Questions?

Please contact the Restaurants Associates general manager Douglas Markley at 202.224.9213 or Cups & Company general manager Kathy Chung at 202.224.8083.

Senate Bean Soup

Senate Bean Soup is on the menu of Senate Restaurants every day. The origin of this culinary decree has been lost in antiquity, but there are several oft-repeated legends.

One story has it that Senator Fred Thomas Dubois of Idaho, who served in the Senate from 1901 to 1907, when chairman of the committee that supervised the Senate Restaurants, gaveled through a resolution requiring that Bean Soup be on the menu every day.

Another account attributes the Bean Soup mandate to Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, who expressed his fondness for it in 1903.

Recipe

Take two pounds of Michigan Navy Beans, wash, and run through hot water until beans are white again. Put on fire with four quarts of hot water. Then take one and one-half pounds of smoked ham hocks, boil slowly, approximately three hours in a covered pot. Braise one chopped onion in a little butter, and when light brown, put in Bean Soup. Season with salt and pepper, then serve. Do not add salt until ready to serve. Serves eight.