President Obama and former President Bill Clinton took over a pricey pasta palace in Greenwich Village for a private lunch yesterday as the Secret Service guarded the doors, and traffic on local streets came to a standstill.
Obama was chauffeured to Il Mulino on West Third Street to see Clinton after delivering a speech on Wall Street. The two men — who exchanged bitter words during the 2008 Democratic primary campaign — gave only hints about how they spent the 90-minute meal.
“We had fish, pasta and salad. It was very healthy,” said Clinton, who has reformed from his jalapeño-cheeseburger days. “Even I was healthy.”
But The Post has learned that Obama ate capellini with shrimp and clams. Clinton chose a branzino, or European sea bass, special, which at Il Mulino is usually stuffed with garlic and rosemary. They drank water.
The two presidents had a table — and the room — to themselves. The restaurant was closed to other diners.
“You get a little jittery down your spine,” the maitre d’ said.
“They were very private.”
No one dished on the size of the check. The Zagat guide lists an average Mulino meal for one person, plus one drink and tip, at $87.
“I assume we split the bill,” Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said afterward.
“Most of the conversation was about the economy, particularly the global economy,” but they also chatted about health care, Gibbs said. “I think President Obama values the type of advice that President Clinton has.”
As the two presidents left the restaurant, the staff was given a small metal box of Whitman’s chocolates with the presidential seal on it. “It was an experience of a lifetime. It was a great thrill,” the owner told The Post.
Additional reporting by Charles Hurt in Washington