Mar-a-Lago Visitor Aghast at Caviar Served With Plastic Spoon

Much like Citizen Kane, President Donald Trump has a stately pleasure-dome in Florida where he goes to escape the constant churn of the news cycle. But unlike Xanadu, an estate that houses the “loot of the world,” Trump’s seaside oasis, Mar-a-Lago, is a place where high-end goods are jumbled together with things you might find in the continental breakfast room of a budget motel. One visitor to the resort’s restaurant documented the high-low dichotomy this weekend on Instagram:

Yes, that’s a cheap-o plastic spoon next to a tin of fine caviar, and those fancy fish eggs were also served with some pretty run-of-the-mill crackers instead of the more traditional blini. This photo immediately went viral, with some commenters mocking the restaurant for its caviar utensil and others criticizing the diner who posted the photo for patronizing Trump’s establishment in the first place.

Eater’s resident caviar connoisseur Ryan Sutton says that “plastic spoons are actually very common for fish roe at high-end retail shops” when they offer samples, and “from a sanitary perspective, when you’re serving tons of guests, this was probably not a terrible decision.” So perhaps the Mar-a-Lago staffers were just trying to keep things as sanitary as possible, especially considering that a health inspector found 15 violations in the Winter White House’s kitchen a few months ago.

While diners at the Mar-a-Lago Club restaurant were scooping up caviar with plastic spoons on Saturday, Trump fans were celebrating the one-year anniversary of his inauguration at a special, $100,000-per couple party next door. The big man himself couldn’t attend the bash, though, because he was stuck in Washington dealing with the aftermath of the federal government shutdown.

On the off-chance that this caviar photo has piqued your interest in dining at Mar-a-Lago, please be advised that Wednesday is “six star seafood night” at the restaurant, where guests can enjoy “an appetizer table, two pound lobsters, freshly grilled fish and meat items, salads and a dessert bar, accompanied by a saxophonist under the stars.”

• Mar-a-Lago’s Restaurant Left One Guest ‘Traumatized’ [The Cut]
• Mar-a-Lago Visitor NOT Impressed By Caviar Served With Plastic Spoons [Jezebel]
• Trump Cancels Mar-a-Lago Appearance Amid Government Shutdown [WSJ]