Obama’s Tavern Dinner: What Will They Eat?

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Berry Gordy and Elon Musk are expected to stop by the $35K a plate meal

Following a full day of flesh-pressing and fundraising on Thursday, President Barack Obama will break bread at one of Brentwood's trendiest eating spots, Tavern.

The nosh comes courtesy of Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, the creators of two other Los Angeles restaurants Lucques and AOC, and boasts a menu praised for its farmer's market feel. 

It'll be a small affair — just 60 people, each paying $35,800.

Also read: Obama's Back in L.A. — Where Not to Go Today

The eater-in-chief will circulate from table to table. The $38,500 will be split, with the president's campaign receiving $5,000 and the Democratic National Committee getting $30,800. An earlier dinner, also for 60, on the Sony lot has an identical price tag.

No word yet on what the president will eat, but LA Weekly food critic Jonathan Gold has heaped praise on the restaurant's diver scallops and roasted asparagus with polenta and breadcrumb-crusted fried poached egg.

Obama would also apparently do well to save room for the joint's warm beignets and coveted walnut tarts.

 The National Journal reports that Jeffrey Katzenberg, Motown founder Berry Gordy, PayPal cofounder Elon Musk and City National Bank CEO and chairman Russell Goldsmith, are expected to attend the event at Tavern.

Styne and Goin are firmly in the Alice Waters camp, which is good because the food to table proselytizer has real sway at the White House, having previously convinced the First Family to plant a garden on the grounds.

The Brentwood restaurant is a former burger place, Hamburger Hamlet, that Styne and Goin transformed into a significantly more upscale space. There's a bar and lounge area, a dining room and a more casual take-out area and cafe. 

The Los Angeles Times has referred to Tavern's owners as "the food world's equivalent of Lerner and Loewe or Leiber and Stoller," and warned, "woe to anybody who hasn't reserved for dinner well ahead of time."

Obama presumably has secured reservations.

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