July 30th, 2014
Camp Parks, CA

There are two quintessential Army foods: the Army omelette and Chili Mac.  These are such standards that no Army mess hall (nowadays called a “Dee-Fac” for “Dining Facility”) would go without both for more than a few days.

There are usually two sides to a DFAC, one short order and one “main” line.  The short order line in the morning is mostly for omelets, cooked Army style.  They poor out a ladle of about two eggs very thin so it cooks very fast.  They then dump in your desired ingredients and roll it up.  The rhythm is familiar to anyone who has served.  “Next!”  Cheese omelet!  “Next!”  Everything!  “Next!”  Ham and cheese omelet.  And so forth.  Back in the day it was “Next man!” but today’s sensitive Army is more gender-neutral.  They are not the fluffy omelet of your best local breakfast joint, but cook fast, taste pretty good, and simply have to be eaten with a biscuit.  I think there is a regulation about that.

The other classic item is Chili Mac.  Macaroni and beef chili, no beans.  Hardy, filling, but never spicy (that’s what hot sauce is for).  Totally, completely, classically Army food.  Sure, there may be civilian recipes for it, but you can’t convince me it didn’t originate in the military.

Tonight’s Chili Mac was par excellence.  Magnifique.  C’est bon ca!  Though the ice cream cup from the freezer was so hard I had to cut it into chunks with my pocket knife before eating it with a plastic spoon, much to the amusement of the Staff Judge Advocate sitting across the table from me.  So sadly I can only give the dinner 4.5 stars.