A lot of U.S. presidents have had a hankering for steak. And whether it's Donald Trump's D.C. hotspot or the iconic New York City restaurant favored by Honest Abe, plenty of them have even had a go-to steakhouse.
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00:00A lot of U.S. presidents have had a hankering for steak.
00:03And whether it's Donald Trump's D.C. hotspot or the iconic New York City restaurant favored
00:08by Honest Abe, plenty of them have even had a go-to steakhouse.
00:11BLT Prime was the only local restaurant Donald Trump dined in during his time in the White
00:16House, primarily because it was located inside the Trump International Hotel.
00:21Known for its formal atmosphere, Trump's dinners at the restaurant were very reserved.
00:26For instance, a seven-step instructional on how to open and pour Trump's bottle of
00:30Diet Coke was strictly adhered to.
00:32His order of shrimp cocktail, well-done steak, French fries, and the occasional cake or pie
00:37for dessert didn't deviate either.
00:39Believe me, I understand steaks.
00:42It's my favorite food, and these are the best."
00:44Sadly, BLT Prime closed in 2022 after six years.
00:50President Barack Obama was something of a foodie during his White House years, and the
00:54public took great interest in his family's eating habits.
00:57Obama, who is a Hawaii native, often spends the winter holidays in Oahu, where he frequents
01:02a mix of high-end and cheap-eats establishments.
01:05He's a regular at Buzz's Original Steakhouse, popping in for a sit-down dinner with family
01:09or friends.
01:10Obama's visits earned him a president's table at the restaurant, marked by a wall plaque.
01:15How do you like your steaks cooked?
01:16You know, I'm a medium-well guy.
01:17Okay, cool.
01:18See, now, people always complain about that, but that's just how I like them.
01:21Buzz's Original Steakhouse has been operating in Kailua since 1962.
01:26It's a laid-back, family-friendly restaurant known for surf and turf, burgers, salads,
01:30and mai tais.
01:31Obama hasn't publicly revealed his go-to order at Buzz's, but he may have sampled their famous
01:36calamari steak at some point.
01:37The restaurant sells around 2,400 of them every month.
01:41Former President Bill Clinton isn't big on steak in general these days, but at one time
01:46he was a familiar face at Doe's Eat Place in Little Rock, Arkansas.
01:49The small southern chain is known for its unpretentious atmosphere and delicious steaks.
01:54The original location in Greenville, Mississippi, opened in 1941.
01:58The second location in Little Rock opened in 1988.
02:01Some of Clinton's favorite menu items at the restaurant are the Porterhouse Steak and tamales,
02:06another Doe's specialty.
02:08The steaks are aged for 30 days and served family-style.
02:11Most days, the Porterhouse Steaks sell out.
02:13Back in 1992, when Clinton was campaigning for president, he made pit stops at Doe's
02:18for the french fries.
02:19"'Say, you gonna finish these fries?"
02:22Clinton, whose photos line Doe's walls, was the most high-profile local guest, yet he
02:27was far from the only famous person to stop in.
02:30Barbara Walters, Greg Allman, and Hunter S. Thompson have also dined there.
02:34In 1972, a future president put in a request for a specific steakhouse to come to D.C.,
02:40and it actually happened.
02:42That future president was George H.W. Bush, and the steakhouse was The Palm.
02:46Bush was a U.N. ambassador then, and nearly two decades away from setting up shop in the
02:51Oval Office.
02:52He suggested to Wally Gansey, co-founder of The Palm New York, that he should open a second
02:57location in Washington.
02:58The Palm D.C. opened in what is now DuPont's Circle and commanded a big-name clientele
03:03right from the start.
03:04Secretary of State Henry Kissinger was there on opening night.
03:08Nixon's VP Spiro Agnew also made a few appearances.
03:11Regular guests of The Palm are bestowed the honor of having their caricature painted on
03:16the wall.
03:17This included George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara.
03:20In 1992, waitstaff at Cattleman's Steakhouse in Oklahoma City were in disbelief when President
03:26George H.W. Bush walked in for lunch with Oklahoma Senator Don Nichols.
03:31Senator Nichols knew when it came time to take the president to lunch, only the best
03:35steakhouse in town would do.
03:36Cattleman's, a regional institution since 1910, was the obvious choice.
03:41President Bush came to the steakhouse hungry and thirsty.
03:44He ordered a rare T-bone steak charred on the outside, french fries, and a salad with
03:48house dressing.
03:49To drink, he went with a martini on the rocks.
03:51Cattleman's servers may have been surprised to see a president in their midst, but he
03:55wasn't the first one to walk through the doors.
03:57Ronald Reagan was also a guest at Cattleman's.
04:01President Nixon was a man of modest tastes who came from modest means.
04:04Trendy restaurant fare wasn't really his vibe, but one steakhouse he liked to eat at was
04:09Ho Ho Cousin and Tavern in Ho Ho Cousin, New Jersey.
04:12After resigning from the presidency in 1974, Ho Ho Cousin provided respite to Nixon in
04:17his later years.
04:19He and wife Pat settled down in Bergen County, New Jersey, in the early 1980s after briefly
04:23living in New York City.
04:25Roughly six times a year, Nixon hosted a dinner at Ho Ho Cousin and invited a mix of politicians,
04:30dignitaries, and journalists to the meal.
04:32Every time Nixon dined at Ho Ho Cousin, he ordered roast veal with asparagus and mushroom
04:37sauce.
04:38For dessert, he had the flan.
04:39The Ho Ho Cousin was built in 1796 as a family home and opened as a tavern in 1890.
04:45The tavern is one of the oldest restaurants in New Jersey.
04:48During John F. Kennedy's days as a young congressman in Georgetown, one place he loved to eat at
04:53was Martin's Tavern.
04:54At Martin's, steaks share the menu with plenty of classic meat dishes, like double-cut lamb
04:59chop, pot roast, and others.
05:01It's also the alleged site of Kennedy's proposal to Jacqueline Bouvier.
05:05She said yes.
05:07The word spread throughout the dining room and people kind of knew.
05:10They applauded."
05:11The veracity of Kennedy proposing at Martin's has been challenged for years, but the restaurant
05:16ran with the tale.
05:17They even installed a placard at Booth 3, where the couple supposedly sat, and christened
05:21it the Proposal Booth.
05:23Booth 3 has been a popular engagement site ever since.
05:26If taxidermy creeps you out, you won't be able to handle the buckhorn exchange.
05:31A handful of past presidents were digging this Denver Steakhouse's vibe, though.
05:35As the oldest restaurant in the Mile High City, Buckhorn Exchange, established in 1893,
05:40heavily leans into its Old West roots.
05:43Unsurprisingly, rough rider Theodore Roosevelt was a Buckhorn Exchange fan.
05:47While on a cross-country presidential campaign in 1905, Roosevelt was so impressed by the
05:52restaurant's taxidermy collection, he took a break from campaigning to go hunting with
05:56the restaurant's founder, Henry H. Zeeds.
05:58The mounted head of a Cape Buffalo shop by Roosevelt was hung in the restaurant.
06:02During its long and storied history, Buckhorn Exchange has also hosted several other presidents.
06:07Franklin D. Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan have all dined
06:12there.
06:14Before Harry Truman became the 33rd president of the United States, he was a man about town
06:18in Kansas City, Missouri.
06:20From 1919 to 1921, he ran a clothing store downtown and was elected as a country court
06:25judge a year later.
06:27Around that time, he began frequenting the Savoy Grill, a now-historic Kansas City hotel
06:31restaurant that opened in 1903.
06:34Truman was taken with a stylish steakhouse and became a repeat customer.
06:37He and his wife Bess remained devoted guests of Savoy Grill both during his presidency
06:42and in his later years.
06:44Former presidents like Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan have all dined at the Savoy Grill,
06:48yet Missouri-born Truman's name is the only one whose name is engraved on Booth 4's presidential
06:53plaque.
06:54The hotel owner in 2014 closed the Savoy Grill and the hotel that housed it, but four years
06:59and one $50 million renovation later, the hotel reopened as the 21C Museum Hotel Kansas
07:05City.
07:06The Savoy at 21C was beautifully restored, with Booth 4 and its accompanying plaque still
07:11intact.
07:13America's 26th president was also the nation's first unofficial steakhouse ambassador.
07:17Theodore Roosevelt couldn't say no to a steakhouse, and in the early 20th century, few steakhouses
07:23were as swanky as Keene's in Manhattan.
07:25Keene's, founded in 1885, became a forebear in letting its guests live the good life while
07:29they dined.
07:30The rows of churchwarden pipes on the ceiling tell the tale.
07:34Churchwarden pipes were made of clay and fragile, so instead of tasking VIP guests with carrying
07:38them into the steakhouse, Keene's set up a system where luminary diners could leave their
07:43pipes at the restaurant.
07:44This way, they could enjoy them during their meal.
07:46Over 90,000 pipes were logged by number at Keene's.
07:49Notable smokers included Roosevelt, former president Herbert Hoover, and Babe Ruth.
07:54Today, Keene's remains one of New York City's oldest and best steakhouses.
07:59Solemn-looking portraits of a log cabin-dwelling Abraham Lincoln might prevent you from thinking
08:03that he sought out fancy New York City restaurants, but let the record show that he did.
08:08Yes, he was a prudent man and the Civil War was intense, but come dinnertime, if Lincoln
08:13happened to be in the Big Apple, Delmonico's was where he headed.
08:16This was where you gathered if you were an elite New Yorker."
08:19Delmonico's was one of New York City's first steakhouses.
08:22It was established in 1837 and changed the game of what steakhouses could be.
08:27It was a classy dining establishment that encouraged a top-tier dining experience and
08:31catered to the political elite.
08:33Lincoln was a habitual guest of Delmonico's, where he met with fellow politicians and abolitionists.
08:38His favorite dish was Potatoes Gratin.
08:41As the story goes, Lincoln told one of the Delmonico brothers that he appreciated the
08:45stately architecture of Washington, D.C., but that New York City was where the real
08:49cooking was at.
08:50Future presidents would follow suit.
08:53Rothman's Steakhouse was established in 1907 in the hamlet of East Norwich, just south
08:57of Long Island's Oyster Bay.
09:00Rothman's opening coincided with the tail end of Theodore Roosevelt's second term.
09:04Roosevelt was a resident of Oyster Bay, so Rothman's location was convenient, to say
09:08the least.
09:09The building itself dates back to 1851 and was used as a hotel before Charles and Franziska
09:14Rothman purchased it with their life savings.
09:17Franziska helmed the kitchen, and the couple lived above the restaurant with their six
09:20children.
09:21Rothman's gained a reputation for high-quality food and drinks and impeccable service.
09:26Roosevelt's regular visits there made Rothman's popular amongst politicians and socialites.
09:31Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy dined at Rothman's back in the day, as did Elizabeth
09:35Taylor.
09:36In 1970, the Rothmans sold their family restaurant to musician Burt Bacharach, who renamed it
09:41after himself.
09:42Bacharach sold in the 1980s, and the restaurant underwent numerous ownerships after that,
09:47until re-emerging as the upscale Chaz Rothman Steakhouse in 1998.
09:51It is currently part of Rothman's Restaurant Group.