FROM THE FOUNDING TABLE TO YOUR KITCHEN
POTUSPLATETHE PRESIDENTIAL TABLEHISTORY IS SERVED.
Presidents/A bigger American table

PRESIDENT 27 · 1909–1913

At the table with
William Howard Taft.

The twenty-seventh president later became Chief Justice of the United States.

Choose a dish ↓
Skillet steak & sweet onions — the black-and-white years

THE HISTORICAL TABLE

Steak could be breakfast, too

Family or White House tradition

White House staff recollections and a 1935 account of Taft’s tastes describe steak as a recurring breakfast, often with potatoes. His appetite was famous, but the useful culinary detail is straightforward: a familiar cut, broiled or grilled, mattered more than novelty.

Our pan-cooked steak with onions follows that preference in a manageable portion. Let the onions soften while the meat cooks, then rest the steak before slicing. Potatoes make a natural accompaniment, whether you call the meal breakfast or dinner.

Behind this story

Pattie Ellicott, “Favorite Foods of Famous Folk,” Washington Post, 31 October 1935, citing White House staff recollections; indexed by The Food Timeline.