After speaking at the opening of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute Monday, President Obama headed to Cambridge for a DNC round table at Area Four. (He traveled by motorcade, not the T.)
“It was an intimate affair of 30 or so people and a wonderful opportunity for us,” says Area Four co-owner
Michael Krupp. The president arrived around 2 p.m., and he brought his appetite. Everyone brought their wallets: Thirty supporters who contributed up to $33,400 dined with the president and his entourage.
Obama ordered the restaurant’s mushroom fontina pizza — “He ate it all,” says Krupp — and also requested “for the road” a carnivore pizza made with bacon, soppressata, and fennel sage sausage. “We’ve been promised he’ll take photos of himself eating it on Air Force One,” Krupp said. (The president also took time between bites to pose with Krupp’s 5-month-old daughter.) Other attendees dined on a Maine lobster roll served on housemade brioche, shaved Brussels sprouts salad, a wood-roasted ribeye salad, and a special pizza made by chef Jeff Pond with lamb, feta, tomato confit, and a lamb drippings sauce. For dessert, there was strawberry lemon shortcake and a peanut butter caramel cookie cake.
The Kendall Square eatery is known for its wood-fired pizza, coffee, baked treats — and sense of humor: On Valentine’s Day, they’ve served “jerked chicken” and “angry pizza” to soothe the lovelorn.
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Those who were hoping to have dinner there Monday were disappointed; the restaurant, which had a large white tent pitched outside the front door during the day, remained closed for the rest of the day. “Hey Boston, looks like we’ll be closing for dinner tonight as well. We’ll see you bright and early tomorrow!” the restaurant tweeted.
More coverage:
• Obama attends fund-raiser at Cambridge restaurant Area Four
• Kennedy Institute can combat ‘cynicism,’ Obama says
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Kara Baskin can be reached at kcbaskin@gmail.com