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Mike Pence’s Dinner at Chili’s Provokes the Wrath of Twitter

Thousands of restaurants in New York and he had to pick a chain

Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Brenna Houck is a Cities Manager for the Eater network. She previously edited Eater Detroit and reported for Eater. You can follow her on the internet at @brennahouck.

The man tapped to ride in the Donald Trump campaign sidecar this election didn’t earn any points with food-loving New Yorkers this weekend. Mike Pence was in New York for a two-day trip during which Trump named Pence his vice presidential running mate. On Saturday, following a brief speech with Trump, the former former Indiana governor was scheduled to fly home for a brief reprieve before the Republican National Convention. However, his trip took a turn for the worse when his flight was delayed.

As NBC reports, with a few extra hours to kill, Pence and his family decided to grab a quick bite at baby back rib slinger Chili’s near the airport in Teterboro, New Jersey. The meal might have, like so many Chili’s meals before it, gone unnoticed, forgotten. However, this marked occasion deserved documentation by the Pence camp. "Busy weekend in NY! Enjoying a quick dinner with the family at@Chilis. Looking forward to getting back to Indiana," Pence tweeted.

News of Pence’s meal was not received well by the sleeping beast that is Twitter. Within hours "Chili’s" became a trending topic as New Yorkers rushed to criticize Pence’s decision to dine at a chain.

Chili’s also chimed in with its own thoughts on the controversial dining choice:

This is possibly the first food-related social media gaffe for Pence, but his running mate is known for questionable food choices and tweets. Trump, who refuses to touch food with his hands, once got slammed for eating New York pizza with a fork during a meeting with Sarah Palin. He also attempted (and failed) to convince voters that he loves Hispanics by eating a taco salad. Now that Chris Christie is out of the way, perhaps Pence can look forward to picking up Trump’s McDonald’s orders.

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