The Culinary Inquisition: Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.)

Sweet or salty: Sweet, as you can tell by looking at me.

Tea or coffee: Tea. I’m not old enough to like coffee.

Your cooking specialty: If I have the time, I make the traditional chicken and noodle recipe. I roll out the dough and let the chicken cook in the broth. I make my own noodles. It’s something my children will eat.

Favorite place to power lunch: Café Berlin, as you could guess by the entrée I described. It’s real food. They have the most awesome desserts too. I figure you follow a several-thousand-calorie meal with a several-thousand-calorie dessert.

Have you ever had food poisoning? I’ve had food that didn’t agree with me, but never a full-blown case.

One food that you can’t stomach: I don’t like beef liver. My wife loves to order fried beef liver and fried onion rings. I’ll only eat the onion rings. I do like chicken liver.

A food that is a guilty pleasure: Vanilla ice cream and root beer — a root beer float. It’s enough sugar to fill you up. Dietitians would probably roll their eyes.