You can have great fun watching your preferred presidential candidate get his or her dander up and go for the opponent’s jugular.
You can also work up an appetite.
As the nation’s $783 billion restaurant industry gets set to tap into an event that’s expected to draw as many viewers as a Super Bowl, the Internet is practically oozing with debate-themed cocktails, Trump-inspired nacho plates and two-for-one Hillary happy hours.
The clever folks at Chowhound asked their readers for debate dinner ideas. They got a boatload back, with clear evidence that politics and food are joined at the hip:
“Give your guests Trump Toupees made entirely out of Cheetos. Not sure what shape the equivalent Hillary-dish would be.”
Meanwhile, the booze will be flowing as the candidates square off. And in Washington, D.C., where happy hours are often already infused with political banter, tonight’s tavern offerings will be bountiful. Washingtonian.com offered readers a smorgasbord of options, including:
- Bar Dupont. Cocktails inspired by the candidates will cost $7 instead of $12.
- Stanton & Greene. The bar’s mixologist will make two special cocktails called “Greatness” and “Progress.” Patrons can choose to watch the debate in either the “blue corner” or the “red corner.”
And the Food52 blog site weighed in with snack ideas for debate-watchers, from chicken fingers and French toast sticks:
“As the nation holds its breath, the nation also makes snacks to munch nervously from 9 P.M. onwards. These snacks serve the purpose of occupying our mouths, chewing a less risky activity than speaking. If you’re watching the debate in a public space, or in a private space among friends and family of different political leanings, it might be smart to put these snacks—rather than your foot—into your mouth. And since what’s going down on the stage will be controversial enough, you may as well make snacks that will not spark their own conflicts. (No blue cheese or cilantro or fennel tonight.)”
