The Potus Diet: 17 U.S. Presidents and Their All-Time Favorite Foods

Franklin D. Roosevelt – Grilled cheese sandwiches

FDR’s first presidential mandate occurred in challenging times, when the troubled nation had to be helped out of the Depression. The hard times during which he had to govern left him with little time to focus on eating. This, however, doesn’t mean he didn’t eat at all. He mostly enjoyed soup and classic American foods such as grilled cheese sandwiches, hot dogs and fruits.

According to “The Presidential Cookbook: Feeding the Roosevelts and Their Guests” by Henrietta Nesbitt, he was served clear soups for dinner and cream soups for lunch, and he especially loved fish soups, as well as green turtle soup.

Harry S. Truman – Well-done steak

“The buck stops here.” is a phrase popularized by President Harry S. Truman, who reportedly used it frequently during his term. The dishes that stopped on his table most likely included fried or roast chicken, which reflected his childhood on a farm.

He liked his steak to be cooked well-done and did not appreciate picky eaters, as he explained in one of his letters: “Learned in the army to eat what could be obtained and like it. In my outfit when a man kicked about the food, he was given a chance to improve it. That soon cured the kickers and they took what was put before them and liked it.”