WASHINGTON — Let them eat steak.
The White House feted French President François Hollande with an exravagant state dinner Tuesday night complete with an impressionist-themed tent, aged rib-eye steaks, and caviar.
But with Hollande in the midst of a mistress scandal and attending stag after dumping First Lady Valérie Trierweiler, there was no dancing on the menu.
Guests gathered under a tent on the White House South Lawn. Despite DC’s chilly weather, it was decorated to look like a scene out of French impressionist Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies.”
The White House chefs didn’t stint, with a menu meant to dazzle their discerning guests. The meal was selected from all corners of the US — even as President Obama at a press conference joked about Hollande’s love of fast food.
Dry-aged Colorado rib-eyes — weighing about 6 ounces raw but somewhat less after being cooked medium-rare, according to an administration official — were presented on each plate.
Osetra Caviar was farm-raised in Illinois estuaries. Quail eggs came from Pennsylvania.
Although First Lady Michelle Obama’s office selected elegant place settings, official White House plates couldn’t be used because the 348 guests dined outside.
The White House florist, who studied in Paris, arranged elaborate bouquets for each table.
Bronx-born Mary J. Blige performed. Guests entered the White House and were greeted in the Blue Room, which features gilded furniture and paintings picked out by President James Monroe.
The guests traveled to the tent in an old-fashioned trolley.
Earlier, Obama welcomed Hollande at an elaborate ceremony with a military honor guard and buglers who played from the South Portico of the White House — while hundreds of guests viewed the spectacle from the lawn.
“Bonjour! That’s the extent of my French,” Obama quipped at the top of his remarks.