Complex

Would You Eat Dinner on a Saddam Hussein Plate?

A risky move for a risky restaurant.
A risky move for a risky restaurant.

What a day for the anti-defamation league! Just on the hoofs of Bataligate, now T Magazine has a story about dinner served on Saddam Hussein’s tabletop (which the Post noticed last month). Here’s what’s happening, like it or not: Thanks to a little looting, some plates have ended up at Park Avenue Autumn restaurant from now until November 26, as part of a participatory art installation. To enhance the “complicated” experience, Kevin Lasko, the executive chef at the restaurant, has created an Iraqi-inspired dish of venison chop covered in tahini and date syrup, with pomegranates, pine nuts, and scallions. While it’s not quite as scandalous as Batali comparing bankers to Hitler, Chef Lasko does compare Hussein to, um, tahini. “It’s very good to eat and it tastes good, but, at the same time, there are bitter memories because of Saddam … It’s actually kind of very similar to how the tahini and the date syrup are — the tahini is very bitter and the syrup is very sweet.” [T Magazine]

Would You Eat Dinner on a Saddam Hussein Plate?