The House Bean

So Friday was Keene's last day of his internship on the Hill. Of course, I had to have him check out "The House Bean" - aka the famous bean soup that is sold in the cafeteria at the Capitol every day. 

"According to custom, bean soup must be available on the menu every day in the congressional dining areas. This tradition, which dates back to the early twentieth century, is said to be based on an edict by Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho (or in another version of the story to Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota)."

Keene said his soup was supposed to be vegetarian but the recipe on the Senate website uses ham...so who knows? What did Keene think? Well, he says it was somewhat bland, not necessarily in a bad way, but that it didn't have much flavor staying power. Could have benefitted from some salt and pepper, but you could really taste the celery and carrot. Apparently it wasn't super thick, although a fair part of it seemed to be pureed beans (probably potatoes as the Senate site says). Overall, he gave it a thumbs up!

If any of Y'all want to give the Senate Bean Soup a try, it's perfectly publicly accessible: you don't need a reason to go to Rayburn, so you could just walk in and make for the cafeteria. Anyone up for a field trip this May? :)