Menendez has charged his leadership PAC enormous sums for steakhouse meals, including about $200,000 of his historic Morton’s tab of $374,000. The senator’s single-day spending record at Morton’s was $3,387.95 back in 2010, but he’s enjoyed dozens of $1,000-and-up meals there, including a gathering that cost $1,525 on October 5, 2020, two days after his wedding to Nadine. New Millennium’s treasury has covered the costs for dozens of Menendez’s outings to other Washington prime beef purveyors as well: The Palm, Capital Grille, and Charlie Palmer to name only a few.
Menendez availed himself of significant additional resources from his leadership PAC to dine at a variety of steakhouses in New Jersey and while traveling. He’s made repeat stops at Mastro’s in Beverly Hills, where the Wagyu Tomahawk Chop, the most expensive item on the menu, retails for $240. The price tag for the senator’s full spree of New Millennium–financed steakhouse visits comes to at least $247,000.
New Millennium’s reserves have been further depleted by Menendez’s excursions to sample other culinary delicacies. Judging from his PAC’s balance sheets, Italian is his second-favorite food group after steak. FEC records show nine trips to Cafe Milano in Georgetown, whose habitués include members of Congress, senior government officials, every president since the restaurant opened in 1992 except Donald Trump, and Secret Service agents assigned to protect the VIP diners.