3:22 PM on June 4, 2010

I suddenly have a craving for Shomal, aka North, a Persian restaurant in Toronto that has my heart. Man, I love Persian food...
posted by Hildegarde at 3:22 PM on June 4, 2010

There is now an upscale burger joint called Rogue States in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. (Caveat: I have never been there.) From the reviews, it looks as if the owner just liked the name -- burgers are served up with an international twist, but it's not "conflict burgers" unless you find the idea of burgers served on brioche to be inherently conflict-ridden.

It doesn't appear to be the hangout of Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz.
posted by bad grammar at 5:00 PM on June 4, 2010

Bearwife, it's pretty clear you know next to nothing about the activities of the west in general, america specifically, and the CIA even more specifically in the genesis of Iran as it exists today. I urge you to read the link above before chucking off about the topic any further.
posted by smoke at 6:50 PM on June 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

Well, the US was at war with England once, I hear, and if you love your starch you can do no better than a good old chip butty.
posted by binturong at 7:02 PM on June 4, 2010

Didn't make it to the special Skype full-lunch event, but did stop by this afternoon for the regular sandwich since we had errands over that way. Verdict: Tasty, quick, service was pleasant, we enjoyed it for a quick lunch.
posted by Stacey at 10:17 AM on June 5, 2010

In the fall, Conflict Kitchen will wear a new facade featuring a favorite food from Afghanistan.

I wonder what they'll serve. Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't Afghan and Iranian cuisines pretty similar?
posted by Gordafarin at 1:15 PM on June 5, 2010

For those who may not have looked at Smoke's sole supporting link (a Wikipedia piece), here's the cover warnings about it:

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page.

* Its neutrality is disputed. Tagged since January 2010.
* Its factual accuracy is disputed. Tagged since March 2010.
* It may contain inappropriate or misinterpreted citations which do not verify the text. Tagged since April 2010.
* It may require general cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Tagged since March 2010.

I stand by my "chuck off."
posted by bearwife at 6:49 PM on June 6, 2010

My apologies, bearwife, how about this?

I quote: "The CIA, with help from British intelligence, planned, funded and implemented the operation. When the plot threatened to fall apart entirely at an early point, U.S. agents on the ground took the initiative to jump-start the operation, adapted the plans to fit the new circumstances, and pressed their Iranian collaborators to keep going.

Moreover, a British-led oil boycott, supported by the United States, plus a wide range of ongoing political pressures by both governments against Mosaddeq, culminating in a massive covert propaganda campaign in the months leading up to the coup helped create the environment necessary for success."

I reiterate: you do not know enough about Iran and the US role in creating the state as it currently functions to be sounding off about it in a thread. Educate yourself before talking about what a great saviour your country could be for Iran. It's insensitive, ignorant, and borders on offensive to me.

If you have any evidence you wish to provide I will be happy to read it.
posted by smoke at 8:48 PM on June 6, 2010 [1 favorite]

It's not as if you both can't be right. The US and the British certainly did support the coup against Mossadeq *and* the US has taken in a large number of Iranian asylum seekers, as well as oppose the current regime.
posted by electroboy at 8:06 AM on June 7, 2010

Well, I never did suggest that I supported the Shah or the way he returned to power in 1953.

As for what I did mention in the comment that made Smoke smoke -- I was talking about events some 30 years later, i.e. the reactionary rightist revolution of the 1980s and all the oppression and murder it inflicted. As people I knew then and dear friends of mine suffered through this experience, I know plenty about it. I also know plenty about the gratitude they feel for the asylum the U.S. has offered. I'd add that I and any other well informed person know plenty more about the current oppressive government of Iran, including the questionable most recent election there, the bloody suppression of protest, and the current crackdown on women. Not to mention the incursion by Iranian troops during the past week over the Iraqi border in pursuit of Kurds.

But hey, keep frothing at the mouth over 1953, Smoke. Who cares about what the Iranians have been up to since then, or even right now?
posted by bearwife at 8:36 AM on June 7, 2010

bearwife, my point is that Iran as it currently exists wouldn't exist if not for the direct intervention and action of the US govt. They would not have needed to take any asylum seekers because in all likelihood there would still be a thriving and wealthy democracy there.

By toppling the democratically elected govt in 1953, they not only set the country up for life under one of the more brutal dictators of the entire region (no mean feat), but helped establish the infrastructure (secret police, torture, disregard for elections, corruption etc. etc.) that has subsequently plagued Iran ever since.

In this respect, I feel like getting dewy-eyed about a few citizenships is missing the forest for the trees. The US destroyed, then created - and continues to define - what happens in Iran. The only thing the US govt gives even half a shit about is oil and geopolitics in the region, and its refugee intake reflects that.

The 400 000 thousand-odd refugees that the US has taken in since 1961 - though it includes religious minorities, and later the middle class - also contained a significant proportion of sympathisers or direct supporters of the regime, imported with many of the country's liquidated assets. Those 400 000 refugees, seem a pretty paltry recompense for essentially destroying a country, and the subsequent thousands imprisoned, tortured and executed.

Also worth remembering - and not trivialising their troubles - your friends in America have one view about the 1978 revolution, but in the actual country itself it was wildly, almost unprecedently popular for a revolution, as was Khomeini.

The subsequent hardline conservatism and staunch anti-Americanism was not a random, home-grown reaction, rather it was a direct response to the cruelties of the Shah's regime and its secret police, both of which the US trained, paid for, and supported - and worse, whilst rejecting the ideology, the subsequent rulers were only too happy to take on the apparatus that US was responsible for introducing.

So, my point is that it's easy to demonise Iran and Iranians, but the reality is far more nuanced than that and if you have a problem with how the country was in the eighties, nineties, and currently, you really have a problem with the United States, because everything that has happened in Iran since 1953 is either a response to or an action supported by what the US has done there.

If you are interested in learning more about the manifold failures of US dabbling in foreign democracy, I thoroughly recommend reading up about blowback, where Iran is literally a textbook example.
posted by smoke at 4:46 PM on June 7, 2010

in all likelihood there would still be a thriving and wealthy democracy there.

Eh, I'm not so sure. Mossadeq nationalized the oil industry, granted himself "emergency powers"and cancelled elections towards the end. I can't speculate as to whether the Shah would've come to power or whether the Islamic Revolution would've happened, but actions like that don't usually lead to thriving liberal democracies.
posted by electroboy at 9:21 AM on June 8, 2010

"We make money, not art" has an extensive interview with the people behind the project, including pictures.
posted by zarq at 10:02 PM on June 30, 2010