The COOLEST Find Ever – Barack Obama On PBS’ ‘Check Please’ In 2001
In 2001, few people had heard of Barack Obama. He was an Illinois state senator, from the Chicago South Side Hyde Park neighborhood. In 2001, the the fresh-faced, ebony haired future President was so unknown that he was a guest reviewer on the PBS restaurant review show called Check Please. If you aren’t familiar with the format of the show, there is a host and three guests, who are typically just regular people from the area. Each of the guests recommends a restaurant and each of the three people review their experience at that restaurant. Obama chose Hyde Park’s Dixie Kitchen and Bait Shop. Unfortunately, the Hyde Park location of Dixie Kitchen no longer exists, but they have a location in the north of the city suburb of Evanston and in Lansing, Il. The host joked that Dixie Kitchen served “liberal portions.” Obama let that joke go but he did call the restaurant a value and agreed that the portion sizes were large. The restaurant could probably best be described as very American Southern cooking.
Like any good politician, Obama didn’t want to play favorites so he ordered the southern sampler, “because (he) couldn’t make up (his) mind.” “It’s not gourmet cuisine,” said Obama (take that, those who call him “elitist.”) What he wants is “food that tastes good for a good price.” He did play favorites with a dessert, though. He loved the restaurant’s peach cobbler. For the most part, the rest of the panel agreed with his assessment and boy do they now have a story to tell.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2014/11/18/the-coolest-find-ever-barack-obama-on-pbs-check-please-in-2001-video/
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Salt, pepper and ketchup (ok, ketchup isn't a spice, but it gives you some idea of what
meals were like growing up in a working class Boston Irish household in the 60's-70's).
I didn't know there was such a thing as beef prepared anything less than well done or over cooked.
It wasn't until I was 20 something that I had my first steak done medium/medium rare.
My first thought was 'my God... this is fantastic!'. 'What kind of sorcery is this?' 
Then there was 'meatless Fridays', which meant tuna fish sandwiches for lunch, and pizza for dinner.
It wasn't all meat/beef and potatoes (at least not the potatoes part) though.
Maybe once or twice a week my mom would make pork chops (with mashed potatoes), broiled chicken legs
(with mashed potatoes... sometimes instant rice). Ohhh.... and how could I forget frozen TV dinners.
Those were a special treat that I looked forward too.
Ethnic cuisine (on the rare occasions we had it), usually meant Chinese and/or Italian... Italian being
meatballs and spaghetti.
So, it was really no surprise that when I joined the FD years later, and a fair portion of the guys were people from
the neighborhood, more than I few that I grew up with, that the meals were practically identical.
There was one difference though from my moms cooking... we had firehouse chefs that could cook up a storm
and outdo a lot of professionals in the kitchen... at least for roast beef, pot roast and meatloaf.
Actually the Obamas are known for visiting local independent restaurants and small businesses around DC more than recent first families. It's good to know that he has always done such things. Mmm...peach cobbler.
less than a month after this was done (I think I saw August 14th somewhere), 9/11 happened.
When he mentioned his daughters, Sasha was just a baby and Malia a toddler then! 
This is a great find though! 
One quibble though, he didn't order PIE for dessert, traitor!
Thanks for posting this, it's great!
and I miss it!
a cute LITTLE 'mall' down the street (HARPER!) from my first apartment, where I'd have Sunday brunches, and also where I had my first cocktails, Black Russian in Winter, and vodka gimlet for summer.
This place wasn't there when I was, which was a LONG time ago!
For posting this excellent recording
