Member of the Week: Jon Tester

Senator Jon Tester

Representing Montana

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Although recent polls give Republican candidate Denny Rehberg a slight edge over Jon Tester, one thing is certain. Tester is no stranger to close races, and certainly isn’t your typical senator. That’s why we’ve put the spotlight on the farmer from Montana as our Member of the Week.

Tester was born in Havre, Montana on August 21, 1956. He grew up on his parents’ farm, and has never lived more than two hours away from it. When he was nine, he tragically lost three fingers in a meat grinder accident, which we assume is not an uncommon injury in Montana. In 1978, he graduated from The University of Great Falls with a B.S. in music.

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After graduating, Tester worked as a music teacher for two years before returning to his family’s farm, which he and his wife still operate today. In the 1980s, they switched from conventional to organic farming, and grow wheat, barley, peas, buckwheat, alfalfa, millet, and lentils.

Tester’s political career began in 1998, when he ran for Montana State Senate. He was elected minority whip for the 2001 session before winning reelection with 71% of the vote in 2002. In 2005, he was elected president of the Montana State Senate. With his election as president, Montana democrats held a majority in the state senate for the first time in nearly a decade. Term limits prevented him from running a third time.

In 2005, he announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate, and in 2006 won the Democratic primary election by more than 25 percentage points. His victory, along with Jim Webb’s of Virginia, was the two closest and last-decided senate races of 2006.

As a senator, he has been assigned to five different committees over the course of his tenure. Tester has been described as “your grandfather’s democrat”—he is pro-gun, anti-big business, and truly devoted to his constituency. Tester has been known to butcher and bring his own meat with him to Washington, and cites Pearl Jam as his favorite band, because they “promote many liberal causes.” As one of the races that may shift the power balance in the US Senate, everyone will be watching this race.

-Ms. Gardzalla is a North Carolina law student with a big Washington-shaped hole in her heart. You can also follow her on Twitter!

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Enjoy our Jon Tester article, check out other Members of the week!

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Our Review of The Pig

Located near the U Street Corridor is a “pork centric” restaurant that has immense respect for the animal it is named after. At The Pig you would be hard pressed to find a dish that does not have pork hiding it in somewhere. As you first sit down to enjoy a meal you are served bread and Swine Butter. It’s an incredibly delicious concoction of butter, pork lard and lavender. It’s not dense or as heavy as you would expect. The texture is almost like a whipped butter. The lavender gives a light, herbal finish on the palate. I liked it so much as I asked for more.

The Pig – Crispy Pig Ears

I started off with the Crispy Pig Ears. It was a warm arugula salad with seared tomatoes. Of course the dressing was a vinaigrette that incorporated bone marrow. Pig ears were sprinkled on top to give every bite a nice salty crunch. It is a very good salad and I highly recommend it.

The Pig – Pork Belly

I went for the Charred Belly next. The tender pork belly was well cooked and sat on top of a puree of celery root and watermelon jam. The jam offered a sweetness that complemented the smokey pork belly.

It seems that every restaurant is doing a Mac & Cheese these days. At The Pig this dish is really something special. The crust is perfect and you can taste a hint of truffle in it. Under the crust is a delicious and rich mac & cheese. There is a good bit of sharpness in the cheeses they use, which are: gruyere, fontina, parmesan and goat cheese.

I finished the meal off with some dessert. I decided to try their Sundae Bloody Sundae. Do you remember at the beginning of the review I mentioned that pig was incorporated in almost every dish? This sundae features a chocolate ice cream with pigs blood in it. It was very, very good. The blood did not alter the taste of the chocolate ice cream. Rather, it gave it a very unique texture; dense and uniform. The bacon peanut brittle that was nestled in the ginger whipped cream was delicious.

All in all I had an excellent meal at The Pig. If you dig on swine you should give them a try. Happy eating!

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