The Candidates Cookbook: Carlos Allen

A special ES Local series, The Candidates Cookbook profiles each of the 2010 D.C. Mayoral candidates — from a foodie’s P.O.V.

I suppose the first question I should have asked Carlos Allen was what he thought of the White House State Dinner for the Indian PM — yes, this is the Carlos Allen who was accused of being the third White House Crasher. But now he wants us to know Carlos Allen as a Democrat running for the office of D.C. Mayor.

Carlos Eats Everything…As Long as It’s on Rice
Allen refers to himself as a “Mikey Eats Everything” kinda guy. “I just love eating all types of food. It wasn’t really hard for my mother to tell me to eat something,” says Allen. “If it was put in front of me, I was like Mikey — he eats everything.”

Originally from Panama, Allen says rice is his favorite food. “Everything else that goes along with the rice tastes good to me. I’m not a very picky person with regards to food but it has to taste good.” Allen wouldn’t commit to any restaurant in the city as his favorite, but emphasized his love of Asian, African and Indian cuisine — “so long as it goes with rice.”

In the Schools
Allen supports the idea of calorie limitations on public school lunch menus, but says personally he’s more concerned with adding some flavor to students’ meals.

“What I would like to do is give our children some cultural diversity on food, so they can actually start to taste other things that are going on in different parts of the world,” says Allen. “We have children who basically have been in the same ward and who have never really gone outside to taste other foods — even in the city — other than the same Burger King, McDonald’s or TGI Friday’s.”

To address this issue, Allen proposes the idea of a Cultural Food Day in the schools that would introduce children to different types of foods.

Trans-D.C.
Responding to the proposed transfat ban, Allen notes that he’s been impressed to see many D.C. eateries already addressing the issue on their own. “I know a lot of restaurants I’ve been to are pushing that they are not using trans fats in their menus,” but as for banning them altogether,  “I would have to do my own studies to know the pros and cons.”

Previously on ES:
The Candidates Cookbook: Dennis Sobin
The Candidates Cookbook: Jason Anderson