The Wall Street Journal reported on March 15th that Denize Hazime, a Californian, Muslim woman entrepreneur has opened an Arabic food stand on the largest Marine base on the West Coast. By all accounts, the stand “Dede Med’s Shawarma House” is very popular among Marines on the base whose daytime population exceeds 60,000 people.
Since WWII, U.S. troops have often gotten the first exposure to novel and interesting foreign cuisines. On their deployments many of our service men and women “go native” and long for the same tastes upon their return stateside. Many of our ethnic dining trends can be traced to this process.
We are trying to figure a way to get a civilian pass to get on the base and try the fare. In the meantime we will have to be content to learn Dede Med’s recipes at http://www.dedemed.com/#axzz0kkNR5JIc
P Chef