Come for the tuna tartare, stay for the diplomacy.
While newly elected Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani was a conspicuous no-show at Tuesday’s luncheon at the United Nations General Assembly, the attending world leaders took part in a three-course meal that included tuna tartare, veal osso bucco and chocolate mousse.
There was speculation that Rouhani and President Barack Obama might sit down and break bread together, or at least savor the tuna tartare with avocado, micro rainbow greens and cheese crisp with a grapefruit salad before digging into the veal osso bucco in a truffle-veal jus. The meal also included a selection of Albarino white wine and Malbec red wine.
Perhaps they would have been spurred on to engage in a historic handshake after wrapping up the meal with a nice salted caramel chocolate mousse and biscotti with mango sauce. Instead, the meal will have to wait until another time, as the Iranian delegation did not RSVP and decided to skip the lunch. Earlier on Tuesday, Obama said in a speech that the U.S. and Iran could start down “a long road towards a different relationship — one based on mutual interest and respect.”