While perusing the magazine selection at CVS a week ago, I noticed that almost every publication basically had the same cover: a photo of President Barack Obama with the headline "Special Keepsake Inauguration Issue of (insert magazine title here)!" My personal favorite was a gossip rag that had "Oh-Bama-Rama" in block letters over the president's face. Every periodical from Vogue to Rolling Stone to Us Weekly urged readers to save this special issue of their magazine as a memento. Don't forget inauguration! You need to know what was happening to Britney and Lindsay on Jan. 20, too! So, in keeping with the theme of the Oh-Bama-Rama that is sweeping our nation, here is my "Special Keepsake Barack Obama Edition of The Cultural Culinarian!"
I remember the day I jumped on the Obama bandwagon. I don't mean politically — I always knew he was my candidate of choice — but I mean in the Obama-as-rock-star cultural-phenomenon way. In a fitting twist, Barack Obama entered my heart through my stomach.
It was Jan. 16. After my usual mid-afternoon-15-minutes-before-class-starts-waste-time-by-checking-status-updates Facebook.com session, a link to The Huffington Post one of my friends had posted a few days earlier immediately caught my eye: a video of Barack Obama at Ben's Chili Bowl, a diner in Washington, D.C. My thought process was as follows: Chili? Good. Obama? Great. Obama saying "We straight" when asked if he wants extra cheese on his chilidog? Priceless. I was hooked. And I've had Ben's Chili Bowl's chilidog, and it is damn good; Obama has good taste.
This was not the first reference I'd seen to our president's love for chili on the Huffington Post site. Back in March 2008, I bookmarked an article about Obama's chili recipe that aired on Good Morning America. Throughout the primary season, Obama bragged about his family's chili recipe. John McCain countered with his method for grilling ribs. It was like a battle of the southern comfort foods, and I was hooked. I haven't tried McCain's recipe, but Obama's chili is also damn good; again, Obama has good taste.
Based on Obama's previously publicized food choices, I was looking forward to inauguration day, particularly what the menu would be for the inaugural ball. The menu for the inaugural lunch served following the actual ceremony was publicized well in advance; the dishes, including seafood stew and apple-cinnamon sponge cake, were inspired by Abraham Lincoln's favorite foods. For the third time I thought, good food choices; Obama, way to send a message.
When I saw the menu for the ball, however, I doubted Obama's food selection for the first time. Greg Sharpe, the executive chef at the Washington Convention Center, served Italian chicken Roulade and tortellini with tomato cream sauce. The choices seemed just so-so in comparison to past inaugural balls.
The menus for inauguration balls usually consist of either lavish gourmet fare or regional dishes that reflect the president's background. The Bush family went the gourmet route: George H.W. Bush's 1989 dinner included crab pâté and stuffed veal loin; the menu for George W. Bush in 2001 featured lamb and soufflé, while lobster and filet of beef were served in 2005. Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan served some of their favorite foods from their homes: Reagan's menu featured an abalone bisque from the menu of one of his favorite restaurants in Monterey, California, while Clinton's guests dined on southern comfort food from Arkansas. Chicken Roulade just doesn't seem to fit in with the trends.
Despite my hesitation toward Sharpe's menu, on Jan. 20, while our newly elected president dined in D.C., I ate a bowl of chili and thought about all of the future food choices Obama will make as president. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
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Caryn Horowitz is a junior majoring in history. She can be reached at Caryn.Horowitz@tufts.edu.
