Obama, Clinton Eat 'Healthy' Italian in New York City

by Jennifer Lawinski, Posted Sep 15th 2009 @ 4:00PM

Former President Clinton and President Obama.
Photo: Charles Dharapak/Getty Images.

Two presidents known for their shared love of greasy foods chose a healthier choice for a meeting in New York.

After giving a speech to Wall Street on Monday, President Obama met up with former President Clinton at Greenwich Village's upscale Il Mulino, whose cuisine from Italy's Abruzzi region features dishes like Scaloppini Capriccio (veal sauteed in wine with prosciutto, fontina and mushrooms) and Red Snapper Sauteed with Seafood Sauce.

While the White House would not give Slashfood any information on the presidential menu, Clinton told reporters gathered outside that the two had "fish, pasta and salad," the Christian Science Monitor reports.

"It was very healthy. Even I was healthy," said Clinton, whose notorious taste for fast food -- the defunct McDonald's McRib sandwich in particular -- was a target of "Saturday Night Live" humor during his presidency.

Despite the health benefits, Clinton told the Washington Post it tasted good too. "It was Il Mulino, how could it not be?" he said.

Slashfood called Il Mulino's manager on duty, Luis Jerez, to find out the details of the lunch, but he remained mum on the specifics of the menu.

"We were really honored that they were our guests," Jerez said. "It was a privilege to serve the ex-president and the president."

Business Insider's John Carney described Il Mulino as "the kind of place you go for a classic 'New York experience.' ... It's pretty much always packed, often with large men tightly squeezed into small spaces. Everyone is served antipasti, free of charge, and most meals are concluded with grappa."

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the lunch was President Obama's idea.

"The president mentioned first getting together for lunch ... when they spoke just as President Clinton had come back from North Korea," Gibbs said, according to the Christian Science Monitor. "The original hope was to try to get together for lunch last week when the President was up here for the Cronkite memorial, but because of the speech to Congress, we figured it would be an event that would be good to do on this trip."

Gibbs said Obama and Clinton discussed the economy, health care and other issues, and that he thought the two "split the bill."

Filed Under: Food News, Chefs & Restaurants, Celebrities, Restaurants
Tags: barack obama, BarackObama, bill clinton, BillClinton, Clinton, Greenwich Village, GreenwichVillage, Il Mulino, IlMulino, Italian, Obama, presidential lunch, PresidentialLunch, presidents lunch, PresidentsLunch