Tonight, February 14, Barack and Michelle will host a state dinner in honor of President Hollande. The 7ht state dinner for the Obama’s, the other six state dinners were thrown for India, Mexico, China, Germany, Korea and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.
The White House informs us about the menu:

“The State Dinner celebrates the best of American cuisine. This event highlights the talents of our Nation’s cheese artisans, as well as the bountiful produce grown by farmers across our country.
The First Course, American Osetra Caviar, farmed from the estuaries of Illinois, is paired with quail eggs from Pennsylvania and twelve varieties of potatoes from farms in New York, Idaho, and California.
The Salad Course is petite mixed radish and baby carrots, served on a bed of merlot lettuce with a red wine vinaigrette. The Winter Garden Salad pays tribute to The First Lady’s White House Kitchen Garden. Even when covered with snow, the winter vegetables in the White House Kitchen Garden continue to thrive, and little hints of spring are already starting to sprout.
The Main Course, Dry-aged Rib Eye Beef, is sourced from a family owned farm in Greeley, Colorado and served with a Jasper Hill Farm Blue Cheese crisp from Greensborough, Vermont.
The dessert is a celebration of American traditions and produce. The Chocolate Malted Cake is a modern version of an all- American layer cake presented in a geometric form. This dish combines bittersweet chocolate from Hawaii, tangerines from Florida, and is served à la mode with vanilla ice cream from Pennsylvania.
After dinner, guests can enjoy fudge made from Vermont maple syrup, lavender shortbread cookies, and cotton candy dusted with orange zest.”

I’m not a connoisseur but compared to the food the wine selection struck me as extremely modest:

“Wine Morlet “La Proportion Doree” 2011 Napa Valley, California Chester - Kidder Red Blend 2009 Columbia Valley, Washington Thibaut-Jannison “Blanc de Chardonnay” Monticello, Virginia “

(Read more about the menu here.)

The list of expected attendees is impressive, click here for the list.
The mayor of Philadelphia yes, but no novelists. I bet the honorable monsieur Hollande would have enjoyed a talk with Philip Roth.