A meatloaf inspired by Donald Trump? Head to this local Columbus restaurant for a taste

If you want to eat like a certain former president, look no further than a restaurant in downtown Columbus.

Ruth Ann’s Restaurant serves meatloaf claiming to be the recipe used by former President Donald Trump’s mother.

Mary Heisey, owner of Ruth Ann’s, said the staff was prompted to make a dish the former president liked when it was announced that Trump would be appearing at the Georgia GOP Convention in Columbus last summer.

After some research, Heisey found Trump liked meatloaf and found a recipe online claiming to be that of “Mama Trump.”

Heisey said Ruth Ann’s was considered for a possible Trump visit and the Secret Service conducted a site analysis. However, the former president decided to visit a Waffle House in Columbus.

So, Heisey and some friends went to the Waffle House to see Trump and the meatloaf came along.

After Trump got done talking, people with Heisey started yelling out, “President Trump, we made your mom’s meatloaf,” Heisey said.

Heisey said Trump then spoke with them and said, “Put that on the plane.”

They handed over the bag containing the meatloaf, though she’s not sure if he ever ate it.

“I wouldn’t give a random bag of food to my boss,” she quipped. “I think it just made him happy that somebody even thought about it.”

Heisey said she later received a phone call from a friend in Florida saying they thought they saw her in a photo with Trump.

After hopping on Twitter (now named X), she saw posts about the meatloaf. Then people started showing up to the restaurant asking about the meatloaf.

A few months later they introduced their new menu featuring the newly added meatloaf. However, the meatloaf doesn’t tout the “trumploaf” moniker on the menu and is simply titled “Meatloaf.”

Heisey said she received requests from around the country for the restaurant to ship the meatloaf to them, but declined, noting she was not in the “meatloaf shipping business.”

But she did have tee shirts made with the meatloaf’s design - an animated meatloaf on the front with words that read “Trump Loaf” and “Making Meatloaf Great Again.”

The back of the t-shirt shows the recipe they use to make the meatloaf. What’s in the meatloaf?

The recipe includes:

• Two pounds ground beef

• Two garlic cloves

• One green bell pepper

• One red bell pepper

• One Spanish onion

• One large tomato

• ⅓ cup parsley

• Three eggs

• ⅔ cup tomato puree

• ⅔ cup Italian bread crumbs

• One teaspoon pepper

• Two teaspoon salt

“And again, I tell everybody, have I been to Trump’s mother’s home? No I have not,” said Heisey.

Heisey said the authenticity of the recipe is uncertain but said, “I think Trump would enjoy eating our meatloaf.”

This reporter, in the name of journalistic integrity, tested the meatloaf. It was moist and juicy, laced with a savory flavor, a bit of spice and a hint of sweetness and tangy.

“Food is like the great equalizer,” Heisey said. “Everybody eats, everybody likes good food.”