Pete Buttigieg Occasionally Enjoys South Bend’s Signature Ranch Dressing Mixed with Salsa

Did he lose California or gain Indiana?

In Pete Buttigieg’s town of South Bend, Indiana, local Tex-Mex chain Hacienda is known for its salsa and home-made ranch dressing, which are often mixed together. The combo is beloved in the area, so when asked about his salsa preferences, the presidential candidate played both sides, telling a crowd in Detroit that he will eat salsa and ranch together “under certain circumstances,” even though he is generally a “purist.” Telling everyone what they want to hear without taking a hard stance about anything? A truly presidential move!

According to those in the know, it’s common for customers at Hacienda, and presumably elsewhere, to order ranch and salsa separately and mix them together. Those who did not grow up in places where ranch dressing is basically used like salt weren’t quiet about their dismay, saying that Buttigieg “lost California” with this admission, while others called for police action, a harsh way to react to the sort of food fusion that happens around the country. (Pineapple on pizza? Chili and cinnamon rolls?) Worth noting that Pete Buttigieg used to work for a consulting company that worked with ICE and who has had, at best, a rocky relationship with the Black community, so maybe there are better questions at a Q&A than asking about his dip habits.

And in other news...

• Mayor Pete also called out Uber and McDonald’s for their treatment of gig-economy workers, and wants to guarantee those workers a right to unionize (which they already have, but it’s complicated). [BI]
• Chance the Rapper spent $30k on Postmates over the past five years, which is not as ridiculous as the headlines make it sound. That’s $6k a year, which is $500 a month, which is about $17 a day, which is a reasonable amount to spend on food for someone who is probably on the road a lot and doesn’t always have access to a kitchen! [Page Six]
• Amazon is “quietly exploring” a new grocery chain, separate from Whole Foods, because one omnipresent chain isn’t enough. [NY Times]
• KFC is getting into the taco business. [FoodBeast]
• The Department of Homeland Security is using pineapple pizza as a metaphor for Russian political interference, writing that foreign influencers would hypothetically target a divisive issue (pineapple on pizza), build social media accounts around that issue to distort the conversation, and radicalize people. [Vice]
• Padma Lakshmi is getting a new show on Hulu which will be a “living cookbook, made up more from people and culture than recipes.” [ET]
• A new survey of 497 delivery people reveals that 28% admit to taking food from an order. However, deliverers have plenty complaints of their own as well. [US Foods]
• The woman who popularized the gender reveal party, the fervor for which entire bakeries have been created, now has mixed feelings about it, especially given her gender-nonconforming child. “Gender reveals are really offensive to nonbinary and transgender people,” she said. “When we emphasize gender as the first thing to celebrate about babies, [transgender and nonbinary people] are further marginalized.” [ELLE]
• Starbucks is rising in popularity again. [LA Times]
• What if Robert Mueller were your waiter? [The New Yorker]

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]