RECESSION DINING: PRESIDENT OBAMA’S BUDGET DINNER

A President’s Day Special

As I sat in my booth, munching on nachos and pico de gallo, I wondered where in this hole-in-the-wall called Don Pico’s did Barack Obama sit and enjoy his meal. Between bites of a shredded beef taco, my smart and pretty six year-old dining companion asked, “Mom, if President Obama ate here, do you think he had to pay?”

Good question. A freebie would be the ultimate recession dinner. My daughter Ronica had absolutely no idea that I planned to launch an investigation, based on her innocent question.

My first clue: a San Francisco Chronicle article that reported on Obama’s Bay Area visit in November 2008. The report says: “On the way to SFO (San Francisco International Airport), the travelling Obamsters stopped at Don Pico’s in San Bruno where chef-owner Isaac Mejia says the candidate ate guacamole and chips, enchilada pie and pork ribs from Rib Shack.”

MEMORABLE RIBS

A week later, I was at Rib Shack, just a block away from Don Pico’s. Its sign proclaims itself as “The Best Ribs in the Peninsula.” Rib Shack manager Tess says they were so excited to hear that Obama and entourage were at their sister restaurant Don Pico’s that they sent over “a slab of pork ribs from Rib Shack.”

It proved to be a savvy move. Tess reports that on the Obama campaign’s second visit to the Bay Area late last year, Obama’s people called Rib Shack, telling them that the candidate was hungering for more of the pork ribs he had the first time he visited. Armed with a camera, Tess personally delivered two slabs of pork ribs and one tray of salad to the campaign’s hotel by the airport.

Unfortunately for Tess, it wasn’t Obama himself who received the delivery. No picture for posterity, but just the honor of having their food remembered and personally requested by the future 44^th president of America was enough to make her and the Rib Shack staff ecstatic.

Aside from the smoky, juicy, meaty deliciousness of their ribs, Tess believes there’s another reason that made their food memorable to Obama and his campaign. “Maybe because they learned that our food is organic, we use Niman Ranch products,” she says. Niman Ranch is the choice for the health- and socially-conscious carnivore. Their livestock are raised humanely, using no antibiotics or hormones. Not bad for a hole-in-the-wall, huh?

Co-recession diner Steve placed an order for the pork ribs and chicken barbecue dinner similar to what Obama had. Cost, $14.99.

ENCHILADA PIE

Our next stop—back to Don Pico’s to order some of Obama’s enchilada pie. I speculated that this must be like a chicken pot pie but stuffed with enchilada meat. An enchilada pie, it turns out, is a gigantic enchilada that feeds up to 20 people, and costs about $89. Even with Steve’s capacity to consume large amounts of Mexican food, enchilada pie was out of the question. We settled for the scaled down version, an enchilada plate. Two pieces per order, cost, $14.99.

Yes, I admit this is not the usual price range Recession Dining goes for. However, do keep in mind that Don Pico’s Mexican Bistro, small and unassuming hole-in-the-wall, is Zagat-rated. Steve, who has probably eaten in every taqueria in South San Francisco, immediately tasted the difference. Ronica, a finicky eater and connoisseur of authentic Hispanic food, thanks to the abuelita who runs her daycare, gives Don Pico high marks as well.

While waiting for our order, the wait staff told us that Obama and party stayed for about two hours. Obama is a self-confessed lover of Mexican cuisine, and a big fan of Chef Rick Bayless of the famed Chicago Mexican grill Frontera . I say Don Pico’s can give Frontera Grill a run for its money. The guacamole here is made tableside and you taste the freshness of ingredients in every bite. My favorite here is the Chile Relleno. It is, in my book, unsurpassed. I have yet to taste a chile relleno elsewhere that comes even close.

My Mexican amiga, who introduced me to Don Pico’s seven years ago, attests that it is Mexican cuisine of the highest caliber. Presidential caliber, I might add.

ECONOMIC IMPACT , WITH HOOKUPS

The bill at Don Pico’s was $14.99, but I paid only $12.61, a ten percent discount, thanks to a hookup. Due to diet and weight loss concerns, Steve passed up on the free six chicken wings that would have been the hookup that came with the barbecue ribs and chicken plate from Rib Shack. And how does one get these hookups at a Zagat-rated restaurant and a organic rib place?

It’s called a community card. My daughter goes to Monte Verde Elementary School in the South San Francisco Unified School District. Early in the school year, to help the PTA raise funds, I purchased a Monte Verde card* for $10. It gives me discounts and freebies at many places, most of them unremarkable chain restaurants. I knew that this card was a must-get when I saw that it offered discounts at Don Pico’s and Rib Shack, holes-in-the wall that I consider the best-kept secrets of the San Francisco peninsula.

That’s one big Recession Dining tip right there: buy those PTA community cards because they do offer real savings, and if you are lucky enough, even at a Zagat-rated restaurant that the President ate at and a rib place that President Obama wanted seconds from.

Total cost of a gut-busting presidential combo meal for two, with community card hookups : $27.60. With leftover barbecue ribs and chicken, good for lunch the next day.

But being Commander-In-Chief beats out having a community card.

“Just the fact that he requested our food, that’s fine. We did not let Obama pay,” Tess confirms. Hail to the Chief, President Obama got the biggest hookup, the real deal. A one hundred percent discount is truly recession dining at its finest!

To all this, Ronica rolled her eyes and said: “Of course Mom. He IS the President.”

I think my daughter may have a future as a political analyst.

Happy President’s Day!

Don Pico’s Mexican Bistro is at 461 El Camino Real, San Bruno CA. The Famous Rib Shack is at 223 El Camino Real, San Bruno, CA.

*If you are interested in a Monte Verde card, e-mail me and I’ll hook you up.

COMING UP: TOFU TO PLEASE THE PALATE AND POCKET