Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, February 18, 2017

9

FOOD AND DRINK & MORE

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 18, 2017 


PRESIDENTS

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills

thechefknows@yahoo.com

 I must admit as a schoolboy I looked forward 
to the month of February. Mostly because I knew 
a holiday was soon to be mine and I could escape 
my teacher’s scrutiny for a day, and it didn’t hurt 
that most years there were 28 days. To say I loved 
summer vacation would underplay the rapture I 
found each June. Every moment in the penitentiary 
of school was a clockwatching moment until my 
release for Summer Vacation. Show me a boy that 
doesn’t love summer and I will show you a boy that 
has read Huckleberry Finn but doesn’t practiced 
the spirit. These days I look forward to Presidents 
weekend once again, because my home away from 
home, Santa Anita Race Track is now (barring rain) 
open. Don’t worry my concerned readers, I might 
have a champagne appetite but this writer’s budget 
is strictly on a beer allowance. A $2 exact box is 
about all this hopeful gambler can muster. As I 
researched the Presidents this year I uncovered an 
assortment of tastes comprising our highest office.

 Here is what my research came up with.

 My favorite Executive of the Oval Office - JFK. 

 John F. Kennedy: 35th President

 John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the first president 
to shine a spotlight on the White 
House chef. His staff approached chef 
Jacques Pépin, but having already 
served for France's President Charles 
de Gaulle, he turned down the generous 
offer. 

 "I loved Kennedy, but I had no 
inkling for the potential publicity in the 
White House," recalls Pépin. Turned 
out John Kennedy wasn't a big foodie; 
instead, he often had to be reminded 
to dine. When at the table, President 
Kennedy was true to his New England 
roots, munching on New England clam 
chowder, corn muffins, and baked 
beans.

 Here are a few more favorites:

 Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969): Ice cream, 
pancakes, seafood, spinach soufflé, and sweet 
potatoes with toasted marshmallows

 Richard Nixon (1969-1974): meatloaf, dried 
figs, and cottage cheese

 Gerald Ford (1974-1977): pot roast, red cabbage

 Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) eggplant, chicken, 
sirloin steak, cornbread

 Ronald Reagan (1981-1989): Jelly beans, 
macaroni and cheese, monkey bread

 George H. W. Bush (1989-1993): pork rinds, 
hated broccoli

 William Jefferson Clinton (1993-2001): 
enchiladas, ribs, hamburgers, and pie

 George W. Bush (2001 – 2009): Mexican food, 
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches

 Barack Obama (2009-2016): Chili, hamburgers

 Donald Trump (2017-present) Meat Loaf

Dining with Dills Saturday at 5 PM AM 830 KLAA


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