It's President's Day, and while we're all about celebrating the political contributions of our Founding Fathers (and beyond), we're just as interested in exploring how they ate in their day. In many ways, their tastes aren't so much different than ours , and in some cases, they introduced favorites to the mainstream (thanks, Thomas Jefferson!). Read on to find out how you can eat like a president at Atlanta restaurants or in your own kitchen.
George Washington
According to the History Channel, our first president was a fan of hoe cakes, a pancake made with cornmeal and served with butter and honey. Matt Ratcliffe, the executive chef at BLT Steak, shares his own fondness for hoe cakes -- and his recipe -- here.
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Credit: Yvonne Zusel
Abraham Lincoln
Abe had several favorite foods, including apples, bacon and oysters, according to Mental Floss. "Apples," he said, "agree with me… a large per cent of professional men abuse their stomachs by imprudence in drinking and eating, and in that way health is injured and life is shortened." If you're an apple lover, too, check out the perfect Georgia day trip , places to pick your own apples come fall and read about an apple new to Georgia.
If you share a love of oysters with our 16th president, check out six oysters you need to try in Atlanta this year, and if bacon is what does it for you, we bring you some Atlantans who share what they love about the cured meat.
Thomas Jefferson
The primary author of the Declaration of Independence was a proponent of democracy -- and delicious comfort foods. He's responsible for introducing some of our tastiest guilty pleasures to the American palate, including ice cream, macaroni and cheese and champagne, according to Mental Floss.
There are plenty of delicious options in Atlanta to find the foods TJ made popular -- AJC readers recently weighed in on their favorite local mac and cheese, one of the newest entries into the Atlanta ice cream shop arena and how to make your own ice cream sandwiches, and 10 champagne cocktails to sip on around Atlanta.
Jimmy Carter
The home grown president is partial to, well, what you would expect a Southern-raised boy to be partial to -- grits, barbecue ribs, fried chicken and peanuts, according to the White House Family Cookbook. To get your own fix of these Southern dishes, check out Taqueria del Sol's shrimp and grits recipe, our roundup of places to get ribs and two new places to get near-perfect fried chicken in Atlanta.
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Read the AJC Fall Dining Guide, Atlanta Around the Clock, here.
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