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Bustos Returns Fire as Taste of America Trash Talk Continues

Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., has issued a call for bipartisanship in the Taste of America competition, even as she took a subtle dig at the portion size of a fellow Midwesterner’s dish of choice.  

After Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, called out Bustos in a recent press release touting Iowa bacon, Bustos responded with a tweet that still managed to slip in a knock at bacon by adding the hashtag, “#itsatoppingnotameal.”

   

Braley issued a colorful statement on Monday about the competition, saying, “Look, I like a good casserole as much as the next guy, and I have a great working relationship with my friend Cheri Bustos from Illinois — but a contest between deep dish pizza and Bacon is no contest at all — bacon wins running away.”  

Braley’s bacon is going head-to-head with Bustos’ deep dish pizza in the final round of this year’s Taste of America competition, which pits state delicacies and comfort food against one another and allows Americans to pick their favorite food.  

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, also got into the trash-talking spirit, touting her homestate’s crustacean-based offering.

   

The winner of the competition will be crowned at the 53rd Annual Congressional Baseball Game next week.  

The final round of voting ends Friday and the dishes include Utah’s cherry cobbler, Oregon’s blackberry pie, Iowa bacon, Illinois’ deep dish pizza, Maine’s lobster roll, Maryland’s crab cakes, Kentucky’s fried chicken and North Carolina’s barbecue.  

Will Braley or Bustos earn bragging rights this year? Or will one of the other members of the Elite Eight come out on top? Only time will tell.  

 

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