Comments on: State dinner menu with Hu Jintao: “quintessentially American”

By: Lobster Rolls

Lobster Rolls — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 23:47:02 +0000

Lobster Rolls…

Check out this great recipe I found!…

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 01:07:05 +0000

Btw, for those channeling indignation, see Stephen Colbert on the subject: “this should have been a sweat pants pot luck, with box wine and a sleeve of Oreos.”

http://huff.to/f7bbfP

By: Tom Powers

Tom Powers — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 02:14:03 +0000

I would be delighted to have lobster with DuMol Chardonnay. I have enjoyed the wine on several occasions and find it to be delicious. There is an alarming amount of CA Chard bashing going on by individuals that would love to appear more sophisticated by tearing down the very thing that others cherish. Taste the wine. It is indeed delicious. It is not as elegant as Corton, as austere as Chablis, as complex as Meursault, but it has glorious fruit with beautiful oak in a harmonious plane. I was not dismayed by the selections but rather proud.

By: Debbie The Wine Lady

Debbie The Wine Lady — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:24:36 +0000

One thing that’s “quintessentially American” about the wine selections is that most of us Americans will never see them, let alone have the opportunity to taste them. They’re all small-production wineries and I know that if I try to order any for customers of my wine shop I’ll hear, “Sorry, those aren’t available in Ohio”. The story of my life is reading about stuff in national wine publicationss that I can only dream of procuring. Sorry to whine, but I wish more of us Americans could taste these quintessentially American wines.

By: Dr. Vino

Dr. Vino — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 14:51:27 +0000

Hi Philippe,

Yes, Shanks selects the wines and he told Bloomberg in 2008 that he looks for wines with “presence” because of the brief nature of the meal. I’m glad they are up to 70 minutes now for 3 courses.

And if you check out the last two menus (links above), it’s good that there were no typos or omissions this time–third state dinner is a charm, apparently.

By: StacyAnn

StacyAnn — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 18:16:27 +0000

If you were visiting France would you want to eat American Pot Roast or “quintessential” French food. The man lives in China why in tarnation would he want Americans to recreate food from his homeland? He better eat that goat cheese and tell all those people back home to try some good ole American goat cheese to.

By: caroline palla

caroline palla — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 08:14:21 +0000

I would love to sample this menu AND the wines, sounds absolutely delicious to me! I’m shocked to read about the super-tight time limit for state dinners. too bad and almost a waste to chump down all this food in so little time!

By: Philippe Newlin

Philippe Newlin — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 03:20:11 +0000

Tyler, a small correction and some information. The White House person in charge of the selection of wines is the Executive Residence Usher. This position is fulfilled by Daniel Shanks. Daniel is a well versed and experienced wine professional. His background includes a start in the Napa Valley working in the early days of Domaine Chandon at their restaurant before joining the WH at the behest of the Clintons. Daniel is fortunate enough to have a little more time for dinners in this administration, thus allowing him to serve wines that may need some more room to open. Under the previous president dinners were limited to only 55 minutes. Apparently we’re up to 70 minutes with the Obamas. I guess the current first couple has a greater repartee to share than the former White House occupants…

By: Tom

Tom — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:04:47 +0000

In his own house Mr. Hu probably drinks only Grand-cru Bordeaux, especially Chateau Lafite, which has been all the rage in the new Chinese economy.
Also to make him feel at home, they should have offered Mr. Hu the option of mixing the Cab with either Sprite or green tea.

By: Steve

Steve — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:15:56 +0000

Perhaps the White House somm reads Dr. Vino – the pairings were pretty much spot on!

A marching band menu calls for 76 trombone wines!

Conservative, a bit stereotypical but also very reassuring in the way a meal can be. I can only imagine it being a success.

By: Darren J

Darren J — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:07:12 +0000

A “quintessentially American” meal was requested by the Chinese delegation.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:47:23 +0000

Sounds like a great menu to me.

Blake, if Obama were in Beijing, do you think they’d serve him a burger? No. They’d serve a Chinese meal. And what makes you think they did not investigate what the Chinese President would or would not enjoy?

By: Valjean

Valjean — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:33:19 +0000

Pretty tame menu overall, I’d say — though as a Washington State resident I’m proud our soggy little corner of the country accounted for 2/3 of the wines.

But I also agree with Bob: the ruler of “The People’s Republic” deserves something more like two-buck chuck. Because anything more high-brow, y’know, would be so *bourgeois*. Ironic that we fete a communist ruler with all the bounty of American capitalism.

And where’s Michelle with all that butter and cream? Off in a corner, munching raw veggies?

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 13:49:42 +0000

Blake, I would point you to this article:
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/01/18/demystifying-china-and-u-s-debt/

Worth a read, although the first line says it all: “Despite what talk radio and late night comedians may say, China does not own the U.S. Treasury Department. Numbers show that 75% of Uncle Sam’s growing debt is in the hands of U.S. interests.”

That said, China’s 7% interest in the US debt probably deserve something a little more interesting than what was poured. Given their current obsession with Bordeaux, how about a nice older Meritage over a young big Cab?

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 03:28:59 +0000

The commie thug should have been served Yellow Tail or maybe a nice “aged” white Zin from Sutter Home !