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Conflict Kitchen restaurant only serves food from countries the U.S. is at odds with

At first glance, the premise behind Conflict Kitchen restaurant might seem like a guaranteed way to ignite the fire of American bashing in the international community: What arrogant a-hole set up this restaurant? Why are they being so controversial? Do Americans need more enemies?

Yet the idea behind the Pittsburgh, Pa. takeout joint, Conflict Kitchen, is to befriend American enemies, not alienate them.

Restaurant owner Jon Rubin hopes that by serving food from Iran, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Palestine, Israel and Cuba, Americans will engage in a larger public discourse about the cultural and political ties that bind their country with these others, creating deeper understanding and empathy.

“We are trying to be provocative in the best use of that term,” Rubin, who used to own another restaurant Waffle Shop, tells HyperVocal.

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Since opening in 2010, the takeout stand, which is open seven days a week, features a rotating menu of food from a different country every six months.

"We want people to think about places in a different light,” says Rubin, who is also an assistant professor of art at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

“Our goal is not to simplify but to actually complicate it. We want to instigate a nuanced, engaged discussion that we’re often times ashamed to have in public.”

Conflict Kitchen packages all their food in wrappers that include interviews with people from each country on topics ranging from culture to politics.

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"The thoughts and opinions that come through the interviews are often contradictory and complicated by personal perspective and history," the website reads. "These natural contradictions reflect a nuanced range of thought and serves to instigate questioning, conversation, and debate with our customers."

Each time the restaurant features cuisine from a new country, there are events, performances and public discussions to go with it. For example, one event included a live Skype dinner party with Pittsburgh citizens, professionals in Tehran, documentary filmmakers in Kabul and community radio activists in Caracas.

HyperVocal reports that Voice of America -- the official broadcast media of the U.S. federal government reporting on Asia, Africa and the Middle East -- tried to interview Rubin, but he declined.

The restaurant is financed almost exclusively from food sales, but also receives grants from local foundations like The Sprout Fund, The Benter Foundation and STUDIO for Creative Inquiry.