The Steak George H.W. Bush Loved So Much He Had It Delivered Into The Hospital

U.S. presidents are not only the nation's leaders, they're also political celebrities, and like all celebs, we like to know personal things about them, like the different presidents' favorite food and drinks. That's why we know George H. W. Bush famously disliked broccoli and even banned it from the presidential plane, Air Force One. One of the foods Bush did enjoy was steak, so much so that he had it delivered when he was at the hospital.

Bush's son and fellow president George W. Bush shared the anecdote in his eulogy when his 94-year-old father died in 2018. Speaking about a hospital stay his dad had in recent years, Bush said, "he took great delight when his closest pal, James A. Baker, smuggled a bottle of Grey Goose vodka into his hospital room. Apparently, it paired well with the steak Baker had delivered from Morton's."

Morton's The Steakhouse is an upscale steakhouse founded as a Chicago restaurant in 1978 that now has more than 60 locations. Morton's serves only prime steaks, the highest USDA grade, which it ages for 23 to 28 days and has them cut to its specifications. Bush didn't say which steak his father had in the hospital, but filet mignon, ribeye, New York strip, Tomahawk, and Porterhouse are currently on the menu. The elder Bush had shown his Morton's appreciation before when he hosted a special event for the 2006 opening of a location in Houston, where he and his wife Barbara lived after he was president.

George H.W. Bush liked his steak rare, which would get a thumbs-up from Morton's, which says the best way to eat a good steak is rare or medium-rare. After his passing, the chef at Indiana's Sycamore Hills Golf Club, Bun Lim, told local TV station WANE about making him a New York strip steak (the best kind out there, according to Jacques Pépin) after a golf outing with friends. He said Bush asked for the steak rare, and complimented him on the red wine and mushroom sauce.

Bush also ordered a rare steak when he made a surprise visit to Cattlemen's Steakhouse in Oklahoma City while on the campaign trail in 1992. The then-president chose the T-Bone steak, which he asked for charred but still rare, along with French fries, a salad with Cattlemen's dressing, and a martini on the rocks. The restaurant renamed the steak in Bush's honor, and it remains on the menu today as the Presidential Choice T-Bone Steak.

The Connecticut native also developed a love for a different type of steak, the South's own chicken-fried steak, when he got into the oil business and moved to Texas in 1948. The first time he had it in a restaurant in the Lone Star state, Bush didn't know what to expect. But the breaded and fried steak covered in gravy that you can thank German immigrants for turned into one of his favorite dishes.