There would be no Times Square pizza for Rick Perry.
On Thursday, Perry took a page from Sarah Palin’s book and traveled to New York to dine with Donald Trump, the reality show star, investor and prominent birther who captured the imagination of the GOP electorate briefly earlier this year.
But this time, Trump avoided the mocking he took after eating pizza with a knife and fork by taking the Texas governor who lives high on the hog to one of New York’s most expensive eateries.
From a CBS News report on Perry’s visit to Trumpland:
Perry huddled with Trump, who aborted his own bid for the GOP nomination earlier this year, at the real estate mogul’s eponymous Trump Tower for more than an hour before his host whisked him off to dine at Jean-Georges Restaurant, a highly-rated – and highly priced — eatery located in another Trump building overlooking Central Park.
No word on exactly what the power couple sampled, but the menu is a long way from the chicken fried steaks that are a culinary emblem of Perry’s home state. According to an online menu, a $98 prix fixe menu gives diners the options of ordering dishes such as Fluke Sashimi with Floral Infused Cherries, Carmelized Foie Gras, and Crunchy Rabbit.
Perry approved.
“It was very good,” Perry told reporters after the meal. “He knows his restaurants.”
Trump — who still likes to drop hints about running as an independent — has been praising Perry for quite a while now, and Perry’s been seeking the backing of the man who’s still not entirely sure about the validity of that long-form birth certificate.
Politico’s James Hohmann reports that despite the mutual admiration society going on between Trump and Perry, the latter may still have his heart set on endorsing a different tea party star:
“Trump likes the Texas governor but is reluctant to endorse a candidate until Sarah Palin’s intentions are known, a source familiar with his thinking tells Morning Score,” Hohmann writes. “He is a big Palin fan.”
