Restaurants vie for campaign fame

Grits and barbecue. That's what's on the menu for presidential hopefuls looking to make an impression in South Carolina.

The hometown restaurants serving up those dishes are looking for something else: the status that goes with being famous for feeding the famous.

In just a little over a year, South Carolina will host the first Democratic presidential primary in the South, and that means lots of handshaking and tasting the local cuisine for candidates.

Already, potential presidential candidates can be found chowing down with Palmetto State politicos and passing the salt to diners at eateries from Charleston to Greenville.

Sen. Christopher Dodd, for example, a Connecticut Democrat mulling a bid, got his first taste of grits at the Chestnut Grille a month ago, said Marji Albergotti, who runs the Orangeburg restaurant with her father-in-law.

"If someone does turn out to be president, you can always say we fed them breakfast and shook their hand and they sat right here," she said.

On Wednesday, several aides to Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack - who visits South Carolina next week on a tour of early voting states - dined at the Chestnut with Betty Henderson, a county Democratic chairwoman. Wafting on the air was the sweet smell of honey croissants, which the candidate will get to sample at an event Monday.

Presidential candidates could be good for business, said Jim Albergotti, who opened the casual eatery with its dark, woody interior and leather booths 20 years ago.

South Carolina's Jan. 29, 2008, primary is early enough that there should be plenty of candidates still in the running, and all will want to find just the right spot to talk politics.

"I certainly haven't really had to extend an invitation to any of the candidates," said Henderson, who has been fielding calls from potential contenders.

Iowa, whose caucuses kick off the presidential race, and New Hampshire, which jealously guards its first-in-the-nation primary status, have long had culinary must-stops for candidates. There's Mario's in Dubuque, Iowa, for example, and the Merrimack in Manchester.

"It all started with Gary Hart," said Maria Saitas, who has been running the Merrimack with her sister for 26 years. The former Colorado senator was a regular there in 1984, when he surprised most people by defeating Walter Mondale in the New Hampshire primary.

Mondale went on to win the Democratic nomination, however, before losing the general election in a landslide.

The restaurant has since become a place for Republicans and Democrats seeking their own good luck in the Granite State primary. With the candidates come the media, and that's a lot of hungry mouths to feed.

"It's been like that every four years," Saitas said. "We've been very lucky."

Halfway across the state, past cotton and tobacco fields, Angela Brown serves pork seasoned with vinegar and pepper. Her barbecue has long been a favorite of bankers, brick masons, welders, and the local Rotary Club, as well as politicians.

Brown's Barbeque in Kingstree - housed in a long, low white building with a large sign featuring a smiling pig wearing a crown - was visited by former U.S. Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina during the 2004 Democratic race before he won his only presidential primary.

Brown wants more of those visits. "It puts us on the map," she said.

There are some restaurants in the state that already have that political cache. The Beacon, in the heart of mostly Republican Spartanburg County, is a favorite of both parties.

"Everybody goes there" to stump, said Don Fowler, a former Democratic National Committee chairman.

And, Erwin said, you get "the best chili-cheeseburger-a-plenty."

Candidates take note: That's a cheeseburger dripping with chili plopped on a plate of steaming fries and topped with fried onion rings. (next page »)