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- Trump once complained that the steak he was served at his Washington, DC, hotel restaurant was too small.
- The steakhouse’s former top chef told The Washingtonian that Trump said his steak was smaller than the one served to his dinner companion.
- “It was the same steak. Both well done. Maybe it was a half ounce bigger or something, I don’t know,” he said.
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Former President Donald Trump once complained that a steak he was served at his Washington, DC hotel restaurant was smaller than the one given to his table companion, the steakhouse’s former executive chef told The Washingtonian.
Bill Williamson, then the chef of BLT Prime at the Trump International Hotel, said the two steaks were virtually identical.
“It was the same steak. Both well done. Maybe it was a half ounce bigger or something, I don’t know,” Williamson said.
But after Trump’s complaint, Williamson switched from serving the president a filet mignon or bone-in rib eye to a 40-ounce tomahawk, which is larger than all the other steaks currently offered on the restaurant’s menu. The restaurant reportedly also ordered special, extra-large shrimp for Trump’s appetizer dish.
Former first lady Melania Trump was also known to be picky with her food. Williamson said she once returned a plate of Dover sole, a fish that’s priced at $64 on the menu, because it was topped with chives and parsley.
Trump always sat at the same table at the center of the dining room, which was always reserved for him and his inner circle, and ate the same meal every time he visited the restaurant, The Washingtonian reported.
Immediately after he was seated, a waiter would offer him a small bottle of hand sanitizer and ask him whether he'd like his Diet Coke with or without ice. Then the server would open the drink, according to a seven-step instruction manual The Washingtonian obtained, in front of Trump.
The former president would have two popovers, then jumbo shrimp cocktail, his signature well-done steak, and fries. He'd sometimes have either apple pie or chocolate cake for dessert. Trump also required that an assortment of snacks and sweets, including Lay's Sour Cream & Onion Flavored Potato Chips, Milky Way and Snickers bars, be laid out for him.
Trump's red meat and fast food-heavy diet has long attracted attention. His former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, wrote that Trump would regularly devour a 2,400-calorie McDonald's meal consisting of two Big Mac burgers, two Filet-O-Fish sandwiches, and a chocolate milkshake on the campaign trail. In the White House, Trump would often be served two scoops of ice cream with his dessert, while his guests received one scoop.