Obama Savors Some Very Special Pork
Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) tastes a piece of cheese April 2, 2008 as he visits the Italian Market section of Philadelphia. (Getty Images)
By Shailagh Murray
PHILADELPHIA -- One thing about Sen. Barack Obama: The guy doesn't eat much. He's skinny, as he often describes himself. He's actually lost weight on the campaign trail (now that's a strategy for winning the female vote).
But during a walking tour this morning of the Italian Market here, Obama ate, and ate, and ate some more. And not the hot dogs and fries that he sampled during his Pennsylvania bus tour, but good ole' yuppie food.
In Claudio Specialty Food, he perused the cheese selection and bit into a slice of provolone. "I'm thinking I need some cold cuts," Obama announced, nibbling on the cheese. "The fresh mozzarella sounds good. But I want to try to the salami." He dropped a thin slice into his mouth. "Good stuff," he declared.
Owner Sal Auriemma wrapped up a quarter pound of salami, baked ricotta that Obama compared to pound cake, provolone and mozzarella. He refused to let Obama pay, but the senator insisted, handing Auriemma a $20 bill and waving off the change.
He moved down the street to Di Bruno Bros., a slightly swankier and trendier meat and cheese shop. He sampled the asiago and the Birchrun Blue, a new farmhouse blue made in Chester Springs. "That's good stuff. What else you got for me?" Obama said.
Ezekial Ferguson, one of the workers and a self-described big Obama fan, held out a slice of pata negra, a fancy Spanish ham, explaining that it had only recently been legalized in the United States. "What do you mean just legalized? It's so good it's like a drug or something?" said Obama. "Pretty much, yeah, just wait," said Ferguson.
He explained that the ham came from a type of black-hoofed Iberico wild pig that wanders around eating acorns, "which turn into delicious fat in its muscle tissue, and also make it really healthy for you." That drew a chuckle from the reporters Obama had brought along. "All I know is it tastes good," said Obama. "That was delicious."
Apparently the conditions for aging pata negra were not up to snuff with the USDA until very recently. Now one producer in Spain is licensed to import it. "That fellow's only $99.99 a pound," Ferguson announced. "So I ate a dollar's worth," Obama said.
He settled up for his quarter pound of "Shellbark Shark" goat cheese, priced at $25.99 per pound and produced at a West Chester farm from a herd of 33 purebred Nubian goats. Obama posed for a photo with Ferguson and his workmates, and left with another bag -- and enough food for a pretty fancy picnic lunch.
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