Foodies in Chief, Part III

We finish up our culinary tour of the White House today.  Again if you want to read much, much more, click here. 

"Mmm...This is just the way my mom used to make it."

• Harding--Some favorites included chicken pie, waffles, knockwurst and sauerkraut.  He preferred heavy main dishes usually preceded by light salads.
• Coolidge--Cal had some strange quirks when it came to food.  He called all meals "supper", whether it was breakfast, lunch or dinner.  He was a notorious nibbler.  There's a story that he had to be slipped a plate of roast beef before the start of a state dinner so he could nibble before "supper".  He was very fond of pickles, which isn't very strange, but apparently, he was unusually fond of pickles.  He believed that chicken was only good if it was raised very near the kitchen door, so he established a chicken yard on the White House grounds.  It was said, though, that these chickens tasted a little bit strange because the chicken yard was put in the same spot as Teddy Roosevelt's mint patch.
• Hoover--Herbie demanded the best of everything when it came to his meals.  He was, however, easy to please.  And he was a big candy fan.
• F. Roosevelt--Meals in FDR's White House was a reflection of the times.  They "made do" with what was available and affordable.  The Queen of England enjoyed her first hot dog on her visit to the President.  As far as cuisine goes, he enjoyed typically American fare with soups and Eleanor's scrambled eggs two of his favorites.  Although dinner was often a family affair, he usually ate lunch at his desk.
• Truman--Harry wasn't picky--enjoying good ol' farm food: roasted or fried chicken, meat and potatoes.
• Eisenhower--Dinner for Ike and his wife was often eaten in front of the television.  Some of his detractors even supposed that they ate frozen TV dinners.  He was a big fan of garlic and apple pie (not together, I assume).  And he loved soups--some of which he cooked himself in the White House kitchen.  (His beef soup was famous among the staff.)
• Kennedy--Thanks to Mrs. Kennedy, French cuisine was a standard in the Kennedy White House.  State dinners were fancy events.  Like many presidents it seems, JFK was fond of soups.  But overall, politics came before food for him--he often had to be reminded that it was dinnertime.
• L. Johnson--Some LBJ favorites: creamed chipped beef over biscuits, Texas-style dishes, seafood, spinach.  He was known to be a very fast eater.
• Nixon--Tricky Dick was into simple American foods like salads, California fruits, cottage cheese, meatloaf, avocados.  He went "international" with spaghetti and meatballs and lasagna.  Nixon lunches were almost exclusively eaten cold.
• Ford--Gerry had a very healthy appetite as you might expect from this former athlete.  Some favorites were spareribs, spaghetti and meatballs, salads, cabbage and strawberries.
• Carter--This Georgia farmer loved his down-home Southern dishes.  Grits were served with many meals--even to visitors.  The Carters gave the staff the day off on Sundays, so the family prepared meals for themselves on that day.
• Regan--Thanks to his wife, Ronnie's meals were usually nutrition-based.  Meals were usually high in fiber, pita was served instead of regular bread.  He was allowed to have eggs just one time a week.  It wasn't all nutritious foods for him, though.  He liked desserts (especially those made with apples) and hamburger soup.  And his love of jelly beans is well-documented.
• G.H.W. Bush--Bush the Elder was known more for a food he didn't like than for those he did.  He famously denounced broccoli (and less famously, he didn't eat cauliflower or Brussels sprouts either).
• Clinton--Slick Willie single-handedly kept fast food restaurants in business (culminating in his heart surgery later in life).  Some other favorites included chicken enchiladas, tacos, BBQ ribs, cheeseburgers, lemon and peach pies, beef marinated in Italian dressing and his mom's sweet potato casserole.
• G.W. Bush--Food wasn't a priority for W.  He wanted his meals "distinct, direct, non-negotiable and quick".  When the staff found something that Bush enjoyed, they served it often--Tex-Mex, BLTs, grilled cheese with Kraft Singles and white bread, peanut butter and honey sandwiches, pretzels (sounds like the favorites of a 9-year old!).  Huevos rancheros were served for lunch pretty much every Sunday.
• Obama--Our current president is a notorious snacker--Planter's trail mix, Fran's chocolates (from Seattle).  His drink of choice is Black Forest Berry Honest Tea.  For meals, he prefers Mexican (Rick Bayless is a favorite chef), burgers, ribs, Tex-Mex.  Of course, Michelle makes sure that he eats healthy since that's her worthy cause.

"Michelle will never know..."

So that's it!  Hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about some of the interesting, boring, strange food habits of our presidents.