Politicians visiting SF for APEC spotted eating at In-N-Out, Mixt

Powerful politicians: They’re just like us. While in town for APEC, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was seen ordering at In-N-Out in a photo posted by Bloomberg reporter Viktoria Dendrinou on X (formerly known as Twitter). 

The photo only shows the back of a woman wearing a tan trench coat ordering at the In-N-Out counter, but a treasury official confirmed to SFGATE that Yellen did indeed visit the Millbrae In-N-Out on Tuesday. She ordered a cheeseburger with onions, fries and a Diet Coke, they added. According to Dendrinou, Yellen stopped at In-N-Out before heading to the airport to greet Chinese President Xi Jinping. 

Special Presidential Envoy John Kerry also visited fast-casual salad chain Mixt while visiting San Francisco for APEC. Mixt marketing representative Liz Geavaras confirmed to SFGATE that Kerry visited the Yerba Buena location of the chain on Monday and ordered its seasonal salad, The Harvest, which comes with mixed greens, grilled chicken, candied pecans, roasted butternut squash, apples, blue cheese, herbs and pomegranate vinaigrette.

“He was very friendly and engaging with our team,” shared Geavaras via email. “And he came to see us twice!”

According to the San Francisco Chronicle (the Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms), Yellen also visited Chez Panisse in Berkeley on Friday. Yellen is a former Bay Area resident, having taught at UC Berkeley for more than two decades, so it’s no surprise she knows the essential eateries in the area. In a recent post on X from Yellen, she referred to the Bay Area as a “second home.”

We may not all spend the day shaking hands with world leaders, but even the secretary of the Treasury still enjoys a fast food cheeseburger for lunch.