AP: For a health food nut, President Barack Obama sure likes his burgers.

[tj2001]

Obama stops at Five Guys for cheeseburger
By JULIE PACE – 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — For a health food nut, President Barack Obama sure likes his burgers.

President Barack Obama made a surprise lunchtime stop at Five Guys, a fast-food restaurant in Washington. The president ordered a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, jalapeno peppers, and mustard as well as several other cheeseburgers to go. He also ordered a cheeseburger for Brian Williams, news anchor for NBC. The network was filming a day-in-the-life program at the White House.

The president snacked on peanuts, and chatted with surprised customers while he waited for his order.

There are "more problems than we thought," Obama told a man who asked him about his first months in office.

Early this month, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden took a short motorcade ride from the White House to Virginia and ordered lunch at a small independent restaurant called Ray's Hell Burger. First lady Michelle Obama recently said she snuck out to a Five Guys restaurant without anyone noticing...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hGknvvBD1vBVur0B6oJ_rZxslnMAD98G26V00

[YOY]

1. It's 5 Guys.

If you had one you wouldn't blame him.

Assuming you eat burgers in the first place!

and if you don't eat burgers then the Fries will knock your socks off.

And while you're at it real Italian subs from The Italian Store in Arlington, VA...to DIE for.

[av8rdave]

3. Great burgers!

[lamp_shade]

5. One of the best burgers ever.

[underpants]

64. They pride themselves on the fact that their fries come from the potatoes IN the store

Five Guys is good and good for you (for burgers and such)

[Tangerine LaBamba]

2. Lousy burgers ........

We have the first Five Guys here in Alexandria, and I never got a decent burger there - not once, not ever.

Good hot dogs, though. Pretty good fries, too.............

[Mike Daniels]

21. They're nothing more than a national chain restaurant now

with the subsequent decline in quality.

I live in the Alexandria area as well and when it was still the original 4 or 5 locations I found the burgers to be quite good.

Once they started franchising the operation even the original locations went downhill quality wise.

Washingtonian magazine (which does some great restaurant issues) rated the top 5 and worst 5 burgers in DC a few years back (shortly before "Guys" went national) and Five Guys was at the bottom.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

25. You had a better experience than I did -

my first time there, when they were brand-new, was startling, because I expected something really good. What I got was a regular grilled burger, not at all interesting, nothing special about it at all - just ground beef slapped onto a grill.

The toppings were rather interesting back then because they were unusual - now they're standard.

So Five Guys has lost its cachet even in the DC area?

Good...............

[Mike Daniels]

43. The Washingtonian "burger" issue surprised me

because up till then Five Guys constantly made their "Best Cheap Eats" issue which looked for quality food that wouldn't break the bank.

But, they must have been onto something given what I observed in the past.

For all the attention Obama's food stops get he hasn't really gone to anything that unique in that everywhere he's been is pretty well known by most DC locals. Even Ben's was a major tourist stop before he did his pop-in and there are a lot of DC residents who thinks Ben's is vastly overrated ( not me though...I love Ben's).

[konnichi wa]

4. Wait, that's TWO burgers in a single month???? IMPEACH HIM

:silly: :silly:

[Orsino]

38. That's socialism, I tell ya. n/t

[no limit]

6. Why do we need "reporters" "reporting" on a burger stop? Is there nothing more important to cover?

I was on my lunch break at home and turned on CNN, they were covering this live. Our media is a joke.

[rcrush]

9. He invites it by going to get a burger himself.

He knows he can have someone pick one up for him. But by going himself he gets a photo op.

[no limit]

16. I don't dispute that. But why do these idiots in the media play along?

Everyone knows this is just a photo op. So why does it get so much coverage?

[janx]

32. Um...because he's the president of the United States and

the cables (especially) have a 24-hour news cycle. They now he's a popular president, so they cover it.

[JonLP24]

19. Everywhere he goes it's a photo op

If he drops his daughters off at school it's a photo op. I really don't think he chooses it one way or the other. I sure wish the media would cover more important topics.

[CreekDog]

42. it is news

it's not Iraq or Guantanamo, but the President going out for a burger and chatting it up with local denizens is news.

[Sequoia]

62. Oh please, do we really need to see bad news all the time?

I thought it was cool that the secret service guys weren't wearing dark shades.

[snooper2]

7. He also works out in the morning

Unlike the vast majority of obese Americans

[snowdays]

35. and clinton ran. Its the fat IN the body that counts.

[rcrush]

8. I'm not sure how I feel about these burger photo ops.

Thats really all it is. I dont know its just something about it. I just think its dumb.

[Sherman A1]

17. Photo ops true, but

he also spends time talking with the folks in line or waiting around for their orders. Talking with working people and getting outside the bubble of advisors is a good thing. Even if nothing of great importance was said by either him or someone who spoke with him, he is talking to people who just stopped in to get a burger. These kinds of things are meaningful in that respect.

[NorthernSpy]

18. Yeah, how dare he go out for burgers like a normal person?

There's just something about it, indeed. Aren't our leaders supposed to hide out in secret bunkers and never risk contact with the public?


:eyes:

[rvablue]

37. Yes, it's much better to have a President who hides away in the WH or his ranch

and never, ever gets out to mingle and chat with the hoi polloi.

It would be a lame photo-op if the folks inside were pre-screened.

This President is going out to a burger joint, talking to whomever is standing there and doing all within ear shot of the press corps. And while nothing concrete might come of it, isn't better to have a President trying to maintain at least a strand of "normalcy" instead of one who NEVER tried to get out and about?

Geeze Louise, what are you so concerned about??????????? :crazy:

[onehandle]

10. I wish Five Guys served Veggie Burgers. nt

[YOY]

11. Try the fries.

The fries are worth a trip on their own.

[NorthernSpy]

22. You can get a veggie burger on Amtrak, of all places...

Surprised that an actual burger joint wouldn't have them. Even non-veg people like me sometimes like to have a veggie burger.


:shrug:

[onehandle]

27. I've had them on Amtrak.

I think that it's just too much trouble for Five Guys. They would have to have a separate cooking method for them, instead of the meaty grill.

They just microwave the suckers on Amtrak. They're not bad.

[MineralMan]

12. And, predictably, the freepers are on this like

flies on poop.

One calls the jalapenos "PC" food.

Another bitches about the mustard. "Mustardgate II."

Another wants to know what he's doing eating "on our dime."

Morons abound.

[onehandle]

34. Would they rather Obama spend half his Presidency clearing brush "on our dime?"

Yeah, I guess they would.

[rvablue]

39. Yes, they seem to be consistently concerned with cost of Obama's lunch.

What? Did they think the Shrub foraged for mushrooms and raised livestock out back of the WH?

[Contrary1]

13. Oh noes! I hope he didn't order that snobby Dijon mustard again. n/t

[CTyankee]

31. But he didn't order SWISS cheese on the burger, like poor John Kerry did on his

Philly cheese sandwich. To hear the press talk about it, that's why Kerry lost the election in 04.

[bamacrat]

14. Five Guys kicks ass.

A little more pricey but well worth it. You can be in to healthy eating and still enjoy a burger. The man is in great shape, plays basketball like Lebron, and has the weight of the world on him. Give the man a burger, I love that he likes mustard, its my favorite condiment.

[iamthebandfanman]

15. guess i know where im gettin a burger

the next time i go to DC.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

26. NO!

They're awful. Truly bad. Don't get sucked in by the hype...................

[iamthebandfanman]

53. my dreams are dashed. n/t

[Tangerine LaBamba]

54. But,

your life (and palate) are saved ..............

[iamthebandfanman]

55. Bah, whats to live for now. n/t

[Tangerine LaBamba]

61. Hot dogs?

[iamthebandfanman]

69. aw.

you saved my life.

;)


(on a side note, id rather poke my eye out than eat an actual hot dog now)

[MineralMan]

20. I knew he was connected with that bild-a-burger group.

This proves it.

[NorthernSpy]

24. ...

:spray:

[Chovexani]

23. He's got good taste.

Five Guys in Brooklyn is amazing. And the staff is very friendly.

[BlooInBloo]

28. *yawn*

[mamaleah]

29. Who said he was a health food nut? And who cares?

It's like with Clinton. ZOMG! The President eats at McDonald's! The end of the world is nigh! Run!

I don't care what the President eats. Though a burger with cheese and jalapenos...I am glad I am not on bathroom clean-up duty at the White House. :P

[janx]

36. Here in NM we have some very good green chili cheeseburgers

(especially at a local place in ABQ).

Damn, they're good! Surprisingly, they don't cause too many digestive problems. ;-)

[mamaleah]

46. I love spicy anything

However, it does aggravate my IBS and GERD.

[janx]

58. I'm not familiar with those abbreviations...?

?

[blonndee]

57. Damn, they're good, seconded! :)

I haven't had a plain old cheeseburger since I moved back here. Gotta have the green chili. For me it's as regular as onions.

[janx]

67. JohnD's in ABQ--

the next thing to grilling your own. Very good! :hi:

[bullwinkle428]

30. Any opinions here as to how Five Guys compares with In-N-Out on the West Coast?

They seem to use In-N-Out's ultra-stipped-down menu as a template for their business model...just curious how they stack up.

[rvablue]

41. Shame on you, Bullwinkle!

I used to live in CA and miss In-N-Out just as much as anything!


Do not compare them to anyone!! :P

[Tangerine LaBamba]

52. No comparison -

In-N-Out wins, hands down. Five Guys always was vastly overrated - they started in our fair little city - and they haven't improved. In-N-Out wasn't as great as it used to be last time I was there, maybe three years ago, but their burgers were much, much better.

Frankly, I have no idea who ever thought Five Guys made a good burger. Maybe people who never had a good burger?

[Sal Minella]

33. And if he wasn't eating burgers, the United Beefgrowers Coalition would be

screaming to the high heavens, so he can't win.

[LeftyMom]

40. See, this is why I voted for Kucinich in the primary.

;)

[RamboLiberal]

44. Read this week he likes Burger King as well

Pittsburgh Steeler Hines Ward related his 30 minute chat with President Obama as they assembled the USO kits for troops.

What kind of small talk does one have for 30 minutes with a sitting president?

"I asked him about his basketball skills, was he a basketball player and stuff like that," Ward said. "He called me the happiest guy in the NFL and we both chuckled about it. ... I asked him: 'Is there any downtime for the president?' I'm thinking the president works 24 hours in a day. He told me the little downtime he had.

"I asked him about his kids, how they were relating, how they are reacting to the whole as far as you being president, because they're young. About his wife. I've heard he likes Burger King, so I asked him, 'One day I heard a story when you actually stood in line.' He loves Burger King."

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09147/972878-66.stm#ixzz0GvvoZ1Lf&B

[janx]

59. haha...no quote from Obama and no quotes that can be attributed

to anyone. :rofl:

The state of US pop journalism.

[AlinPA]

45. The slime at AP will trash him for anything he does. The first line is AP garbage.

[Sequoia]

47. If he comes to California he can try IN-AND-OUR Burgers ! !

Sure beats Chimpy's White Wonder Bread and Kraft cheese sandwiches for lunch. Ick !!

[Sequoia]

60. Bush misses seeing G.I.'s, White House food

Flying on Air Force One, eating meals prepared by the White House kitchen staff

Ha...replying to myself. This AJC has a video of President Obama ordering the burgers.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/US_Bush_Speech.html?cxntlid=homepage_tab_newstab&imw=Y

[BuyingThyme]

48. I've never been to a place where I can get jalapenos on my burger.

I hope we get one of them Five Guys.

[Sequoia]

63. Long ago Carl's Jr. had them (California).

They were my favorite.

[BuyingThyme]

68. I remember those commercials,but I never tried one.

[armyowalgreens]

49. In n Out Burger or nothing. Obama is a commie.

[Political Tiger]

50. What kind of mustard did he ask for?

That's what's really important! ;)

[Canuckistanian]

51. So, what, maybe three hamburgers in five months?

Have all the country's problems been solved with nothing left to report?

[Bonn1997]

56. If you work out hard and have a fast metabolism, you can eat junk at times. I'm the same way.

[underpants]

65. I am too

couldn't lose weight even though I was training for and ran a marathon

Diagnosed with hypothryoid condition

I've run 3 marathons now (pre-training for #4 starts this weekend) and I HUFF down food when I am training.

Burn> eat

Oldest story in the world

[flvegan]

66. In a previous life, he was Mayor McCheese.

Robble robble.