“Rabbana yab ‘ath al-lawz li ‘lli ma lahu asnan”
Loosely translated: The Lord sends almonds to those without teeth

Last weekend, dinner club went out for dinner instead of cooking. Accompanied by the lead staffer of Obama’s campaign, we went to Al Milh Wa Zad restaurant, an Iraqi restaurant in the Um Uthaina neighborhood. The restaurant’s name literally means “the salt and the food,” which, according to my arabic teacher, is a phrase that is said when one wants to express the goodness and bounty of one’s food. And the food sure was bountiful!

We went to this restaurant specifically for a dish called Masgouf, a bbqed/roasted fish, that is flattened and cooked vertically from the fire. It is a true delicacy of Iraq, as many Iraqis are used to eating Masgouf direct from the Tigris River, while sitting near the banks enjoying the evening with family and friends. We were told that these Masgouf did not come from the Tigris, which is good since currently the Tigris is a victim of the spoils of war.

The restaurant is set back at the end of a strip mall. The front porch features a small wooden bridge over two pools of fish swimming around, waiting to be caught for dinner. One, in an apparent attempt at freedom, had flung himself up on the pavement and was slowly hyperventilating to his death right as we walked in. It was quite a sight to see our dinner trying to swim his way to the parking lot. Fortunately, we were able to send some of our men to pick out the fish we would eat, and they happened to pick the fish with a bit less of a freedom-complex.

The dinner started with hoobz (bread, similar to pita), hummous, baba ghanouj, and some interesting yogurt and spice salads. There were 12 of us, so we ordered 6 masgouf, one for every 2 people. Wow, was this a mistake. Masgouf is usually made out of carp, also fish of the infamous gefilte variety, which is a very large fish to  begin with. Each fish was 2 kilos each, a kilo a piece! Usual preparation for the fish is to split it down the middle, remove any crazy organs,  and then serve it completely opened on a large platter. The server removes the spine at the table, and voila, masgouf. We had a hard time finishing 12 kilos of fish!

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The masgouf was good; it tasted like fried chicken. But I was a little dissapointed that it was just fish. There was no tasty sauce or rice or veggies to make it taste any different.

All in all, our first “Dinner Club Eats Out” was a success. Hopefully there will be more tasty stories to come.