Tasteful Friends! Here is the menu for tonight's State Dinner as the Bidens host the Macrons

Are you supposed to choose from the entrees like a restaurant?

It’s a nice menu, but sunchokes invariably cause diarrhea.

Why are they wasting good beef on that Froggy and his decrepit procurer-wife?

Poor Wills and Kate are in Boston eating baked beans on toast.

R2 Removes excess calories one gets from the American “diet”.

R3 Macron is actually important since he's a world leader

the others you mentioned are feckless figureheads in waiting

Is Macron's wife the same as Jill? Jill looks younger and better

Are you sure Macron didn't bring his mother?

guest list please

Be careful being close to President Biden after the second course. I've been on the receiving end of his American poots.

Where the hamberders at?

Just glad to dine with a U.S. President who isn't blackmailing me!

Colbert

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her son, Charlie Hall, arrive at the White House for tonight's State Dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron

video of Bidens receiving the Macrons

hard to believe Jill is 2 years older than Brigitte. Brigitte looks almost 10 years older

Pete and Chasten arriving

is Julia's son 1 of us?

It sounds interesting. I'd love to try it. Lol, I haven't heard of most if it though.

lmfao this fucking piece of shit McCarthy comes cheesing with his mother and doesn't want to talk about the bs he's going to launch after the repubs take over House next year

Is it Greg approved?

R13. The son looks hot and Tall!

I'm surprised that they served Roderer sparkling, WH usually picks a Schramsburg.

R14, smoking will do that to you. I bet ol Bridgette smokes 2 packs of Gauloises just for breakfast!

Cry for the murdered lobsters! What do observant Jewish guests get? Probably a beef patty and a canned peach atop the cottage cheese platter.

I doubt it, this isn't the Trump administration.

R22 does Emanuel smoke too?

the performer for the night

Jon Batiste

Menu sounds good except for the dessert.

Why are we serving a French dinner to the French? This is really unimaginative and indistinct.

Triple Cooked Potatoes so Old Lady Macron has something soft to eat.

what is French on that menu?

Certainly not the raviolo.

R25, his generation eschewed smoking and are being blamed for the closure of cigarette factories

Neither Macron smokes, though Emmanuel sneaks the occasional cigar.

Brigitte has actually looked very nice during this trip. Her dinner look is a fail, though—Jill outshines her.

I think Brigitte has had some recent work or is relying on extensive face taping for this trip. She destroyed her skin early and often with sun.

I think the whole dinner menu sounds good.

I desperately look forward to what our corrupt as hell mayor in New Orleans soon serves him. Etoufeé? Jambalaya?

Watching the attendees' arrivals on C-Span! Wintour looks mahvelous!!!

Chrissy Legend, not so.

Yes .. Anna W. looks great in Chanel. Jill B also gets a big thumbs up.

American Artisanal Cheeses - do you think the Macrons cringe at that?

The font looks like something from 1986

I made the mistake of cooking with sunchokes once and never will again.

I read the presidential visit breakfast is Fruity Pebbles. It’s representative of George’s Seurat’s pointillism. The backup breakfast is Smacks with the hope that the Macrons’ homesickness will be elevated by the sight of Dig’em the 🐸.

[quote] American Artisanal Cheeses - do you think the Macrons cringe at that?

From the nation who buys the most canned cheese whiz - - oh, yeah!

Serving strictly meat is so outdated. There should be a vegetarian option on the menu. And no lobster doesn't count. Shellfish allergies.

[quote]Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her son, Charlie Hall, arrive at the White House for tonight's State Dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron

Why? Enough with the fucking celebrities at everything.

I had sunchokes at Greens in San Francisco and was not impressed.

R30 Ravioli as an appetizer, caviar, a tarragon cream sauce (!) Cut of beef, bitter greens, side of potatoes. Cheese course, poached fruit dessert. Basic French, which could have been made in France easily since the ingredients are not distinctly regional.

The most American thing on that menu is the chiffon cake- which is an American variation on a French-style cake. At least it is American.

Raise your hands, Americans on this thread who have eaten something flavored with tarragon in the last year.

I’m in lust with the quarter back shoulders on Violent!

[quote] Pete and Chasten arriving

Too bad! And fatty just lost all that weight. Maybe I can reassign Pete to Jill’s Obesity Task Force.

[quote] "Yes .. Anna W. looks great in Chanel."

She never WEARS ANYTHING ELSE, R37. She'has an image...a uniform...but it's boring. And she only looks okay about 75% of the time. It would've been nice to see her wear a U.S. designer, but she only really does that outside of high profile formal occasions. Of course, the rules (written or unwritten) don't apply to Cuntess Wintour. Including those related to diplomacy.

Jill or both the Bidens will cover Vogue in the next few years (she already did this in 2021), and they're paying for that now. But having Wintour around has to be such a fucking drag.

[quote] Raise your hands, Americans on this thread who have eaten something flavored with tarragon in the last year.

*raises hand* Tarragon is fairly common in chicken dishes.

The celebrities invited have been very involved in Democratic politics. Inviting major supporters has always been standard operating procedure.

Remember Trump’s first state dinner, also with Macron? It was a ragtag assembly of gross MAGA Republicans and fat, old new money assholes. Democrats were barred from attending, so Kevin McCarthy is getting treated far better in Biden World. The attendance was 123 people vs about 300 for tonight.

The Macrons are getting a real taste of American greatness this go round.

I bet you Macron smokes his cigar while sitting in a bathtub, being sexy as hell. Guy is so damn good looking.

[quote] Guy is so damn good looking.

And so nice that he brought his grandmother with him.

Jill wanted to share the Thanksgiving leftovers with them, but we talked her out of it.

That should be me there..

Would she plump out or prune up in that bathtub?

R49 Then that has to be regional. I cannot think of a single American dish that uses tarragon.

Is Joe's dog still banished from the WH? I'd pass that beef right under the table to him. Dessert too.

I forgot about the dog, sniffing crotches is his way of saying “charmed…charmed.”

Ina uses tarragon in her chicken salad. Seriously, Google Tarragon chicken recipes and all kinds of stuff pops up, including NYT Cooking recipes. I wouldn’t consider it regional, I live in the mid-Atlantic.

Where are the French Fries?

[quote] I bet you Macron smokes his cigar while sitting in a bathtub, being sexy as hell. Guy is so damn good looking.

I don't see him like that.

Queen Pelosi! I think with her daughter?

Doesn't tarragon taste like licorice? I guess it would go with anything that anise seed would go with.

Tim Cook and guest

R63 vaguely.

John Legend and Chrissie Teigen

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Publix always has tarragon chicken salad in their grab-and-go area.

I never would have put Susan Collins wearing a lace mesh top on my bingo card!

sexy shaky Susan!

[quote]I never would have put Susan Collins wearing a lace mesh top on my bingo card!

Was it lined or did we get treated to eraser nips straining through the lacing?

Karine Jean-Pierre is so darn pretty

Schumer and daughter Alison (the one who's not a lesbian)

R45, WH dinners are usually not traditional American dishes. They lean French, just like at Buckingham Palace.

Stephen Breyer

does he not have a wife or kids?

he went alone?

Valerie Biden Owens

I had a lump in my throat when I saw Pete arriving. Such a charming guy. Bless.

Ashley Biden

so far I haven't seen a pic of DL fave Hunter

another angle of Pete and Chasten

Jennifer Garner and Violet Affleck

why is the annoying Wintour there? She's not American or French

I hate her stupid haircut

I hate those fucking shades she always wears. It's nighttime, bitch

[quote] [R45], WH dinners are usually not traditional American dishes. They lean French, just like at Buckingham Palace.

I think it depends on the POTUS. I don't think it "leans French," usually. The menu was probably somewhat French due to the Macrons being there.

another angle of Nancy and daughter

[quote]Poor Wills and Kate are in Boston eating baked beans on toast.

One adores beans on toast!

[Quote]Karine Jean-Pierre is so darn pretty

No wife tonight. Did they split?

the menu was a blend of French and American, simple as that

I didn't put JB on the cover of vogue for nothing!

Loathe the table setting. GAUCHE.

And that chunk of meat!

R88, where's the photo of the table setting?

[quote]It’s a nice menu, but sunchokes invariably cause diarrhea.

So stop shoving them up your ass so far and using Grandpa's Brylcreem as lube, R2.

And using "sunchoke" on the menu was déclassé.

They are Jerusalem artichokes.

In the DM link.

Real Murican Cusine.

The complete guest list:

God forbid we actually have a classical American musician or singer at a state dinner who doesn't meet Biden’s obsessed diversity (i.e. black) quota. So yet another world leader must sit uncomfortably at the White House with a scaffolding of faux smiles while he’s “entertained” by an entertainer who’s there to make a social statement, They must think thats all that matters to us. I cant imagine what’s going through the heads of the French delegation as John Batiste hams it up, shuckin’ & jiven while working in that ‘zoot suit’ walk he ripped off from JJ on Good Times.

R82, actually they do. Look up previous menus. It's been the same WH head chef, Cristita Comerford since 2005. She took over after the previous chef left because he was bored. The Bushes rarely entertained, mostly wanted Mexican food and went to bed early.

God knows how she survived Trump, but it's a good paying job.

inside

r94, your racism is showing, girl.

Batiste is an Oscar winning composer. The Macrons will continue on to a visit of New Orleans, Batiste's hometown.

Hunter inside with guests. He skipped the red carpet

Jon Batiste is on the downlow, n'est-ce pas?

I miss those photos of Macron and Trudeau. I think they bonded during the Trump years, due to, well, you know.

R100 bi men bonding?

At least the Bidens were able to get entertainment- no more Kid Rock.

Are people not allowed to bring spouses to this tonight? They're all bringing parents or kids (except Pete and Chasten).

Oh and I'm with the poster who thinks Jon Batiste is a bad choice. Call me a snob but I think for a state dinner you bring out the high art, not middlebrow Oscar-winners.

R94 was hoping for Jefferson Starship.

Nancy Pelosi brought her daughter ... guess why. I saw a photo of Chrissy Teigen and John Legend (I'm sure CT was thrilled). Jennifer Garner and her daughter. So, not everybody brought a spouse, but they did get a plus-one.

R81 I loathe her. She reminds me of a giant cockroach.

Ethel Merman sang at the Kennedy White House.

I had a DREAMMMM!

Butter-poached Maine lobster, beef with shallot marmalade and an American cheese trio will be served when French President Emmanuel Macron takes his seat Thursday as the guest of honor at a red-white-and-blue themed White House state dinner, the first for President Joe Biden.

Dessert will be orange chiffon cake, roasted pears and creme fraiche ice cream.

What is missing from this search on cspan

R50 Greatness is sorely lacking. They're getting Democratic Party hacks and some bland B-List celebrities they've never heard of.

Does John Legend have to be everywhere ?

Tasteful Friends threads are for homes and houses, not for menus.

White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford reserved a special a shout-out for Maine’s lobster workers.

“They had to ship 200 live lobsters to us yesterday morning,” she said.

Oceana, an international advocacy group focused on ocean conservation, objected to the use of Maine lobster, which recently was declared unsustainable by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch and the Marine Stewardship Council.

The sustainability organizations cited concerns about risks to rare North Atlantic right whales from fishing gear. Entanglement in gear is one of the biggest threats to the whales.

Dinner guests, who typically are supporters and friends of both presidents, government officials, business people and some celebrities, will have the added bonus of arriving at a White House that has been decked out for the holidays with Christmas trees, wreaths and garland. Trolley cars will ride them down to the see-through pavilion on the South Lawn.

Music will be provided by Jon Batiste, a Grammy Award-winning New Orleans native who most recently was bandleader and musical director of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Joining Batiste will be his father, Michael Batiste, the U.S. Marine Band and the Army and Air Force Strolling Strings.

The event was produced with help from Fete, an event planning company based in New York City.

Where are the opera singers? The classical musicians and conductors?

[quote]Brigitte has actually looked very nice during this trip. Her dinner look is a fail, though—Jill outshines her.

Jill outshines her but Brigitte still looks very cute, maybe a little cranky, but that's just how the French are.

The musician is Stephen Colbert's band leader?

Joining Batiste will be his father, Michael Batiste, the U.S. Marine Band and the Army and Air Force Strolling Strings.

R45 wins the Dumb Cunt of the Week award.

R50 Yep, they’re no Ted Nugent or Sammy Hagar.

R118 Absolutely not. This appears to be some upper middle class affectation along the lines of arugula and kale. The Dean and Deluca crowd. Tarragon is not a part of American Cuisine.

Lobster is served quite a bit at White House dinners.

It's fancy and we're known internationally for having high quality lobster.

R120, quit embarrassing yourself and go to bed.

Okay but Julia Louis-Dreyfuss has a totally hot and tall son... why aren't we talking more about HIM instead of the dinner courses??!!

I like to look at menus and giggled over the controversy this menu generated

R60 = DJT

I love Maine lobster tail & claws.

Smart wine choices; all Californian but each has a tie to France. Newton is part of LVMH, Anakota has a distinguished French winemaker and Roederer Estate is owned by Champagne Louis Roederer of Reims, France.

That Newton Chardonnay is a perfect choice for the lobster dish.

R125 Embarrassing mix of pretentious and tacky. It's a Williams Sonoma menu.

French inspired menus at the WH go back to the Kennedy era. Before that it was all parsley potatoes and million dollar fudge.

Yep, Jackie hiring French chef Rene Verdon. After he left the White House, he opened a wonderful restaurant in San Francisco.

I sensed some tension between the Buttigiegs. They didn't walk in holding hands.

R129, what exactly is tacky? You're nuts, it's a standard White House state dinner menu.

Our Dumb Cunt of the Week is angling for a lifetime achievement award.

What are they sitting in?

Looks like a trolley.

That menu doesn't include the cheese course.:

[quote]The American Artisanal Cheese Course features three outstanding and award winning cheeses: Rogue River Blue - 2019/2020 World Cheese Awards World Champion Gold Made by Rogue Creamery with milk sourced from Grant Pass, Oregon. Cypress Grove Humboldt Fog - 2022 World Cheese Bronze Medalist Soft Ripened Goat Cheese

I collect White House menus, so this has been a fun thread for me (excepting the one crazy).

Awesome that they served Rogue River Blue. It is the best cheese I've ever eaten. I bought it blind, without knowing it had been named best cheese in the world. Humboldt Fog is good, too, but it's pretty ubiquitous.

They should have had a sharp cheddar cheese.

[quote] "Schumer and daughter Alison (the one who's not a lesbian)"

Allison Schumer's watch & bag aren't appropriate. The lesbian probably has better etiquette and taste. At least I hope she does.

R140, they did. Deer Creek cheddar from Wisconsin.

The menu seems more late afternoon wedding dinner.

Perhaps not incidentally, the menu typography is also very afternoon wedding dinner - but rather as a sampler from which to pick the typeface that suits you most.

The lobster, cheese course, tarragon sauce and --because it sounds so terribly plain I assume it must be good-- chiffon cake stand out more than the rest to me. It might be nice to see some bolder choices of dishes or a different organization of the menu.

R83 I adore Nancy Pelosi but she looks like she's going to sing cabaret at one of the Fremont Street casinos in Vegas.

R143, you must be Greg or one of his followers. Late afternoon? Let's hear your choices.

R143 is so dense that he can't understand a simple menu. "A different organization of the menu?" It's four fucking courses: a seafood starter, a beef entrée, a cheese course with three selections, and dessert. I bet everything was delicious.

Obviously, the moron has never seen a White House menu, calligraphy, or been to an afternoon wedding.

Ignore. A MAGA.

Nothing tastes as good to R146 as some delicious Democratic Party boots😋

More importantly, what does Greg think??

Lol, and Word for word, r144.

I adore Speaker Pelosi, but in that pic, you've so accurately captured the look.

In fairness, though, I saw other pics of her arrival and she and the dress look much better.

I know sequins are tricky, but I'm glad they're back, especially for the Holidays,

Hah I like Greg. I love food so any conversation about it is good. Also he doesn’t spout MAGA shit and seems to know what he’s talking about. All in all, a good poster.

Nancy didn’t bring her husband; trouble in paradise? Wintour wears her sunglasses at night so she can, so she can, forget your name while she collects her claim. Daryl Hannah should have been invited so that she could recreate her classic scene from Splash!

R152, her elderly husband had a serious brain injury barely a month ago. He’s not going to be doing hand springs for awhile.

A fancy surf 'n turf. Not bad.

Mac and cheese should have been included. That's very American.

[quote]Mac and cheese should have been included. That's very American.

The French were eating "gratin de macaroni" long before Americans. And of course the Italians too.

[quote]It might be nice to see some bolder choices of dishes

This was my reaction to the crème fraîche ice cream, which certainly sounds elegant but seems a little bland in practice.

We had the MOST BEAUTIFUL chocolate cake at my dinners!

The French are not impressed with French food. Give them something high quality that they haven't had before.

Chocolate cake is a distinctive classic American dessert that isn't made the same way in other places.

You could give them chocolate chip cookies and snow cones, and honestly, they'd probably love it. Just class it up to match the occasion.

The Roosevelts served hotdogs to King George VI.

trump would have served Mickie D's...

R160, well they knew Cookie would eat anything.

Bidets and Macaroons

Monsieur Président, 'zis is 'ze snow cone that is called "le Suicide."

... et Madame 'zis is 'ze "Tiger's Blood."

Look, bitches, y’all bitching about the menu forget, or are unaware that these menus have a LOT of logistics that go into them, primarily dietary. The Office of Protocol works with their French counterparts to help plan the menu. That bland, Betty Crocker sounding orange chiffon cake may have been something the French first lady requested. Or it could be a nod to the French president’s love of American Orange juice or some shit. It isn't just Jill Biden sitting on her pretentious ass writing out a menu for the kitchen folk to whip up. There are literally diplomatic people that help to shape a state dinner menu.

What should one do if at a US State Dinner and you're allergic to shellfish?

Do vegetarians tell the server to remove a meat course?

Blah, blah, blah.

Give them a bag of Doritos and a Dollar Tree Pound Cake! Why are we wasting tax dollars on them?

The menu is upscale surf n turf.

R166 They inform ahead of time that they have dietary restrictions and are given custom courses, usually prepared with as many of the same ingredients as possible.

I hate the way Trump pronounces the word chocolate.

Nancy needs nail polish.

Chalk oh lick.

Disgusting!

R166, they just serve the lobster with a tastefully placed Epi pen.

Veggies just pick through what they can eat.

R168 Pound cake is French.

Chawk oh lick

If you say so.

Trump had a more creative and culinarily adventurous menu in 2018. The crème fraîche I've cream must be by request because he had it too, bland as it sounds.

[Quote]crème fraîche I've cream

Accompanied by covfefe and a choices of teas.

Trump didn't have anything creative- he was served a well done NY steak, fries and chocolate cream pie with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream.

I'm hungry.

Trump slathered ketchup on his charred steak.

R182 They had rack of lamb with a burnt cipollini soubise and a side of Jambalaya. A little busy, but definitely creative and not bland.

[quote] The Roosevelts served hotdogs to King George VI.

Only because they requested it.

There are lots of nice American desserts they could have served:

Cheesecake (skip the cheese course)

Maple Cake

Pecan Pie

Apple pie

Fro Yo

It was typical fare for the Roosevelts. The WH at the time was notorious for bad food.

"A guest list more distinguished than usually graces a formal White House dinner was represented today at a "hot dog" luncheon given by President Roosevelt at his cottage, located two miles from the Summer White House. Thre was no particular reason for the party except that this seemed to be the last opportunity for an al fresco picnic luncheon before the President's departure for Washington sometime next week. As it was, the rain spoiled the picnic plans, and the party was moved into the tiny cottage...Among those present were Bernard M. Baruch...In the meantime the facilities of the small kitchen in the house were being taxed while Mrs. Roosevelt and a group of her friends broiled weiners, baked macaroni and prepared great bowls of mixed vegetable and tomato salad and coffee...Since the picnic obviously could not be held on the lawn, long tables were placed on the screened-on porch of the cottage. A table was set in the living room of the cottage, where the president and his mother, Mrs. Sara Delano Roosevelt, who yesterday celebrated her eightieth birthday, were served. The guests, ranging from prominent ones to chauffeurs, found paper plates, paper cups and knive and forks and filed past the serving tables in line. The various guests of honor were invited to take turns sitting at one table and chatting with the President." ---"President is Host at 'Hot Dog' Feast," New York Times, September 23, 1934

That was a picnic at a cottage in Hyde Park, not a state dinner you boobs. It's perfectly charming and very American.

[quote]Does John Legend have to be everywhere ?

Forget him. What about his repulsive wife, with her history of bullying kids on social media (including telling one to commit suicide)?

Disgusting that she's even there.

(gasp)

Creme freche izz my specalty. I squeez out of poosey and anuses, client LOOVE it and pay extra moneys!

Cristita is known for her desserts, I'm guessing the creme fraiche ice cream is one of her specialties.

R184, true, but it was a Sunday picnic at Hyde Park, not a state dinner at the WH. The King and Queen also visited Washington, and here’s the menu from the state dinner:

[italic]The menu included a clam cocktail, calf’s head soup, terrapin, corn bread, boned capon, cranberry sauce, peas, buttered beets, sweet-potato cones, frozen cheese and cress salad, maple and almond ice cream, white pound cake and coffee. [/italic]

The menu comes from the article linked below. I thought the Queen’s comment in a letter to her mother was interesting:

[italic]“They [the Roosevelts] are such a charming and united family,” Queen Elizabeth wrote Queen Mary, her widowed mother-in-law, “and living so like English people when they come to their country house.”[/italic]

I'll bet The Queen Mother had seconds.

OT, but for comparison purposes, here's a dinner menu from the RMS Queen Mary on May 12, 1939. Imagine the elegance of such a voyage (assuming one was traveling first class, of course - although second class on the great transatlantic liners wasn't too shabby, either).

Thanks R137 for the cheese details. I'll be home in Oregon for Christmas and will look for the Rogue River Blue.

R195, fellow cheese lover- Enjoy!

An American hot dog is very similar to an ordinary English sausage roll.

Hence, “They [the Roosevelts] are such a charming and united family,” Queen Elizabeth wrote Queen Mary, her widowed mother-in-law, “and living so like English people when they come to their country house.”

The Roosevelt mansion at Hyde Park is very modest with small rooms, compared to an English Country House by the highest aristocracy, some of which are palaces. But the park was magnificent and very grand. It was modest by the standards of the new American rich of the gilded age. It's a nice house though, of course. The cottages they had here and there were even more modest. Genuinely cottages. Eleanor's lesbian lovenest cottage at Valkill was very modest, the size of a plain middle class house.

That White House chef is basic as fuck. She needs to go to bed and let someone else have the job.

Her choices are dire, dated, and boring.

I don't like caviar. And I would pass on the American cheeses. But the chiffon cake with pears might be very good.