Bush Treats Putin To Real Texas Dinner

George W. Bush has treated Vladimir Putin to a real Texas dinner. The menu included green salad, mesquite-smoked peppered beef tenderloin, smoked catfish, fire-roasted potatoes with poblano peppers, old-fashioned green peas, toasted bread and corn meal rolls with butter. Dessert consisted of pecan pie and vanilla ice cream. The meal was served with US-made dry wines produced in 1999 and 2000 and eaten to the sounds of country music performed by a Texas swing quintet. Before that, Bush -- dressed in his usual ranch outfit consisting of cowboy boots, jeans and a light gray tarpaulin jacket -- took the wheel of his white Ford F-250 pickup to drive the Russian president to the ranch. Among the 30 guests attending the Wednesday evening dinner in honour of Putin and his wife Lyudmila were several old friends of the US president, including US Commerce Secretary Don Evans, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, world-famed pianist Van Cliburn and professional golf player Ben Crenshaw.