Top 5 presidential food favorites

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are

​Happy snow day and Presidents' Day.

Just as the American mosaic is composed of people with different backgrounds and ideas, each of our presidents presents a unique gastronomic portrait.

Let's take a look at five presidential food favorites.

5. Lyndon B. Johnson

The steak reigned in the Johnson White House

​LBJ enjoyed steak so much, he could have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Just after Texas filet mignon was served at his inaugural luncheon, sirloin steak with spinach and potatoes were presented at the private dinner before the grand ball. His preferences seemed to veer toward simple classics: When a huge Texas steak wasn't on the table, Southern fried chicken often was, along with spoonbread, popovers, or other home-baked rolls, as well as old-fashioned homemade ice cream.

Donuts gave the New Deal a sugary punch

​4. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

FDR also had a taste for simple American foods. One of his favorites was doughnuts, and the family had them for breakfast, as well as tea. It seems that Roosevelt was a coffee aficionado.

His choice of coffee was a dark French roast, prepared in the White House kitchens from green coffee beans. A coffee maker was placed on the President's breakfast tray so that he could regulate the brewing to his satisfaction.

-The Presidents' Cookbook, Poppy Cannon and Patricia Brooks

Jefferson was a francophile

​3. Thomas Jefferson

Unlike the previous two, Jefferson was a bit of a food snob. In his four years in Paris, he became fascinated by the French cuisine, making copious notes of dishes he liked so he could serve them back home. In Holland he sampled waffles for the first time and was so pleased he immediately bought a waffle iron. He didn't lose appreciation for food back home in America, though: He was so fond of his Virginia sweet corn that he raised it in his Paris garden.

Eat your vegetables, Mr. President

​2. George H. W. Bush

While Jefferson is known for enjoying fine food, Bush Sr. is known for disliking a particular food--broccoli. "I do not like broccoli, and I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it, and I'm President of the United States and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli," Bush once pronounced to (mostly) cheers and laughter at a news conference. Barbara also revealed that her husband wouldn't eat cauliflower or Brussels sprouts.

NBC

Better bolt everything down before Clinton eats it all

​1. Bill Clinton

Got to give the top spot to Bubba. Bill Clinton's love for fast food and other artery-clogging American favorites captured the hearts of many. His taste in food reflects the kind of diet most people his age and older grew up eating--heavy on the meat, dessert at every meal, and tiny amounts of vegetables. The Saturday Night Live skit in which Bill Clinton makes an impromptu stop at McDonald's while the Secret Service try to keep him from eating everything in sight is a golden oldie and one of the best SNL political skits of all time.

Following his recent bypass surgery, however, the former junk food champion revised his eating habits and is leading a much healthier lifestyle that includes lots of legumes, vegetables, and fruits.