Stryker Brigade News

A lucky U.S. soldier approaches, and Kemal hands him his prize: a lamb kebab marinated with butter and red pepper sauce and wrapped in a white paper sleeve.

The wait is more than an hour long. Dozens of dusty soldiers sit in plastic blue lawn chairs, cradling their rifles in their laps. Some are drifting off to sleep. A fluorescent bug light suspended from the ceiling zaps a mosquito.

More soldiers are pouring into Kemal's restaurant these days. His business on this base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul has picked up since Dec. 21, when a suicide bomber walked into the mess tent and killed more than 20 soldiers and civilians. Dozens more were wounded. The mess tent has been closed since the bombing, leaving soldiers with fewer options for food.

Kemal has mixed feelings about his fortunes. He had dinner with a U.S. captain the night before the officer was killed in the blast. Kemal, who greets his repeat customers with big hugs, lost several friends that day. He cried over their deaths.

"No good. Too many people die," said Kemal, a stout businessman with a bushy gray mustache.

Kemal stood ready at his front counter Saturday night, the open coal pit to his left and blocks of white cheese chilling in a glass case to his right. A powerful fan hummed loudly overhead, sucking smoke away from the orange and gray coals. He scanned a batch of receipts with his big, sad brown eyes and then called his next customer.

"Number 48!"

His customers choose from a limited menu: cheese melted over pita bread, $2; meat pizza, $3; chicken tava, $4; and chicken or lamb kebab, $3. The dishes are made according to his recipes. A native of Turkey, Kemal learned to cook from a friend and fellow Turkish chef.