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Where Obama Might Chow Down During His OC Visit

Wednesday, Mar. 18 2009 @ 12:21AM

By Lesley McCave in News

We may have been thwarted in our attempt to get tickets to see Obama speak at the OC Fair & Event Center later today, but that doesn't stop us from trying to guess where he might fill up on his OC jaunt, should hunger strike.

Both Barack and Michelle are known for their love of food. They don't eat healthily all the time, by their own reckoning, but they enjoy what they eat, whether it's comfort food or more upmarket fare.

Eddie Gehman Kohan at Obama Foodorama kindly gave me a few tips, namely, that Obama is likely to gravitate toward a "legendary family-owned place, even if it's an awesome taco stand that's been around for fifty years, or a burger joint that's been there since the beginning of time... Or any restaurant that has been visited by Nancy Pelosi, Henry Waxman, or Dianne Feinstein, or by big Democrat donors."

Thanks to Eddie's pointers, my knowledge and a bit of research, I've narrowed it down to about four thousand potential eateries. But here are my top ten predictions, in no particular order:
1. TK Burgers, Costa Mesa. TK's original Newport Beach location has been around since 1986, which I don't think qualifies as "the beginning of time", but Obama likes burgers and it's a local institution. The patties are great value, too. Maybe he'll catch the burger truck when it's on site.
2.   A family-run Mexican hole-in-the-wall or taco stand. Far too many to choose from. I'm not even going to try to guess. That's Gustavo's territory.
3.   Pacific Coast Hot Dogs, Orange. This has the double whammy of combining comfort food with chili, another of Obama's penchants (for his recipe, CLICK HERE). Might be too far to travel, though.
4.   CCQ (Cat Cora's Que), within the Signature Kitchen at Macy's, South Coast Plaza... That's if Obama has time to stop off for some swanky swag for the girls.
5.   Kogi Korean BBQ truck. Apparently, Obama also loves Korean food. And the truck has been creating quite a buzz recently (yes, it's on Twitter). The coolest president since JFK must eat cool food, surely?
6.   Pizzeria Ortica, Costa Mesa. Pizza is said to be Obama's favorite food. The pies are superb, and it's a quiet location (a plus point for the busy Prez), but it's only been open a few months--hardly enough to qualify it as an "institution". He's more likely to swing by Mammalucco's in Brea on his way to Pomona on Thursday (although we're not sure what he'd make of the restaurant's slogan, "Where Everybody's A Paisan"!!)
7.   Baskin-Robbins, anywhere. Obama once had a summer job at the famous ice-creamery... and it's also where he and Michelle had their first date.
8.    IKEA, Costa Mesa. Yes, IKEA!! The Swedish megastore runs a $7.99 rib night on a Wednesday (half a rack of ribs with fries and cornbread). Again, the Prez has to be seen to be careful with money.
9.   Froyo, at one of a billion Southland locations. Pinkberry? Milk + Honey? Yogurtland? Yogurt Town? Yogurt Universe? Take your pick. Depends on the weather, too.
10.   The plane, the plane! The super-equipped Air Force One kitchen might just have to suffice.

The fact is, he could eat anywhere--if at all. One thing is for sure, however: Obama dislikes British food (boo!), so fish and chips won't be on the menu.

9 Comment(s) / Post a Comment

Gustavo Arellano says:

President Obama: If you need a Mexican to show you good tacos, you know where to reach me!

Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 18 2009 @ 10:25AM

Christian says:

I've switched from Mexican. All I eat is British seafood now.

Posted on Wednesday, Mar. 18 2009 @ 6:51PM

Lesley McCave says:

Hmmmmmm… For real?

Posted on Thursday, Mar. 19 2009 @ 10:15AM

Christian says:

Well, no. I was kidding.

My main writing focus will still be Mexican but I still eat all kinds of food and just wrote a followup entry to Edwin's review of The Chippy.

http://ocfoodblogs.blogspot.com/2009/03/chippy.html

Posted on Thursday, Mar. 19 2009 @ 12:06PM

Lesley McCave says:

Ha ha, I thought you must be! I can't wait to try the Chippy's fish and chips—if I can time it right, that is! By the way, I can't remember the last time I had fish and chips in England that was wrapped in newspaper. Seriously. I'm talking 15, 20 years ago. It seems to be a dying tradition.

Posted on Thursday, Mar. 19 2009 @ 12:11PM

Christian says:

Yeah, that's when I was there.

Posted on Thursday, Mar. 19 2009 @ 2:04PM

Lesley McCave says:

Right. It's to do with the lead in the ink. In fact, just found this on Wikipedia:

The United Kingdom banned the use of real newspaper in the late 1980s. Australian fish-and-chip shops, faced with a ban on the use of actual newspaper in the 1970s, substituted butcher's paper as the external wrapping, though a few shops continue to wrap their product in newspaper, especially in rural areas. Many shops in New Zealand still wrap their fish and chips in newspaper.

Posted on Thursday, Mar. 19 2009 @ 2:45PM

Christian says:

So, not only did I pick up mad cow disease over there I also got lead poisoning. And radiation poisoning from the Chernobyl-radiated fish.

Posted on Friday, Mar. 20 2009 @ 11:05AM

Lesley McCave says:

Perhaps, but you're in good company!

Posted on Friday, Mar. 20 2009 @ 11:44AM