Sen. Jim Justice and Babydog’s Unlikely War Room: An Outback Steakhouse in a Strip Mall

Sen. Jim Justice’s favorite place to eat steak in the DMV isn’t one of the many swanky restaurants scattered across Washington.

It’s not The Occidental, The Capital Grille or Butterworth’s on Pennsylvania Ave. near his Capitol Hill office. Nor is it Le Diplomate in Logan Circle, or Joe’s Seafood near the White House.

It’s an unassuming Outback Steakhouse tucked in a strip mall in the suburbs of Arlington, Virginia, where he and his constant canine companion, Babydog, a very plump English bulldog, have a regular table.

“We’ve gone back, and we’ve gone back, I don’t know, half a dozen times? And so whenever we got some time, and it’s in the evening, and we all just want to get away, laugh a little bit and everything, we go there,” Justice told NOTUS. “It just seemed kind of at home.”

For the senator, who said he likes to take the 20-minute drive there to think, it’s become somewhat of a war room. He holds what one staffer called “impromptu staff meetings” to discuss legislation and messaging from a corner booth that can accommodate staff, the senator and Babydog.

“Much like JFK wrote part of his inaugural address in a booth at Martins Tavern, Senator Justice has worked on statements / strategy in the booth of the Outback,” the staffer texted NOTUS.

And Babydog loves it too. Justice said she went “absolutely crazy there” her first time there.

“Babydog, above everything in the world, she loves food,” he said, before using one of his favorite sayings: “That’s all there is to it.”

Justice’s home state of West Virginia, where he served as governor, sees some of the nation’s highest poverty rates. Though Justice is wealthy and has been reported by Punchbowl to fly between his home state and D.C. nearly every day that the Senate’s in session, he’s built a reputation around his otherwise surprisingly relatable lifestyle and his affections for chains like Applebee’s. One Washington Post Magazine cover story, written after he acquired a luxury resort in West Virginia, called him “The Richest Regular Guy.”

He succeeded retired Sen. Joe Manchin in January of last year, but Justice is still new in town. New enough that when he and Babydog started pulling up at the Outback with the tell-tale signs of being government officials, he took the staff there by surprise.

“I didn’t know who he was. I just saw a black SUV outside,” said Ken, Justice’s favorite server there, adding that he and his coworkers went to the back to Google the former governor’s name. He added that Justice and his staff are “very nice,” and that Justice tips well. (Justice said Ken is “a wonderful gentleman.”)

Another Outback server said he didn’t know who Justice was, either, and explained that he first noticed the senator visiting with his dog when he saw his patrons getting up to take photos with the pair.

Since then, the restaurant has grown very acquainted with the senator and his dog. Justice calls ahead to request his favorite booth, which now has a framed photo of Justice and Babydog hanging above it. The photo sticks out among the restaurant’s other decor — mainly, stock photos of Australian landscapes and wildlife.

“Without doubt, the greatest Outback! Thanks for taking the best care of myself and Babydog,” Justice wrote on the portrait in silver marker, signing off as “Babydog’s Dad” and drawing a pawprint.

Babydog declined to comment for this piece. But Ken said that he’s grown to like her so much that he hung up his own portrait of Babydog behind the bar, which he usually tends.

“I like the dog, so I care for the dog,” Ken said.

Justice explained that she’s allowed in restaurants because she’s a service dog, and he even pulled out a printed ID card to prove it — with a QR code, an ID number and her face in the top right corner. Is she trained? Not really. But she’s very helpful, Justice insisted.

“Well, she doesn’t do too many specific things. But she is a support — wonderful support, that’s for sure, and she’s been there for lots and lots and lots of people,” he said.

He said that at the Outback, he gets a baked potato and steak, and explained that he feeds Babydog bites of food off his plate, though he only recently learned that onions were toxic for dogs because he shared some of his extra-extra well-done Bloomin’ Onion with her.

“We always get the Bloomin’ Onion, which I love teetotally to death. And so, Babydog was eating a little bit of the onion, and then on the way home, I thought, ‘Well, wait a minute, I better check that,’” he said. “I did. Onions are not good for dogs. But she did good with it, but doesn’t eat onions anymore.”