Obama Hates Beets, Likes Margaritas

The AP, via AOL News, reports that President-Elect Obama enjoys a variety of foods, putting to bed consistent rumors that he subsists entirely on arugula and cans of "spinachk." The report goes on to detail the First Family's gastronomical faves, which include margaritas and chili.

I'm glad to hear this. As a hobbyist in chefery myself, this makes the new Commander-in-Chief slightly more relatable. If I ever end up seated next to him on an airplane, we can compare notes on the finer points of vinaigrette preparation. We also have in common a love of the perfect beverage, the margarita. I feel confident in saying he must prefer them on the rocks, with salt.

The report also contains this damaging bit of information:

Obama does have a weakness for chips and salsa and tends to put hot sauce on everything. At Dooky Chase's Creole restaurant in New Orleans, he offended longtime owner Leah Chase by pouring hot sauce all over the gumbo she offered to fatten him up.

Barack, if, as my guest, you were to regard my signature ribeye steak as the perfect medium for a Jackson Pollack Tabasco portrait, you would find yourself sans dessert, I assure you. Before you ask, ditto the ketchup.

As for his antipathy toward beets, perhaps he'll give them another try. He can't very well expect his kids to reach across the aisle and try new foods, while practicing beet partisanship himself.

To that end, here are several excellent beet recipes, by my favorite TV Chef, Alton Brown.

Tommy Christopher co-hosts "Unusable Signal" , on BlogTalkRadio Tues - Thur at 10pm, and Fri, & Sat at 11pm. Click here for the Unusable Signal homepage.