Hail to the Hamburger

Summer is a time when many people like to light the grill.  And the most popular meat for the grill is a hamburger.  The famous and the burger have crossed paths in some interesting ways: 

• A visit to Burger King marked a turning point in the life of actor Robert Downey Jr.  The actor said he pulled into one of the chain’s outlets in 2003 and ordered a burger so “disgusting” that he viewed the meal as a bad omen, prompting him to kick his illegal drug habit.
• In 2008, President George W. Bush stressed the close relationship that the U.S. had with Great Britain.  Appearing with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the president told reporters, "Look, if there wasn’t a personal relationship, I wouldn't be inviting the man to [have] a nice hamburger.  Well done, I might add."
• Leslie Pawson won his second Boston Marathon in 1938, but the hamburger he ate soon before the race was blamed for nearly foiling his victory.  After taking an early lead, Pawson fell behind at the eight-mile mark because — in the words of a Boston Globe sportswriter — the hamburger "began to voice its protest."  Seven miles later, Pawson regained the lead and held on to win.  But what had caused him to lose the lead?  "Maybe it was the hamburger, and maybe it wasn't," Pawson concluded, vowing never to eat so soon before the marathon.
• Queen Latifah is a co-owner of a few outlets of the Fatburger chain.  The award-winning actress told a talk-show host that her investment was motivated by her love for turkey burgers.
• A hamburger is one of Warren Buffett’s favorite entrées.  In 2007, the investment guru wrote a letter to shareholders reassuring them of his health despite his advancing age.  "It's amazing what Cherry Coke and hamburgers will do for a fellow," he explained.

The Lasagna League

*Just a few days ago, New York inaugurated a new governor: Andrew Cuomo.  In a speech, Gov. Cuomo outlined his political priorities, but he neglected to mention his culinary priorities.  Cuomo’s favorite meal is lasagna, and he proved what a politician he is by declining to tell the New York Times whose lasagna is better — his mother’s or his girlfriend’s.

*While in Mexico to film a movie in 1977, Jack Nicholson’s most frequent meal was no secret.  A British journalist who visited Nicholson’s guest quarters reported, “Ruth Etting is usually on the record player and lasagna on the menu.” 

*In March 2002, President George W. Bush concluded an impromptu press conference in North Carolina by informing reporters: “Now I’m going to eat my lasagna.  If it gets cold, you have to eat the lasagna.”

*Scott Thorson, the bodyguard, limo driver and alleged live-in companion of Liberace, said that “fixing lasagna” with the entertainer-pianist was one of his happiest memories of the time he spent with Liberace.

*The novelist and iconoclast Hunter S. Thompson used to dine at a restaurant across the street from the small-town newspaper where he worked.  One day, he repeatedly sent back the lasagna that he'd ordered, blasting the entree as “rotten.”  The editor of Thompson’s newspaper heard of the lasagna incident and threatened to fire Thompson unless the writer apologized to the restaurant owner.  Thompson apologized.

Gobbling Up Presidential Pardons

A modern ritual for politicians is the “turkey pardon,” in which a bird or two are given a new lease on life just before Thanksgiving. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush announced that the bird had avoided a “terrible fate” – “We've decided to spare him. He will not be subjected to questions from the Washington press corps after this ceremony.”

In recent years, two turkeys have been pardoned and sent to Disneyland to appear in the Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 2008, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals demanded that George W. Bush send the birds to an animal sanctuary instead. “You might be a lame duck, but you still have the power to help lame turkeys, who are made that way by the cruelty of the meat industry," PETA said.

Alaska’s version of the “turkey pardon” went bizarrely wrong that same year when Gov. Sarah Palin appeared at a pardoning event and then conducted an interview while non-pardoned turkeys were slaughtered on camera behind her. Palin later blamed the local TV station for setting up “an odd camera angle to capture turkeys being decapitated behind me as I stood there discussing Alaska’s relatively strong financial standing.” She called it “a deliberate attempt to make some noise” but also said it was “an ultimately harmless incident (for everyone but the turkey).”

Bibliography: Mark Knoller on cbsnews.com, Agence France Presse

Serving from the Right: Conservatives’ Cuisine

*“I love meat,” writes Sarah Palin. “I eat pork chops, thick bacon burgers, and the seared fatty edges of a medium-well-done steak. But I especially love moose and caribou.” Palin recalls family dinners of caribou lasagna and believes that “there’s plenty of room for all Alaska’s animals -- right next to the mashed potatoes.”

* Todd Palin’s favorite snack is Spam and crackers, sometimes with peanut butter.

* During a recent speech in suburban Chicago, Glenn Beck took aim at Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity campaign. “Get away from my french fries, Mrs. Obama,” Beck said. “First politician that comes up to me with a carrot stick, I've got a place for it. And it’s not in my tummy.”

* Former National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston was nuts for peanut butter.

* As a young chemist, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher helped develop a method to pump air into sweetened milk solids. The result: “Mr. Whippy super-soft ice cream.”

* When President George W. Bush ran for re-election, political aide Karl Rove hosted “Breakfast Club” meetings to plot strategy. On the menu: “eggies” (scrambled eggs, cheese and cream), fruit, pastries, bacon, venison, and wild boar. Rove also served sausage made from nilgai, antelope imported from India that have become wild in South Texas.

* Ronald Reagan reportedly went seventy years without eating a tomato. Reagan’s disdain for tomatoes sprang from a childhood prank when he was offered what he had been told was an apple, bit into it and then realized he had been deceived.

Bibliography: "Going Rogue" by Sarah Palin, "Courage and Consequence" by Karl Rove, "All the President's Pastries" by Roland Mesnier, Chicago Sun-Times, and Associated Press