Dining Out in Saudi Arabia a Police Matter

This article makes me long for the adventure of eating out in Riyadh where international cuisine was matched with the possibility of a potentially exciting muttawah encounter...

Dining Out in Saudi Arabia a Police Matter: "RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- I was still looking over the menu when the commotion began. The waiter sprinted in and shut off the TV that was airing a female pop singer's video clip. Another waiter hastily put up a wooden partition to screen me from the male diners.

Saudi Arabia's religious police were on the prowl.

Eating out in Riyadh is an unusual experience, apt on occasion to give the diner indigestion. The restaurants are trendy and serve all manner of local and foreign delicacies. But they are subject to the austere mores of an Islamic kingdom _ no unmarried men and women together, no pop music, not even service with a smile.

Saudis in the capital take the extremes of the muttawa, or religious police, in stride. But among expatriates, they're a favorite topic of conversation."