Presidential hopefuls are raising lots of money—and throwing lots of it around Washington to entertain staff and donors. Which restaurants are cashing in?
Acadiana in DC—where executive chef Jeff Tunks stirs up rich Louisiana-style cooking—has taken in $28,000 in campaign dollars, more than any other area restaurant, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group. That was the tab that John McCain’s campaign paid to reserve Acadiana for a cocktail fundraiser featuring small meat pies, mini crab cakes, and oysters wrapped in bacon.
During the event, chef de cuisine Chris Clime talked to McCain about a personal connection: Before the Vietnam War, McCain had taught Clime’s father how to fly jets at Navy flight-training school in Pensacola, Florida. “It was a small-world moment,” Tunks says.
The local Rocklands chain, which prides itself on authentic wood-fired barbecue, took in the second-largest amount. Hillary Rodham Clinton has spent nearly $20,000 for campaign fundraisers and staff events on Rocklands’ pork ribs, Texas corn pudding, red beans and rice, and other picnic fare.
At her husband’s first White House state dinner in 1993, Clinton included Rocklands’ jumbo shrimp with horseradish mango chutney—a deliberate departure from the European and French cuisine favored by her predecessors, according to Rocklands owner John Snedden.
McCain’s campaign seems to prefer Red Hot & Blue, the Memphis-style barbecue chain. It’s spent $3,235 at Red Hot & Blue but just $433 at Rocklands.
Though based in Chicago, Barack Obama’s campaign has paid more than $12,000 to Capitol Hill’s Johnny’s Half Shell, which serves up Ann Cashion’s menu of seafood with a Southern accent. The McCain campaign has spent a little more than $2,000 there.
Obama’s campaign also has called on the Cosmos Club (where he’s spent $1,800); Oya ($9,000), a sleek French-Asian sushi bar and lounge in Penn Quarter; and H2O ($6,600), the hip restaurant and club on DC’s Southwest waterfront.
The Arlington-based McCain campaign has taken a liking to Cantina Marina, a Southwest DC hangout with beach fare and a frat-boy atmosphere, where it’s spent nearly $2,000.
Clinton’s campaign, also based in Arlington, likes Maggiano’s, a national family-style Italian eatery that’s heavy on pasta, red sauce, and garlic; P.F. Chang’s, a chain of Chinese restaurants; and Murphy’s, an Irish pub in DC’s Woodley Park.
For pizza and coffee—two staples on the campaign trail—Papa John’s and Starbucks are the choice for McCain’s crew. Clinton’s team orders from the usual suspects—Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, and Domino’s—but it also ran up a $66 tab at Mom’s Pizza House, an Arlington neighborhood restaurant.
This article appears in the June 2008 issue of Washingtonian. To see more articles in this issue, click here.
Where Campaigns Chow Down
Presidential hopefuls are raising lots of money—and throwing lots of it around Washington to entertain staff and donors. Which restaurants are cashing in?
Acadiana in DC—where executive chef Jeff Tunks stirs up rich Louisiana-style cooking—has taken in $28,000 in campaign dollars, more than any other area restaurant, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a watchdog group. That was the tab that John McCain’s campaign paid to reserve Acadiana for a cocktail fundraiser featuring small meat pies, mini crab cakes, and oysters wrapped in bacon.
During the event, chef de cuisine Chris Clime talked to McCain about a personal connection: Before the Vietnam War, McCain had taught Clime’s father how to fly jets at Navy flight-training school in Pensacola, Florida. “It was a small-world moment,” Tunks says.
The local Rocklands chain, which prides itself on authentic wood-fired barbecue, took in the second-largest amount. Hillary Rodham Clinton has spent nearly $20,000 for campaign fundraisers and staff events on Rocklands’ pork ribs, Texas corn pudding, red beans and rice, and other picnic fare.
At her husband’s first White House state dinner in 1993, Clinton included Rocklands’ jumbo shrimp with horseradish mango chutney—a deliberate departure from the European and French cuisine favored by her predecessors, according to Rocklands owner John Snedden.
McCain’s campaign seems to prefer Red Hot & Blue, the Memphis-style barbecue chain. It’s spent $3,235 at Red Hot & Blue but just $433 at Rocklands.
Though based in Chicago, Barack Obama’s campaign has paid more than $12,000 to Capitol Hill’s Johnny’s Half Shell, which serves up Ann Cashion’s menu of seafood with a Southern accent. The McCain campaign has spent a little more than $2,000 there.
Obama’s campaign also has called on the Cosmos Club (where he’s spent $1,800); Oya ($9,000), a sleek French-Asian sushi bar and lounge in Penn Quarter; and H2O ($6,600), the hip restaurant and club on DC’s Southwest waterfront.
The Arlington-based McCain campaign has taken a liking to Cantina Marina, a Southwest DC hangout with beach fare and a frat-boy atmosphere, where it’s spent nearly $2,000.
Clinton’s campaign, also based in Arlington, likes Maggiano’s, a national family-style Italian eatery that’s heavy on pasta, red sauce, and garlic; P.F. Chang’s, a chain of Chinese restaurants; and Murphy’s, an Irish pub in DC’s Woodley Park.
For pizza and coffee—two staples on the campaign trail—Papa John’s and Starbucks are the choice for McCain’s crew. Clinton’s team orders from the usual suspects—Papa John’s, Pizza Hut, and Domino’s—but it also ran up a $66 tab at Mom’s Pizza House, an Arlington neighborhood restaurant.
This article appears in the June 2008 issue of Washingtonian. To see more articles in this issue, click here.
More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Society Photos
Most Popular in News & Politics
Meet DC’s 2025 Tech Titans
The “MAGA Former Dancer” Named to a Top Job at the Kennedy Center Inherits a Troubled Program
White House Seriously Asks People to Believe Trump’s Letter to Epstein Is Fake, Oliver North and Fawn Hall Got Married, and It’s Time to Plan Your Apple-Picking Excursion
Scott Bessent Got in Another Argument With a Coworker; Trump Threatens Chicago, Gets Booed in New York; and Our Critic Has an Early Report From Kayu
Trump Travels One Block From White House, Declares DC Crime-Free; Barron Trump Moves to Town; and GOP Begins Siege of Home Rule
Washingtonian Magazine
September Issue: Style Setters
View IssueSubscribe
Follow Us on Social
Follow Us on Social
Related
These Confusing Bands Aren’t Actually From DC
Fiona Apple Wrote a Song About This Maryland Court-Watching Effort
The Confusing Dispute Over the Future of the Anacostia Playhouse
Protecting Our Drinking Water Keeps Him Up at Night
More from News & Politics
Patel Dined at Rao’s After Kirk Shooting, Nonviolent Offenses Led to Most Arrests During Trump’s DC Crackdown, and You Should Try These Gougères
How a DC Area Wetlands Restoration Project Could Help Clean Up the Anacostia River
Pressure Grows on FBI Leadership as Search for Kirk’s Killer Continues, Kennedy Center Fires More Staffers, and Spotted Lanternflies Are Everywhere
What Is Free DC?
Manhunt for Charlie Kirk Shooter Continues, Britain Fires US Ambassador Over Epstein Connections, and Sandwich Guy Will Get a Jury Trial
Can Two Guys Ride a Rickshaw over the Himalayas? It Turns Out They Can.
Trump Travels One Block From White House, Declares DC Crime-Free; Barron Trump Moves to Town; and GOP Begins Siege of Home Rule
Donald Trump Dines at Joe’s Seafood Next to the White House