President Obama has been eating his way across America on the '12 campaign trail, and First Lady Michelle Obama took a page from her husband's playbook on Thursday. Fundraising in her hometown of Chicago, Mrs. Obama gave a shout-out to some of her favorite local foods: Pizza from Italian Fiesta Pizzeria and Garrett Popcorn. Speaking to a crowd of a couple hundred supporters at Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios, Mrs. Obama, clad in a cream-colored pantsuit, gushed about the foodie delights she's enjoyed since her girlhood on the South Side. (Above, during her remarks)
"Oh my goodness, let me just tell you, I’m home because I was in the back having some Italian Fiesta pizza," the First Lady said, to applause from the crowd. "And of course they put Garrett Popcorn in my car."
"It’s just wrong," Mrs. Obama added, to laughter. "Just wrong. But it reminds me that I’m home."
Italian Fiesta Pizzeria is located close to where Mrs. Obama grew up, and has been open for more than sixty years. As a girl, Mrs. Obama was rewarded with slices of the thin-crust pizza when she got good grades, and it was a favorite of the Obamas when they lived full-time in the Windy City. Owner Patti Harris-Tubbs and her husband were flown to DC ahead of President Obama's inauguration in 2009 to cook their pies for a preview of inauguration foods at the Ritz-Carlton hotel.
Garrett Popcorn is an iconic Chicago company that's been selling its gourmet popcorn mixes since 1949, and the President has handed out tubs as gifts at the White House. "Every batch is handmade daily and the result is an irresistible snacking sensation which has generated line of historic proportions outside of our retail locations for decades," crows the company website. They ship around the US, of course.
While in Chicago, Mrs. Obama also spoke at a fundraiser at the Lincoln Park home of mega-donor Fred Eychaner, where tickets started at $250, the same price as at the Harpo Studios fundraiser. The First Lady also taped Steve Harvey's daytime talk show while in Chicago. It will air on October 3rd.
Info: Italian Fiesta Pizzeria is at 1400 E. 47th St. Chicago, IL. Phone: 773-684-2222.
*Twitter photo by @abalderrama
