JD Vance’s cheesesteak order, explained

JD Vance’s tumultuous journey since being named as Donald Trump’s running mate has grabbed headlines like nobody’s business, to the point where even his restaurant order is being dissected.

The Ohio senator has, among other things, had to endure rumors of sexual relations with a couch, backtrack on his previous comments about his boss, and suffer the consequences of attacking innocent cat ladies. Now, Vance is attracting even more attention, this time courtesy of his campaign visit to a steakhouse in Philadelphia.

While that seems like a pretty straightforward task without risk of another blunder, Vance has somehow caught even more side-eyes for his order, and it involves a supposedly taboo cheese.

JD Vance’s cheesesteak order, explained

When visiting the Pat’s King of Steaks restaurant in Philadelphia, Vance was seen asking workers why there wasn’t an option for a Swiss cheesesteak on the menu. “I don’t like Swiss cheese, either,” the VP candidate said, “but everyone says it’s ‘insulting.’ Why do you guys hate it so much? What’s the story?”. 

“We don’t hate it,” a Pat’s employee responded, “we just don’t use it.” Vance ultimately excluded Swiss cheese altogether, and instead ordered a cheesesteak with Cheez Whiz and fried onions. Naturally, internet sleuths quickly sought to uncover what the story was behind the restaurant’s aversion to Swiss cheese, which led them to Senator John Kerry’s infamous cheesesteak incident while on the campaign trail, way back in 2003. 

At that time, then-presidential candidate Kerry was also visiting Pat’s — a typical pit stop for most political campaigns — when he asked for Swiss cheese on his cheesesteak, instead of the normal Whiz, Provolone or American options. The response to Kerry’s request was almost uniformly negative, with former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell saying Kerry made a mistake by suggesting Swiss cheese.

“Don’t come into Philadelphia and try to curry favor with us and then order Swiss cheese,” Rendell said,  “which no one does in Philadelphia.” Kerry’s order was also noted by food critic Craig LaBan, who said the menu amendment was “not a cool move” because “Swiss cheese, as any local knows, is not an option.” 

While it’s not yet known whether Vance was directly calling back to the Kerry incident, or simply remarking on the restaurant’s aversion to Swiss cheese, he at least avoided what would’ve been the ultimate sin of chowing down on anything other than Cheez Whiz. He might not have swayed lactose-intolerant voters, but at least he distracted from all the couch chatter (for today).