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Obama's 'Check, Please!' Appearance: Talks Johnnycakes, Peach Cobbler, Small Business (VIDEO)
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
**Scroll down for video**
In August, 2001, President-elect Barack Obama did a turn as amateur restaurant critic for a local Chicago television show called "Check, Please!". The premise of the show was that each week three amateur reviewers were invited to pick their favorite restaurant and review it, then they would review the picks of the other two critics.
After taping an episode with a local firefighter and a retail buyer, Obama's segment was shelved...until now. The vintage clip will be aired on January 16th.
According to the Chicago Tribune:
Why the almost-eight-year delay? Both ...
Even Restaurant Critics Can Be President
Swampland —
Via Ezra Klein, we are alerted to Barack Obama's 2001 attempt at food critique for a television show that apparently never ran. (See here now his opinions on flap jacks, peach cobbler!)
I envision a return to presidential politics for Frank Bruni, the chief gourmand at the ...
Obama as Food Critic
The Stump —
Ezra Klein has some priceless footage of Obama reviewing a restaurant on a local Chicago television program. What struck me was how even in this frivilous context, Obama was, at times (particularly the second video), as rational/deliberate/circumspect as ever. It reminds me a bit of the great puppy rumination during his first press conference as president elect.
(H/t Michael Scherer)
--Noam Scheiber
Attn: White House cooks: Barack Obama used to be a food critic
Top of the Ticket —
Before he auditioned for two years to become president of the United States in a few days, someone named Barack Obama was a Chicago restaurant critic.
No, seriously.
Chicago TV station WTTW was constructing a new local show eight years ago, "Check, Please!" involving three regular citizens, each of whom would review their favorite eatery and help critique those of the others gathered around the table.
The show's producer knew Obama, then a state senator, and asked him to join. He did and reviewed Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop in his South Side Chicago legislative district.
But that episode was ...
Lost Barack Obama 'Johnnycakes' Tape Surfaces
Politics Daily —
Filed under: Democrats, Barack Obama, MediaNow, the truth comes out. Barack Obama has a thing for "johnnycakes." I didn't even know those were a real thing, I thought "The Sopranos" made it up. As lost tapes go, this is a pretty stark contrast from the stuff the wingnuts tried to push on us during the campaign. It's good to win. It's also good to see that Obama has better taste in restaurants than his Surgeon General-Designate. The LA Times explains: One of my Chicago pals just passed along a fascinating pair of vintage video clips from a Chicago-based PBS restaurant review show, ...
Dixie Kitchen, Hyde Park Restaurant Touted On TV By Obama, Closing
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com —
The Dixie Kitchen & Bait Shop, a staple of the Hyde Park restaurant scene that President Obama once touted on "Check, Please!", is closing in June, the Hyde Park Herald Reports.
Owner Carol Andresen told the Herald she was closing the restaurant after the University of Chicago, which owns the Harper Court shopping center, declined to renew her lease.
Andresen plans to recreate the bulk of Dixie Kitchen's top dishes, like jambalaya, gumbo, catfish and fried green tomatoes, at the nearby Calypso Cafe, which she also owns.
Calypso remains the lone holdout to the University of Chicago, ...
