One Kalashnikov Happy Meal, hold the pickles

[khaosworks]

Something that will probably show up on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me's "guess the fake news story" portion:

Lebanese food served with a bang
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2008/06/23 08:21:15 GMT

A fast-food restaurant in Beirut's war-torn southern suburb has hit upon an explosive way to attract customers.

Buns and Guns is made out to look like a military post and diners eat to the sound of gunfire instead of muzak.

Owner Yousef Ibrahim presents rebranded Lebanese favourites like the "rocket-propelled grenade" (chicken on a skewer) and "terrorist bread".

"They accuse us of terrorism, so let's serve terrorist bread, why not?" Mr Ibrahim told Hezbollah's al-Manar TV.

Other dishes include the Kalashnikov, Dragunov, Viper, B52, while realistic-looking weapons and ammunition decorate the counters, and camouflage netting hangs from the ceiling.

Beirut has recently passed through another round of civil strife when pro-government partisans and those of the Hezbollah-led opposition fought street battles in west Beirut.

But that does not necessarily mean that the customers think the restaurant is in bad taste.

Buns and Guns (motto: A sandwich can kill you) is located in a strongly Hezbollah-supporting area, where the group's militia is lionised by many.

"My goal was to make people laugh before they ask me why weapons. The important thing is that they laugh," Mr Ibrahim said.

He insists the only way his sandwiches could kill the customers is by their generous proportions.

"It attracts customers in an unconventional way. You noticed the moment I opened the restaurant, there was a lot of business," he told the al-Manar correspondent, who later tucked into an RPG sandwich.

Comments

[vixyish.livejournal.com]

You know, the first thing that makes me think is: however foreign someone may seem, they probably *do* have a sense of humor.

It's easy, when we're constantly hearing news about a "war-torn" area, to think of all the people there as humorless warmongers. Just like anywhere else, though, some of 'em just want a laugh. And some of 'em just want a sandwich.