Obama Restaurant Watch -- Birthday Edition

Delighted to see the First Couple enjoyed dinner at my all-time favorite DC restaurant.

I love Nora and have never had a mediocre meal there, ever.

Picture found here.

Obama Restaurant Watch -- Jobs Speech Edition

Wherever he eats, I hope they serve him a heaping plateful of Do What We Elected You To Do, with a big side order of Make Jobs, Not War.

Picture and a review of the restaurant here.

Obama Restaurant Watch

It's a bit surprising in how many of these places I've done magic, generally solo, but, recently, with my circle of wild, amazing women. Maybe we need to make a project of it; spell up at least one power spot a month.

I mean, you'd be surprised where a group of witches can sit quietly, sip martinis and merlot, call the Elements, cast a circle, invoke Columbia, sing a song of power, release a cone of energy, and go unnoticed until it's time for the waiter to bring the dessert cart.

And don't get me started on silently grounding and centering and sending out intent.

Picture found here

Obama Restaurant Watch

Dear Mr. President,

Don't eat the lutefisk! I know, I know, I'm a traitor to my pipple, but, still, just don't go there.

But if you have any say about the menu, I'd go, as is often the case, for several of Aquavit's appetizers instead of the main course. GRAVLAX smoked salmon roe, melon, cucumber, LANGOUSTINE BISQUE crab and lobster salad, sea urchin, crème fraîche , and FOIE GRAS GANACHE pork and foie gras terrine, pickled apples, port wine .

As always, Obamafoodorama (my nominee for one of the best new blogs of the past year) has all the details.

Picture found here.

Le Beaujolias Nouveau Est (Almost) Arrive!

The third Thursday in November is only a few days away! Rumors are that this year's vintage is quite good.

Fun facts here.

If you're in D.C., you can find parties here. The Obamas love to go out in D.C., so one never knows.

Picture found here.

Obama Restaurant Watch -- New Orleans Edition

Like my brilliant friend, E, I really love New Orleans. One of the things I love best about it is the food. ( It's possible that the garlic soup at Bayona is, in fact, the single very best thing I've ever eaten.) And you'd really have to wonder about anyone who would visit New Orleans without stopping to eat. So I'm relieved to learn that President Obama made time for gumbo during his trip to the city. Lunch from Dooky Chase was worked into the presidential schedule:

I know he likes gumbo, so there will be gumbo; I know he likes shrimp Creole, so there will be shrimp Creole; I know he likes fried chicken, so there will be chicken.

Chef Leah Chase is reported to believe that the athletic, young president is "too thin," something that New Orleans cuisine has a way of fixing in a hurry. Her food is classic New Orleans, a mixture of Sicilian, French, and Italian. Shrimp Clemenceau, an unlikely but successful casserole of sautéed shellfish, mushrooms, peas, and potatoes, is a no-brainer, but her fried chicken, veal, grits, grillades, and court bouillon are also out of this world. She reportedly cooked enough for him to share. Chase said the Secret Service came by Dooky Chase around 10 a.m. to pick up the food. While the order only called for enough to feed a few people, Chase said, "You know I don't do that." She essentially prepared a full buffet: 35 pieces of fried chicken, two gallons of gumbo, jambalaya, shrimp Creole.

Photo of the president during an earlier visit to Dooky Chase found here.

Obama Restaurant Watch -- Anniversary Dinner Edition

The Obamas continue to eat out in Washington, D.C., something that delights residents of the city and foodies everywhere. For their 17th wedding anniversary (congrats to both!) they ate at Blue Duck Tavern, an upscale, contemporary American restaurant at Washington’s Park Hyatt hotel, [that] fits comfortably with Mrs. Obama’s effort to promote fresh food. When the restaurant opened in 2006, it was among the first in the capital to hop on the local sourcing trend, and its menu still cites the origin of the ingredients, most of which come from nearby Pennsylvania. (I'll note that Nora was working on local, organic sourcing long before Blue Duck opened.)

No word on what the couple ordered. There's a lot to choose from at Blue Duck. Everytime I go, I wind up ordering a couple of the vegetable sides and skipping an entree. A meal of Leek and Mushroom Tart with Potato Leek Sauce, made from ingredients from Path Valley, PA and Constant Bliss Agnolloti, with Artichoke, Date, & Hazelnuts from Jasper Hill Farm in VT would make a pretty good meal. If the Obamas were feeling especially celebratory, they could pair the Perrier Jouët, Fleur de Champagne, Brut, Epernay 1999 with almost anything on the menu. Blue Duck is known for its ice cream, but I always seem to wind up ordering the tin of old fashioned sugar cookies.

Thanks again, to the Obamas for actually living in DC, instead of hiding out behind the fortress walls of the WH, the way that the former residents did. DC loves you.

Photo (and another review of Blue Duck) found here.

Obama Restaurant Watch -- First Lady In New York Edition

Michelle Obama had lunch at Gramercy Tavern in NYC today.

We spoke with chef Michael Anthony after Obama left the restaurant, and he reported that she ate "a light seasonal meal," and emphasized a preference for items sourced from nearby. She also told him that her campaign to encourage healthy eating and local food had "just begun."

I'd probably have made a meal of the chilled corn soup and crispy oysters and a glass of the 2005 Pouilly-Fuissé, Ferret, Les Vernays.

Picture found here.

Obama Restaurant Watch

The President ate lunch today with former President Bill Clinton. The lunch was at a Greenwich Village restaurant, as the President was in NY to give a speech.

“We had fish, pasta and salad,” Mr. Clinton said as he turned to leave, smiling and waving at a few reporters on the sidewalk. “It was very healthy. Even I was healthy.”

The menu at Il Mulino is attractive, if limited.

Always Hungry says: Il Mulino is the quintessential NY staple. The unassuming Greenwich Village location was opened in 1981 by Italian brothers, Fernando and Gino Masci. Now, 20 years later, Il Mulino’s dishes continue to define NY Italian food though their adherence to tradition, bold garlic flavor, large portion size, and charming staff.

PIcture found here.

Obama Restaurant Watch

The Obamas are going to Martha's Vineyard, Chelsea Clinton either is or is not getting married there, (since her 'rents are in Bermuda this weekend, I'm guessing not, but it could be double double secret psyche); it's going to be an interesting week on the Island.

Local businesses and restaurants are quick to get in on the excitement surrounding the presidential visit. "Our local microbrewery will be tapping this weekend 'Ale to the Chief,'" said Gardella.

"We have an 'Obamarita' that has been launched at our local Mexican restaurant, and the 'Beefy Bobama biscuit' was launched at the Farmer's Market this weekend in celebration of Bo Obama coming to the island."

Sadly, the Obamas are renting a Republican estate. More and more frequently, I am forced to conclude: this dude just doesn't get it.

Picture found here.

Obama Restaurant Watch

Richard Nixon loved cottage cheese and catsup. Ronald Reagan liked jelly beans. Jimmy Carter was a peanut farmer. Bush I hated broccoli and Bill Clinton, well, that man just liked to eat. Bush II choked on pretzels. I'm guessing that Obama's going to go down in history as the president who loved burgers.

BOZEMAN, Mont. — A Bozeman, Mont., restaurant is saluting the president's fondness for cheeseburgers by offering a "Barack Obama Burger" Friday to honor his visit to the area.
The $10 bison meat burger at Ted's Montana Grill has three types of cheese: American, cheddar and Monterey Jack. The burger comes with a side of spicy mustard along with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickles, french fries and a small American flag.

The man does like his spicy mustard.

More here on bison burgers.

Picture found here.

The Family That Eats Burgers Together, Stays Together

Someone in the White House obviously had a hankering for an Obama burger.

First Lady Michelle Obama and her two daughters, Malia and Sasha, stepped out of the Executive Mansion on Thursday for a hearty lunch of burgers, fries, onion rings and milkshakes at Good Stuff Eatery, a restaurant near Capitol Hill. It was Mrs. Obama’s second trip to the restaurant – she dined there in May — and a first for her girls.

The restaurant, which specializes in burgers, served the first family cheeseburgers and its President Obama burger, which comes with horseradish mayo, red onion marmalade, crumbled blue cheese and bacon. (Several members of Mrs. Obama’s staff also joined the Obamas for lunch.)

They also sipped milkshakes – including vanilla, chocolate, toasted marshmallow and the decadent Milky Way malt (with butterscotch, hot fudge, malt balls, custard and whipped cream).

Startled patrons snapped photos and called friends to report the news and the first lady shook hands on her way out, said Felice Robinson, the restaurant’s administrative coordinator.

“It’s really nice to see the girls,’’ said Ms. Robinson, who described the Obama girls as “very well-mannered.” “People are really enchanted by having such young children in the White House.’’

The restaurant’s chef, Spike Mendelsohn, of Top Chef fame, cooked turkey burgers during a child-friendly cooking demonstration at the White House Easter Egg roll in April. He said he was honored to have the first lady as a repeat customer. “I’m part of the family now, what can I say?” he joked.

More here.

Picture found here.

Obama Restaurant Watch -- Virginia Tourist Edition

Michelle Obama brought her daughters and their grandmother to Virginia!

Day trips are appealing to even the most influential of families.

On Thursday, first lady Michelle Obama took her daughters Malia and Sasha, along with her mother, Marian Robinson, on a daylong visit to central Virginia, according to The Associated Press.

The White House day trippers made a stop at Luray Caverns, a popular Shenandoah Valley attraction, where they were treated to a private tour of the caves that feature geological formations known as stalactites and stalagmites. Luray Caverns is a U.S. Natural Landmark and home to the Great Stalacpipe Organ, one of the world's largest musical instruments. After the visit, they reportedly had lunch at the Brookside Restaurant near Luray, Va.

Their next stop was Monticello, the historic home of Thomas Jefferson. The estate was closed to visitors during the Obamas' VIP tour.

"We're very happy that they chose to visit Monticello," Wayne Mogielnicki, director of communications for the historic home, said in a statement. "We're thrilled. We hope they enjoyed it. If any other members of the Obama family want to come visit, I'm sure we'd be glad to have them too."

The group received a private tour and then had dinner at The Virginian in nearby Charlottesville. Restaurant owners Andy and Patrick McClure told WVIR that the Obama family ordered up Virginian crab cakes, southern fried chicken and steak.

Before they left town, the group sampled a Charlottesville tradition: ice cream at Arch's on the Corner.

Picture found here.

Obama Restaurant Watch

Seems that [F]irst lady Michelle Obama, is not sitting at home twiddling her thumbs, either.

A frequent diner at local hot spots, the missus was spotted downtown at Oyamel, an upscale Mexican restaurant, where she was breaking bread with White House sous chef Sam Kass.

Our loyal spy tells us "the Secret Service manning the front door (and frisking entering customers) were attracting a crowd, and passers-by were trying to get a glimpse through the window. She ate in the private dining room in the back."

Oyamel's good.

I'd have the table-made guac and the v cheap seared scallops with a pasilla chile and pumpkin seed sauce, orange segments, pumpkin seed oil and toasted pumpkin seeds and several St. George absinthe with Sauza blanco tequila, Chichicapa mezcal and fresh pineapple juice. And I don't even like pineapple juice.

Picture found here

Obama Restaurant Watch -- Clinton Version

Even Obama's Secretary of State is making restaurant news:

The restaurant Bukhara here is widely regarded as the finest in India, if not one of the best in Asia. The atmospheric and casual spot in the ITC Maurya hotel is known for its mouth-watering kabobs, perrfectly cooked over spits in view of the patrons.

It also happens to be a Clinton hangout. After then-President Clinton ate at Bukhara in 2000, the restaurant created a special Bill Clinton "presidential" platter in honor of his visit.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is also a Bukhara fan, and she made sure to have dinner there Sunday night with seven of her staff members. The chef prepared a special selection of eight dishes, plus naan bread and a desert of kulfi, a tasty Indian ice cream.

Sure enough, the restaurant announced that the meal prepared for the Secretary would henceforth be on the menu as the "Hillary platter."

Reports say that:

Hillary has been staying at the Taj Palace but she walked in next door at the ITC Maurya Sheraton to eat at Bukhara, her “favourite Indian restaurant in the world”. Getting there around 8.30 pm, she ordered most of the signature dishes — dal bukhara, murg malai, seekh kabab, paneer tikka, raita, naan and some others — and had kulfi for dessert. She, however, didn’t order from the “Clinton Platter” or the “Chelsea Platter”, named after the former first family of the US.

Picture found here. What is it about India that liberates American women and allows them to wear COLOR? Well, as Vreeland noted, pink is the navy blue of India.

Obama Restaurant Watch -- Michelle And The Girls Edition

The Obamas like to eat out wherever they are.

On Monday, the Obamas startled and delighted the staff of The Audley pub in the Mayfair district across from the U.S. Embassy.

The Obamas made reservations for 25 people, although restaurant employees did not know in advance that the large party included the first family.

"We were all speechless when they walked in. I couldn't believe it," said Cintia Pinto, 24, one of the waitresses who served the Obamas.


The group arrived at 7 p.m. and was seated in a private dining room on an upper floor of the pub.

"They were all very friendly. Smiling and laughing. . . . the girls were so sweet and polite. They thanked us every time we brought them something. It was a real honor," said Pinto.

Michelle Obama ordered a sirloin steak while the girls both ordered a traditional pub meal of fish and chips, confirmed a restaurant representative.

Picture found here.

Obamafoodorama has more.

Obama Restaurant Watch

Obama spits on the RNC. "Hey, dudes! You got pissed off when I flew Michelle to NYC for a dinner out? How about flying her to Paris for dinner out????"

June 7 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama kept a promise to take his wife Michelle out for a “nice meal” in Paris after four days of travel in the Middle East and Europe.

The presidential couple, without their two daughters, arrived for supper yesterday at La Fontaine de Mars, a traditional French bistro with red-and-white checked tablecloths that is close to the Eiffel Tower. The restaurant, which opened in 1908, has warm duck foie gras salad with pears for 26 euros ($36) and crème brulee dessert for 9 euros ($13).

“We started to believe yesterday already that he would come there,” said Lotfi Kafi, the 45-year-old owner of the Crep’ and Tea restaurant a few yards away on rue Saint Dominique in the upscale seventh district. “We are very honored.”

Hundreds of people stood behind barriers put up by the French police on nearby streets.
. . .

Obama had said he “would love nothing more than to have a leisurely week in Paris, stroll down the Seine, take my wife out to a nice meal, have a picnic in Luxembourg Gardens,” at a press conference earlier in Caen, Normandy, before taking part in a D-Day ceremony.

French Press Speculation

The French press had speculated for several days on possible landmarks that the Obama family might visit, including the Jules Verne restaurant in the Eiffel Tower and the Quai Branly museum for primitive art.



I think I'd have had the sole.

Update from AmericaBlog: President Obama had the leg of lamb and île flottante while the First Lady had filets de boeuf and crèmes brûlées. Both are very classical French dinners.

Photo here.

Obama Restaurant Watch

Oh, la la!

One potential trip that the French media had been speculating on had been dinner at Alain Ducasse's restaurant at the top of the tower, or a possible tour of Notre Dame.

Photo found here.

Obama Restaurant Watch

Proving that they do, so, like something other than burgers, President and Mrs. Obama ate dinner last night at Blue Hill.


After dining a little more than two hours at Blue Hill, a West Village restaurant touted by New York magazine as a "seminal Greenmarket haven" that features food grown by chef and owner Dan Barber on his upstate farm, the president and first lady headed to the Belasco Theater to make it in time for "Joe Turner's Come and Gone." The trip out highlights Mrs. Obama's commitment to local, sustainable agriculture. And, showing herself to be a true woman after my own heart, she's reported to have had two martinis with her dinner, while the President drank wine.

No word on what the Obamas ordered, but I'd have had: THIS MORNING'S FARM EGG, MORELS, RAMPS AND PINE NUTS to start, followed by: GRASS FED LAMB, ASPARAGUS, BROCCOLI RABE AND FIDDLEHEAD FERNS. I almost always go for the cheese tray over sweets, and Blue Hill's cheese tray looks lovely, but I'd have finished with: STEAMED ALMOND BREAD, BLUE HILL FARM MILK, MARMALADE AND MARINATED CITRUS just because it sounds so hobbity.


The Republicans, as usual, acted like dicks:

even before the smaller jet left Washington, the there-and-back trip drew criticism from the Republican National Committee. The RNC issued a news release that chastised Obama for saying he understands American's troubles, but then hopping up to New York for "a night on the town."

Noting that General Motors is expected to file for Chapter 11 protection on Monday, the news release said: "Putting on a show: Obamas wing into the city for an evening out while another iconic American company prepares for bankruptcy."

You know, Republicans, most of America thinks that you're mean-spirited assholes. You don't need to keep confirming it. You never minded how many times W flew down to Crawford to "clear brush" coughtieoneoncough. The Obamas are a young couple who apparently enjoy each other's company. No one thinks it's improper for them to have an occasional night out. Lay off the "he ordered orange juice," "he ate mustard," "he took his wife out for dinner so he hates America" bullshit. It isn't working anymore.

Obama Restaurant Watch

Apparently, the first family really likes Five Guys. Obama made another burger run yesterday, this time to Five Guys at 1500 South Capitol Street, SE. I'm glad he skipped the Dupont Circle one. They had to close down for rat infestation a few weeks ago.