Herald Exposé: What Did Deval Patrick Drink and When Did He Drink It?

Screenshot via Bloomberg Businessweek

The Boston Herald had a—dare we say it—great story today about the way Gov. Deval Patrick let his hair down after the Boston Marathon manhunt ended. Specifically, Patrick got sloshed on Chardonnay while drinking alone and reading on his iPad… or did he? 

Patrick’s account of his day after the manhunt came during a talk he gave at Hubspot, a Cambridge-based company, where he spoke candidly about some of the decisions and difficulties that surrounded the Friday lockdown. Talking about his activities the following Saturday, he told the audience, that he went out to the Berkshires, had a swim, went to a local restaurant and sat in a corner with an ebook on his iPad.

Maggie, who runs the [restaurant] … put me in the corner, me and my book on my iPad, and she starts bringing me things. Some of them edible. In fact all the food was edible. She starts bringing me things to drink as a celebration. And by the end of the meal, I was actually quite drunk, by myself.

The best part of this is that Herald reporter Matt Stout didn’t take the Governor’s word for it, and followed up with the restauranteur herself to confirm the story. But she didn’t! Maggie Merelle, co-owner of the West Stockbridge bistro Rouge, told the Herald that she didn’t think the Governor got that drunk, but she did tell the paper what he was eating and drinking. 

“He wasn’t tipsy. I never would have known,” Merelle said, recalling Patrick had duck confit, french fries, soup, salad and a “glass of chardonnay or two.”

Scandal! What did the Governor drink and when did he drink it? Is the Governor lying about imbibing chardonnay alone in the Berkshires while reading his iPad and eating duck confit in order to boost his … wait, actually what politician would invent that story? Patrick’s just lucky he’s an incumbent in the reasonable state of Massachusetts. Imagine the national conservative press if they got wind that President Obama unwinds by drinking chardonnay with his duck confit alone while reading his iPad. Regular drink-aloner Mitch McConnell would probably try to taunt him into another dinner date. At any rate, great scoop, Boston Herald.