Pittsburgh Restaurant Gains National Attention for Serving Only Cuisine From Countries Where U.S. Engages in Military or Political Conflict

Conflict Kitchen is a take-out restaurant in Pittsburgh that only serves cuisine from countries where the United States is engaged in military or political conflict. Its first iteration - Kubideh Kitchen, serving an Iranian street-food favorite - has gained national media attention.

"I can't believe someone didn't think of this sooner," writes Seattle Weekly reporter Jason Sheehan, who sings the praises of Conflict Kitchen on his From the Gut blog.

"Can taste create understanding?", asks Salon.com in an ARTICLE posted on its website.

"The food is served out of a take-out style storefront, which will rotate identities every four months to highlight another country," Sheehan quotes from the Conflict Kitchen website. "Each Conflict Kitchen iteration will be augmented by events, performances, and discussion about the culture, politics, and issues at stake with each county we focus on."

Kubideh Kitchen is an Iranian take-out restaurant that serves kubideh in freshly baked barbari bread with onion, mint, and basil. Developed in collaboration with members of the Pittsburgh Iranian community, the sandwich is packaged in a custom-designed wrapper that includes interviews with Iranians both in Pittsburgh and Iran on subjects ranging from Iranian food and poetry to the current political turmoil.

Located next to the Waffle Shop at 124 S. Highland Ave., Conflict Kitchen is a project by John Peña, Jon Rubin, and Dawn Weleski and is funded by the Sprout Fund, Waffle Shop, and the Center for the Arts in Society.

For more information, go to www.kubidehkitchen.com.