I think Barack knew that he had a God-given palate that was extraordinary. I think that he has never really been challenged culinarily. He’s been bored to death his whole life. He’s just too talented to eat what ordinary people eat.

Losing the foodie vote:

Upon leaving the Michelin-starred restaurant featured in Jiro Dream of Sushi, Abe said Obama proclaimed it the “best sushi I’ve ever had in my life.” So why didn’t he finish it?! According to AFP, the owner of a nearby restaurant claims the president put his chopsticks down at the halfway point in the meal. When questioned, chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga would only say Obama “ate a good amount” and, “I can tell from his expression he was very much satisfied.”

A 2011 documentary, “Jiro Dreams of Sushi” made Jiro’s tiny ten-seat Michelin-rated restaurant world famous. The film tells the life story of the 89-year-old proprietor, which as the title suggests, has been so dedicated to perfecting the art of sushi-making that he dreams of it in the short intervals he actually sleeps. It’s a passion for which he gave up any and all other endeavors. If one can get a reservation in the greatest sushi restaurant in the world and afford the $300 for the meal, Jiro will painstakingly prepare every bite, serving each customer each piece, one by one. He prepares the octopus he serves by massaging it for 45 minutes to an hour. There is no menu except what he sets, serving what’s freshest and best each day. His 50-something son works in his shadow, trained for decades to be worthy of prepping food for his father’s plates.

So, it’s not the kind of thing you’d stop eating halfway through. It’d be glaringly obvious and disrespectful. Not to mention foolhardy and wasteful. If there’s one time to clean your plate, this is it. C’mon, MAN!

The owner of a yakitori (grilled chicken) restaurant that sits in the same basement as the exclusive diner told Tokyo Broadcasting System that Obama had put his chopsticks down at the halfway point.

The man said a sushi chef from the restaurant told him the leaders’ chat was quite formal, the broadcaster said.

Unlike Obama, Abe munched the whole way through the offerings from 88-year-old legend Jiro Ono, who serves around 20 pieces of sushi one by one at the customer’s pace, it said.

Both men emerged from the restaurant to declare the meal had been a success, with Obama telling a crowd of journalists and well-wishers: “That’s some good sushi right there” and Abe saying they had discussed “a wide range of topics in a relaxed atmosphere”.

Chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga refused Thursday to be drawn on exactly how much the US president had eaten, saying only: “It’s true that he ate a good amount”.

I hope it’s not true. The documentary is great, and was until recently streaming on Netflix. Check for it.