Alice Waters Agrees with Me: President Obama Needs to Try Some Beets
I caught some mostly good-natured flak when I fancifully gave President Obama a hard time for not allowing his wife to plant beets in the new White House garden. Now, according to Maureen Dowd's column in today's New York Times, Alice Waters also wants to introduce our President to the joys and pleasures of fresh beets simply prepared:
"I would like to serve him some golden beets sometime that were roasted in the oven, that were not overcooked, that were dressed with a lovely little vinaigrette, maybe even diced in a salad," she says in her seductive way. "Squeeze 'em with a little lime. It's fantastically nutritious."
And seriously delicious, I might add. Here's a recipe for the White House chefs to use, from Tabla chef-partner Floyd Cardoz via Dinner Tonight's Nick Kindelsberger.
Props to the Times copy editors for the headline on Dowd's column: "The Aura of Arugulance."
Photograph ©iStockphoto.com/Suzifoo
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26 Comments:
So right, Ed. He just needs to have some that are deliciously prepared. Think of all the people who've learned to enjoy brussels sprouts when they were well-prepared. There's hope.
islandexile at 4:23PM on 04/19/09
I was one of those who gave you flak before. I'll do so again. Alice Waters should leave the man alone.
Sure. Maybe she could make a beet dish he would like. Why should she, you, or any of us care? He's one person. He has preferences.
Also, there are hundreds of vegetables that won't be planted in the White House garden. Beets are far from unique.
kitchenhacker at 5:31PM on 04/19/09
I think you and Alice Waters should leave the president alone. He's entitled to his own likes and dislikes.
IndyGal at 6:31PM on 04/19/09
I hate pushy people who try to get me to eat food I've told them I don't like. For me, it's asparagus. Yes, I've tried it. No, I don't like it. Now kindly shut up.
Cupajo at 7:03PM on 04/19/09
I third that, leave the man alone.
Wolverines at 7:04PM on 04/19/09
Has the Secret Service visited with her yet, because she is coming off a little on the stalker side.. and it's becoming tiring.
jason at 7:06PM on 04/19/09
It's okay not to like one vegetable. Jeez, Alice, for f*k's sake. He plants the garden, hires a super-organic chef in addition to the one he retained, and now you want to feed him beets. This woman is on a power trip.
HeartofGlass at 7:07PM on 04/19/09
You know what? It doesn't matter how deliciously mushrooms of any variety are prepared, I will gag and possibly vomit if I bite into one. Enough about the damn beets. There are some things some people just don't like and never will.
buffy at 7:43PM on 04/19/09
The man has enough on his plate (pun intended) without the Slow Food Nazi pushing beets on him! I agree with Jason, Secret Service should definitely check her a** out. :)
soyviz at 8:27PM on 04/19/09
Hey, serious eaters. I am hereby swearing off Obama beet posts. As far as I'm concerned the man can lead a beet-free existence. And I for one am going to cut Alice Waters some slack this time around. Both Obama and Alice have a lot on their plates.
Ed Levine at 8:40PM on 04/19/09
Thank you Ed for assuring us that we'll never have to read about what Alice Waters wants Obama to eat again. Who the F cares what that lady wants Obama to eat... find a new life project lady.
LizLemon at 9:11PM on 04/19/09
@ Cupajo and buffy - I know what you mean. My SIL doesn't like lobster, but she's frequently hounded by people who insist that she needs to "just try it", sometimes even shoving a forkful in her face. She HAS tried it - that's how she knows she doesn't like it. Children often need to be encouraged to eat different things. Adults have earned the right to make their own food choices.
Alice Waters has inarguably done a lot for the food industry. Unfortunately, she's also starting to become somewhat of a pain in the patoot.
Lilibean at 10:20PM on 04/19/09
While I'm a big proponent of veggies in all forms (I hated just about all veggies except for corn and artichokes just 2-3 years ago), I honestly feel that if the President of the United States doesn't want to eat beets, then he shouldn't have to.
Now, if Michelle Obama wants to plant beets, then she should be able to, but we certainly shouldn't make the President of the United States eat beets if he doesn't want to.
I'm also a believer that the liking of beets is a gene. Those who have it like beets and those who don't,always think the beets taste like dirt.
cooklocal at 10:39PM on 04/19/09
@cooklocal - I think beets taste like dirt...but I like that about them! Most other folks, young or old, wouldn't get a pass from me on this (try 'em pickled, it changes everybody's mind!!), but I really do think that once you've been elected President of the USA, you get to not eat beets, if you don't want to. It's just one of those special rights the President gets, like Air Force One or getting to see movies before they're out.
producestories at 11:20PM on 04/19/09
beets taste like death.
shoneyjoe at 12:17AM on 04/20/09
I have no idea who this Alice person is but I would like her to keep these things in mind; Not only does he know where you live, he has access to both the IRS and nuclear weapons. For your own safety, back off the fucking beets lady!
beersnob at 12:30AM on 04/20/09
Ed... Alice... give the beet thing a friggin rest already... leave the dude alone. Surely the man who has his finger on the nuke button is allowed to not like certain foods you seem to find absolutely fascinating.
Give us all a break and drop it...
ronzoni at 12:47AM on 04/20/09
This is so wrong. Seriously. If I don't like something (and I happen to have a very strong aversion to beets), it doesn't matter how you prepare it, I still won't like it. Actually, with beets, I won't even be able to eat them - again, no matter how they are prepared and by whom.
I really don't understand why some people think that they can decide what other people have to like. It's all right not to like some foods, you know. I am quite certain that the world as we know it won't end if President Obama never eats beets.
brooke29 at 1:34AM on 04/20/09
Clearly the problem is that the leader of the free world, a man with a reputation for loving good food, has never had beets properly prepared. If only someone would educate this man in how beets are supposed to taste! Surely that will change his mind!
I respect what Alice Waters had done for the slow food movement, but the level of arrogance in that piece blows my mind.
popcornfordinner at 8:49AM on 04/20/09
Sorry I was so snarky last time, Ed! I won't comment further on this one, other than to say it feels like "beeting" a dead horse! (tee-hee!)
bruisedbuddha at 10:29AM on 04/20/09
I think that Alice Water should just keep her mouth shut and focus back to cooking (and gardening). She really doesn't have to speak that much, just her food speaks for itself.
kobetobiko at 11:52AM on 04/20/09
i don't care what alice waters says, i hate beets.
carriebwc at 12:11PM on 04/20/09
So, 20 out of 22 think Alice should shove her beets where the sun don't shine and leave the President alone. With me, that makes 20+1=21.
bltzie at 3:36PM on 04/20/09
Beets are such regular fare in our home that I always forget how many people hate them, which means I always end up cooking them for guests w/out considering how "controversial" they are. The thing is, I get this all the time from guests (who don't have to say *anything*—it isn't as if I ask!): "I always thought I hated beets, but these are so good!" I think most people in the US have only tried canned beets; fresh roasted beets are such a different thing altogether!
(Though I could care less whether or not our Prez eats them...)
Tactful_Cactus at 12:55AM on 04/21/09
22 out of 23, bitzie. And she should apologize to Cristeta Comerford while she's at it.
maered at 1:12AM on 04/21/09
For some reason beets are more polarizing than other veggies. I LOVE them , but while I've turned many people onto cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, kale, and other weird polarizing veggies simply by preparing them deliciously and avoiding the common overcooking pitfalls, I can't seem to turn anyone who is vehemently anti-beet. Interesting.
Cebca at 4:17PM on 04/21/09