Donald Trump Went To D.C.’s Top Steakhouse, Ordered Well-Done Steak With Ketchup
Donald Trump has the money and power to eat wherever and whatever he wants, so what does the president of the United States order when he goes to the best steakhouse in Washington, D.C.?
A well-done steak — with a side of ketchup to dip it in.
This weekend, Independent Journal Review writer Benny Johnson was able to track Trump down after the president left his press pool, a practice that is highly frowned upon. Trump was traveling to his company’s flagship property in Washington, the Trump Hotel, to eat at the famed BLT Steakhouse.
For those outside of D.C. power circles, the BLT Steakhouse is considered one of the top in the city, with some calling it best overall. In its ranking of the best steakhouses in Washington, Thrillist noted that the restaurant has some extravagant offerings.
“There are six different cuts available at BLT, but for over-the-top extravagance, the steakhouse offers four cuts of American wagyu. It’s not just the steaks that make this place great, though: chef Marc Hennessy changes the menu each season, and for this spring, he’s added sides like fried green tomatoes with chili remoulade, as well as marble potatoes with spring onions, oyster mushroom, and bacon broth… that’s right, bacon broth. Bacon. Broth.”
Though Trump’s trip to the BLT Steakhouse came without warning for the press, Johnson had a tip from a “trusted source” that the president would be dining there. So Johnson booked a table near where Trump usually sat, and soon the president and his entourage came in.
The other reporter assigned to Trump that night was not allowed in, so Johnson said he was able to see “how Trump interacts when he believes no press are present.”
What he found was a friendly president who stopped to talk to people on the way to his seat.
“One woman shouts at him ‘Donald, it’s my birthday!’ Trump stops and says ‘Happy birthday,’ as he hugs the elated woman. ‘How about a birthday present? Let’s take a photo,’ he says to her, afterward telling the woman she looks very young and has great skin.”
But the real revelation came from the waiter who served Trump. After the dinner was over, Johnson got a report of the president’s meal for the night, with details that might disgust true steak connoisseurs.
“The President ordered a well-done steak. An aged New York strip. He ate it with catsup as he always does,” the waiter noted.
Trump’s love of the well-done steak has been known for some time. Back in March of last year, when Trump was still making his unlikely run through the Republican primaries, the Washington Post wrote about his peculiar tastes and how it left many food lovers aghast. The story cited Trump’s longtime butler, who said the real estate mogul likes a steak that “would rock on the plate, it was so well done.” That story didn’t mention his love of ketchup with his steak, however.
While there has been rabid debate among steak lovers as to the best way to prepare it — how long to let it sit out to reach room temperature, how much salt to use — there is a universal rule against cooking it to the point of being well done. In fact, Guardian food critic Jay Rayner once wrote that “a well-done steak isn’t a food choice, it’s a crime.”
Many chefs will even refuse to cook a steak well-done, the Times-Union found.
But if President Donald Trump shows up to the best steakhouse in Washington, D.C. — one he happens to own, at that — and wants a well-done steak, it’s pretty well assured he’s going to get it. Ketchup and all.
[Featured Image by Drew Angerer/Getty Images]
