Today I went to lunch at "Freedom Rest," the area near the Green Zone where many high-ranking generals live and where soldiers get to take breaks for a few days at a time. It was amazing. There was a gorgeous swimming pool, ping-pong tables everywhere, several cabinets full of the latest DVDs, a movie theater playing new releases, a sports bar (but no alcohol, since soldiers and officers aren't allowed to drink it), a bowling alley and more. I was with a bunch of people meeting with a general in a high-ceilinged, lavishly decorated conference room.
I knew it was going to be a good day when I walked in the conference room and saw a line of a dozen silver serving dishes. A crew of waiters pulled off the covers to reveal fresh vegetables, Chinese noodles, chicken and broccoli, egg drop soup and much more. I was in heaven. I ate orange chicken, noodles, rice, stir fried eggplant, soup and a chocolate chip cookie, which was all delightful. The reporters in the room were saying that it's very easy for the military to get good coverage in Iraq -- just give them good food. Everybody laughed, but there's a definite element of truth to it.
It was only a couple of hours later that I realized the food wasn't actually all that good -- it was comparable to the Chinese food you'd eat in a mall food court, which I would generally scoff at. But in Iraq, those gloppy noodles and cloyingly sweet chicken tasted pretty amazing.
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