Eating With Dan Pfeiffer

The podcaster and ex-Obama staffer on coffee addiction, dumplings for breakfast and life in the White House.

- Lee Tran Lam

You lived in Brazil and Japan as a child. How did you find the food?

I was quite young when I lived in Brazil, but my family ate at a churrascaria almost every weekend and I fell in love with Brazilian food. In Japan, I would take the train to school and would eat the udon and ramen at the train station most days. I loved living in Tokyo and getting to experience life in the big city. My family ate Japanese food as often as possible and it remains one of my favourites.

In your book, Yes We (Still) Can, you said you planned to “go to law school, become a lawyer, probably hate my life”. Why the move into politics?

I kept signing up for more campaigns and delaying law school, because I didn’t want to go out on a loss. I believed the candidate I was waiting for was right around the corner. And he was.