Meet Ratwan. A Kurdish born forester who was drafted into saddam's army during the Iran/Iraq war. He was lucky to have another skill, fluent English, which landed him work outside the army as translator for UN workers. His contacts with UN employees lead him to forming a friendship with a family in Minneapolis-St.Paul. With help from friends, he left Iraq for America in 1991. He walked into this country with $50.00 to his name and went to work washing dishes in MSP. With determination and hard work he opened his restaurant "Babani's" in 1998.
I was fortunate to join blogger and radio extraordinaire Ed Morrisey for a lunch at Babani's. The lunch was sponsored by Verizon and featured delicious Kurdish dishes.
The lentil soup was sublime:
A selection of Kurdish delights!
Mmmm, delicious! I've developed a new appreciation for middle eastern cuisine.
Oh, did I forget to mention - Ratwan votes Republican!
