The Obama Burger

Did you see the pictures of President Obama heading off for a burger a couple of weeks ago? It was hugely impressive and hilarious at the same time.

I assume he just decided he fancied a burger for lunch but rather than get a flunky to go out and get one he decided to head off to Ray’s Hell Burger Bar but, of course, the whole motorcade had to be fired up and head down to Ray’s, black limo after black limo, stretching almost the whole length of the street.

I was quite impressed by this common touch  from the ‘most powerful man’ on the planet, who, I’m sure was trying to make it look like a normal activity of his, but watching Obama order a burger made me feel that he hadn’t done it before, or at least, not recently.

He stumbled over what sort of burger to order and then asked about the kind of mustard they had. I’m sure most American burger bars and their clients know exactly what sort of mustard they serve, but good old Barack wanted Dijon, which seemed to surprise a few people and he got a bit of flak for it in the press. I know that when I reach the counter of a burger bar I know exactly what I want – a double bacon cheeseburger with extra mayo.

Anyway – whether planned or on the spur of the moment, his visit to Ray’s confirmed what many of us like about the guy – he’s normal in some respects. I just wish he’d had ketchup or mayo instead of mustard! For the record, Obama had a cheddar cheese burger.

But what about our other ‘world’ leaders? What would they do at lunchtime?

We know that President Sarkozy favours his 3-Michelin Star restaurant (The Hotel Bristol) 200 yards from the Elyseé Palace where he lunches regularly. I bet he doesn’t have a cheeseburger, well not now. Apparently, Sarko has been trying to up his sophistication level since he met and married the very sophisticated Carla Bruni, even taking an interest in the arts which were anathema to him before he got hitched.

And what about Gordon Brown. He’s such a workaholic that the phrase, ‘lunch is for wimps’ might have been uttered by him long before Gordon Gekko said it in the film Wall Street. But we do know that his favoured snack is some sandwiches with the boys in the bunker talking about football, although as a Raith Rovers fan what he thinks he knows about football is anyone’s guess.

The other thing about Brown though, is that he’s a cannibal. Rumour has it that he keeps biting the heads off of his staff. I bet he’s the kind of guy who, when eating a jelly baby bites the head off first!

And then there’s Angela Merkel of Germany whom I do not envy one bit. Having worked just outside Munich for six months I struggle to think of one decent meal I had there. One particularly disgusting meal was hot smoked salmon with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Yuck. Poor Angela.

I would proudly take all of them to the Midi in the village for homemade quiche and frites followed by their hot chocolate and pear tart.