Foodies in Chief, Part II

As we continue through "President's Week", here are some more food-related tidbits about our country's past leaders.

"I didn't order collard greens and grits."

• Pierce--Frankie wasn't much of a food fan.  It was said that state dinners during his administration were "not up to par."
• Buchanan--This was our only bachelor president and the only one from Pennsylvania.  His young niece acted as First Lady and hosted a bunch of extravagant parties in the White House.  And, although he was partial to French food, Buchanan was also a big fan of Pennsylvania Dutch cooking. 
• Lincoln--By many accounts, Abe tended to be a bit to preoccupied to be into food.  You could say that he had a lot on his plate.  Still, he apparently ate well--no matter what was served to him.
• A. Johnson--Very particular about his dairy products, he established a dairy to specifically stock the White House kitchen.  He was partial to cooking from his home state of Tennesee, especially duck, wild turkey and sweet potato dishes.
• Grant--The former general was a simple eater, but brought an army cook with him to the White House.  It turned out that he wasn't that great a cook.  So Mrs. Grant brought in an Italian to cater with top-of-the-line food.  Big breakfasts were a favorite of Grant.
• Hayes--In short, Hayes' food mantra was "everything in moderation".
• Garfield--He LOVED lasagna.  Oh, sorry. Wrong Garfield.  This one was partial to squirrel soup and apple pie.
• Arthur--Beside Tom Jefferson, Chet Arthur was our most foodie president ever.  He ate light meals, but always wanted it prepared well and served with style.
• Cleveland--When entertaining, the Cleveland era was filled with Victorian style.  In private, he preferred comfort food--corned beef and cabbage was a favorite.
• B. Harrison--Ben Harrison enjoyed all sorts of food, but was partial to soups.  He also loved simple comfort foods as long as they were well prepared.
• McKinley--This president enjoyed plain foods in very large quantities.
• T. Roosevelt--As you might expect, Teddy was an adventurous eater.  And he loved to eat.  He was wealthy, so he could afford pretty much anything that he wanted: seafood, beef, ham, all sorts of game.  He was also a big coffee drinker.
• Taft--As you might expect with Big Howie, he liked all kinds of food--and lots of it.  Some favorites were turtle soup, seafood, peach salad, salted almonds.  Just don't serve him eggs.  He couldn't stand them.
• Wilson--In contrast to his predecessor, Woody didn't eat much at all.  In fact, his doctors were often worried about his low weight.  If he had a favorite food, it would probably be strawberry ice cream.

Tomorrow, we'll finish up with Harding through Obama.