President Obama Celebrates Debt Deal With Lunch At DC's Good Stuff Eatery

"Michelle eats here all the time," President says as he hosts mid-day celebration at popular DC burger joint...
Earlier this month President Obama said he'd like both "a good hamburger" and a Congressional debt deal as gifts for his 5oth birthday on August 4th, and both his wishes have now come true. To celebrate the successful conclusion of the default drama, the President today treated five White House staffers to lunch at DC burger joint Good Stuff Eatery, departing the White House at 12:25 PM for the short drive to Capitol Hill. The President's lunchmates had "been working nonstop for months on resolving the debt ceiling issue," a White House aide said. (Above: The President and his aides during lunch)

Good Stuff is owned by former Top Chef competitor Spike Mendelsohn, and beloved by Congressional staffers; it also features a "Prez Obama Burger" on the menu. More importantly, it's a favorite haunt for First Lady Obama, who is known to have eaten at Mendelsohn's two DC restaurants at least six times in the last two years.  Mrs. Obama often flies under the radar, so there could have been many more visits. The First Lady is memorialized on the menu with a healthy turkey burger, "The Michelle Melt," which features "South Lawn Herb Garden Mayo."

"It smells good," President Obama, clad in tie and shirtsleeves, told the Good Stuff staffer who took his order at the counter. "Michelle eats here all the time, but I don't get out."

Mendelsohn has also guest cheffed at the White House, and in 2009 told Obama Foodorama that he cooked secret Good Stuff take-out burgers for the President. The joint was mobbed with a lunch crowd as President Obama arrived with OMB Director Jack Lew, Assistant to the President and Director, Legislative Affairs Rob Nabors, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Nancy Ann DeParle, Chief of Staff to the Vice President Bruce Reed and Director of the National Economic Council Gene Sperling.

The President chatted with patrons and posed for photos as he placed his order, and was seen with a burger, fries, bottled water and salad as he sat with his party at a long table by a window on the first floor of the restaurant (rather than, say, a Sugar-Coated Satan Sandwich...wink wink wink). There was a selection of milkshakes on the table, and an extra plate of fries, too. The President paid cash for the order, and also treated a woman standing beside him in line.

The President gifts a little boy with a milkshake...
The President laughed and patted Nabors on the back as the group ate. He chatted with a family seated at the next table, offering Andrew Parker, 11, a choice of one of the milk shakes on his table.

"Choose any milkshake," the President said, according to Parker. "I guarantee this table isn't going to drink them all."

Maddy Parker, 13, told pool she was thrilled because two of her friends had once sat next to the President at a basketball game.

"Now it's Even Steven," she said.

Elsewhere in the restaurant, customers kept on eating, though some jumped up for a chance to shake the President's hand.

"He asked us if he had finished our burgers," said Nora Bessey, an intern at the copyright office.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), was on his way to pick up lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant, and stopped in for a three-minute chat with the President.

"We talked about the difficult vote the other night," Butterfield told reporters outside the eatery. "I explained to him that I didn't vote with him, but I'm glad that it passed. He said he understood."

The President emerged from the restaurant at 1:36, to a crowd crying "Obama!" They spilled over into Mendelsohn's sister eatery next door, We, The Pizza, another favorite haunt for Mrs. Obama. The President shook hands and then headed for his Suburban. After an uneventful ride back to the White House, the President and his staff entered the West Wing at 1:44. He travels to Chicago late this afternoon for a 50th birthday fundraiser, and will celebrate with a private birthday party in the Rose Garden tomorrow. (Above: The President waves to the crowd after lunch)

*Getty photos

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Wednesday Star Turn: Chef Spike Mendelsohn & Maya Soetoro-Ng Join "Let's Read. Let's Move"

Education Secretary Arne Duncan will welcome two authors who have White House connections to the Department of Education in Washington, DC on Wednesday when he hosts the third Let's Read. Let's Move lunchtime storyhour for area kids. Maya Soetoro-Ng, half sister of President Obama, and DC restaurateur Spike Mendelsohn, one of First Lady Obama's favorite local chefs, will make their debut in the summer enrichment series, where they will read children’s books, play games, and participate in fitness activities. (Soetoro-Ng, above)

Let's Read Let's Move is a school vacation component of the First Lady's childhood obesity campaign, launched last summer to prevent reading loss and encourage kids to get fit. It brings together Cabinet members, Administration officials and public figures each week for an hour of fun, and is sponsored by major corporations that donate books, healthy snacks, and fitness gear. Mrs. Obama and her mother, Mrs. Marian Robinson, participated in the series last summer.  Students from Horizons Greater Washington, the HHS/ED Children’s Center, have been invited to this week's event.

“Ladder to the Moon,” Soetoro-Ng's fist picture book, was published by Candlewick Press in April. It is a personal book: The main character is a child named Suhaila, the name of Soetoro-Ng's first daughter, and the tale recounts her magical trip to the moon, where wise "Grandma Annie" teaches her about suffering and humanity on earth. The President and Soetoro-Ng's mother was Stanley Ann Dunham, who died before Suhaila was born, and Soetoro-Ng says the book was inspired by her daughter’s questions about her grandmother.

Mendelsohn has been a repeat White House guest chef, and his two Capitol Hill restaurants, Good Stuff Eatery and We, The Pizza, have enjoyed many visits from Mrs. Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha. A former Top Chef competitor, Mendelsohn's The Good Stuff Cookbook was published in 2010 by John Wiley & Sons. Mendelsohn was an early innovator of Obama Homage Foods, creating the President Obama Burger during the 2008 campaign. He later added the Michelle Melt, a healthy Turkey Burger, to his oeuvre. (Above: Mendelsohn, left, with Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass at the White House)

US Attorney General Eric Holder, NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan joined Duncan at ED headquarters on July 6th to kick off this summer's series. (Above: Duncan, Holder, and Abdul-Jabbar during the event)

This year's corporate partners include Target, which is providing books and healthy snacks for the kids, and Nickelodeon, which is providing cookbooks and pedometers. The YMCA of Metropolitan Washington Physical, Healthy, Drive (PHD) program is contributing staff and resources to conduct games.

The series last summer was called "Let's Read. Let's Move." with periods in its title rather than exclamation points.

Top photo by Tom Gail/Washington post; second by Eddie Gehman Kohan/Obama Foodorama; third by Leslie Williams/Department of Education

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