Presidents, they’re just like us. Joe Biden and Jill Biden could go out on Valentine’s Day and brave the romantic throngs at a popular DC restaurant. But who needs a crowd when you can Netflix and chill with Le Diplomate burgers? We caught wind that an early to-go order was placed for the White House at the perennial Logan Circle hotspot.
Sources familiar with the fancy brown bag dinner say it may have included the restaurant’s famous cheeseburger—President Biden’s go to order —and the Tuesday night special: a FLOTUS-approved lobster risotto, which Dr. Biden enjoyed during a past meal at the brasserie.
The Bidens are well-documented fans of restaurateur Stephen Starr’s celebrity-magnet brasserie, which they’ve visited over the years. The President swung by unannounced (as much as a motorcade can be unannounced) with Vice President Kamala Harris and First Gentleman Doug Emhoff for lunch in 2021, and Dr. Biden has dined with guests since.
Biden is all about a French-American culinary alliance these days—beyond the bilateral Burger Américain, the First Couple dined with French President Emmanuel Macron and wife Brigitte Macron at Fiola Mare in December.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
