Parks and Recreation: Everything Ron Swanson Has Eaten
This piece originally ran in May 2013. It has been updated in advance of the Parks and Recreation series finale tomorrow, February 24.
Ron Swanson’s love affair with meat is one of this past decade’s great TV romances. But Parks and Recreation fans might be surprised to learn that Swanson hasn’t only shoved charred mammal flesh down his gullet in seven seasons of the show. There have also been peppers, pretzels, and, in one bizarre scenario, a salad. There’s only one thing more impressive than Ron Swanson’s mustache: his appetite.
Bacon-wrapped shrimp ("my No. 1 favorite food, wrapped around my No. 3 favorite food") at a banquet honoring Leslie's mom.
And a perfectly reasonable slice of cake.
A French fry at a local diner.
Pancake, eggs, a biscuit, gravy, and sausage from a strip-club breakfast buffet.
A deviled egg he made himself.
Mexican bean soup.
A pepper.
A fruit tart.
A 16-ounce T-bone and a 24-ounce porterhouse. He calls it "turf-and-turf."
Crackers, fruit, and cheese at a meeting of former parks-department heads.
A piece of bacon from a plate of breakfast food.
A bacon-wrapped turkey leg, or a "Swanson."
A meat tornado burrito from Big Head Joe's.
A birthday spread provided by Leslie.
A soft, salty pretzel.
Forty percent of a little girl's lunch, which he took in order to show her how taxes work.
A burger for breakfast to stave off a hang-over.
A cruller.
And a powdered-sugar doughnut.
A salad, eaten while under the spell of Tammy One.
Beans eaten straight from the can.
A whole bunch of ribs.
A porterhouse, rare.
A plate of Swanson ribs.
Something messy that was once wrapped in foil.
Bacon-wrapped shrimp.
Pigs in a blanket and meat on a stick.
A rare porterhouse, baked potato, and rasher of bacon at St. Elmo's in Indianapolis.
An ice-cream cone at Jerry's favorite shop, Sherm's, in Muncie.
Meat from Pawnee caterer Food 4 Eats.
Pretty much everything JJ's Diner makes.
A party platter, which is supposed to serve eight.
A banana-topped burger.
A big, meaty half-sandwich, with chips.
An animal he hunted and spit-roasted, off of a knife.
A single slice of salami.
Some pigs in a blanket.
An entire plate of mini-sandwiches.
His final plate of bacon-wrapped shrimp.
One of Leslie's "prepare for war" cookies.
A nice breakfast sandwich to counter his loneliness.
A succulent bite of meat at Donna's wedding.