Former president Barack Obama and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau met for a casual private dinner last night in Trudeau’s hometown of Montreal, as you’re no doubt aware if you’ve glanced at Twitter today:
The meal practically oozed with bromance: It was at Liverpool House, the seaside-cottage-themed sister of Canada’s Joe Beef; they hugged at the end; and, yes, it involved candles. Chef and co-owner David McMillan was there to personally feed them, and he gave CBC the scoop on what the menu entailed. As expected, mostly seafood — it was six courses that started with oysters, then shrimp, halibut, steak, and spaghetti lobster, followed by strawberry shortcake for dessert.
“They ate everything,” McMillan says. He adds that Trudeau is somewhat of a regular, so Obama asked for his recommendations — which were apparently to just “[l]et them do what they do,” McMillan says. So they stuck pretty much with the usual, only they health-ified things a little by using less butter and cream, since both men seem to watch their figures. Asked if either of them put ketchup “on anything,” McMillan shut the rumor mill down before it could start. “No,” he replied, “I would tell you right away.”
He adds that the scene was a madhouse either way — “Maybe 200 security plus the police, and the streets were blocked.” He’s pretty sure he saw “ninjas” in the restaurant’s backyard, and seems a little disappointed that the two security guys who got kitchen duty didn’t get to taste-test his food “like in the days of Julius Caesar.”
