Barack Obama: Restaurant Reviewer.

[greatauntoftriplets]

This is from a Chicago OBS program called "Check Please!" It was taped on August 14, 2001 and not shown until 2009. Because of the upcoming inauguration, it is being rebroadcast.

[bluestateguy]

1. I heard he likes a certain pizza place down in Florida

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/09/obama-picked-up-photo_n_1868870.html

[greatauntoftriplets]

7. Can you blame him?

[frazzled]

2. They ran the entire half-hour show last night in Chicago

I'd seen the clip of his segment, but not the rest of the conversation with the two other guests. It was very funny, the three of them there, a state senator (which didn't seem to impress anyone on the panel too much), a young woman with dreadlocks and a chin piercing, and a kind of good ol' boy firefighter wearing a baseball-style jersey (which we think said "Boston Fire Department). I bet those other two are still laughing today, about how they sat there talking about "good value" for food with the future president of the United States.

The thing that struck me most was how concerned Obama was with getting his "good value" in several places; he liked that the restaurant the firefighter recommended, an Italian place on the way far northwest side, had complimentary valet parking! Saved eight bucks! This is clearly a man who is not that far removed from the vicissitudes of everyday life we all share. He also talked about his two little girls a lot, who were then 3 (?) and two months old.

We watch this show all the time, on our local PBS station, because it's really fun to see the restaurants people choose and the reactions of the other guests to eating there. It's always an odd trio of people who end up having a very civil conversation ... even when someone drags them to a real dive ... or a place they think is way too snooty. It's a real "people's" show.

[greatauntoftriplets]

3. They're showing it again right now...

I think that the other people on this show now are likely amazed that they once called President Obama by his first name. I like this program, especially since they replaced Amanda Puck with Alpana Singh.

[frazzled]

4. Alpana has just opened a restaurant/bar of her own!

The Boarding House, designed by celebrated Chicago architect Jeremiah Johnson (Kamehachi, Hubbard Inn), will be an upscale multi-level restaurant and wine bar in a vintage building that, at one time, functioned as a boarding house. The name itself pays homage to boarding houses and the integral role they played during an era of great economic boom, in the late nineteenth century, which featured the Columbian Exposition and World’s Fair in Chicago. Boarding houses, many of which were operated by women, provided food and lodging, as well as a source of familial and cultural comfort for the city’s immigrants who came to seek their fortune in Chicago. The Boarding House will offer guests a modern dining experience inspired by a bygone era, in terms of food, libations, ambience, service, and beyond.

The Boarding House will be located at 720 N Wells


The food will reflect the cuisine of classic and new world wine producing regions with a nod to the cultural diaspora of Chicago. Singh says, “The Boarding House will be a sommelier driven restaurant where the wine program will inspire the menu. During my travels, I often discover amazing wine and food experiences and I will now have an opportunity to share these culinary souvenirs with our guests.”

http://www.alpanasingh.com/the-boarding-house-chicago/tag/alpana-singh-restaurant

[greatauntoftriplets]

8. I'd like to go there one day...

though I expect, given the location in River North, that it'd be a budget buster. She seems like such a nice person.

[rgbecker]

5. What fun! Thanks for this post.

You've got to love the internet, where stuff hangs around forever for later consumption. Better than home movies.

[greatauntoftriplets]

6. You're very welcome!

[ellisonz]

9. Kick

[Lone_Star_Dem]

10. Oh. My. Goodness. Our president likes peach cobbler, too!

I'm sending him my grandmas recipe! I'm a lifelong fan of good peach cobbler, and that one is still the best I've ever had.

Thanks for sharing this. It's nice to see Obama being real back in 2001. Not that he came off any different than today.