Nothing Beats Good Old Southern Hospitality in Kuwait

Ok so for the first few days of traveling back and forth to school on the van my colleagues and I have laughed about this sign that reads:  The Southern Restaurant.  We made quite a few jokes about what type of cuisine they could possibly be serving there in the middle of Mahboula Kuwait.  Finally one day our Superintendent suggested that he would treat us if we came up with a date and a time so that we could all go and check it out. Needless to say for a free meal we came up with a date and time pretty quickly.  So off we all went walking one evening approximately 3 blocks down our busy street to try this restaurant we had been mocking for days.  When we stepped inside, the atmosphere was nice.  The place was very clean and moderately decorated with mason jars, quilts and coffee mugs printed with a stencil of the USA.  They had American country music playing in the background and we were promptly greeted by a young Asian woman.  dressed in black with a clean white apron.  She took our drink orders as we perused the menu.  Wow,  I was shocked to see chicken and waffles, NC barbecue chicken sliders, country fried chicken, baked macaroni and cheese, collard greens, fried hush puppies, sloppy joe sliders, meatloaf and even peach cobbler!  We were all floored!  We laughed about our misjudgment and the fact that we couldn't decide on what home cooked meal to try.   I think we ordered a little of everything so that everyone could try it all.  As we sat and talked about various things the aroma of the cooked food filled the air and for a brief moment it almost felt like home.  Our food arrived in a timely manner and we all dug in with enthusiasm as our mouths salivated over the piece of southern cuisine we had discovered here in the Middle Eastern territory of Kuwait.  We were not disappointed.  The food was excellent!  A little under seasoned but for our surroundings outside of that Southern Restaurant it was perfection. As we ate almost in silence our waitress was kind enough to give us the background on the owners.  They are half Kuwaiti/half American owners; one from North Carolina and the other originally from Kentucky.  This husband and wife duo decided to get together and open a restaurant that could remind expats of home.  I would say they have succeeded.  It was a great night out with my colleagues.  It was so great in fact that I suggested to my groupme group that we meet there for our first meeting.  We had great food, great conversation and laughs,  American music and a little bit of good old southern hospitality.