Republican presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul certainly wants to end the Federal Reserve. But he also has to eat breakfast.

One day after chairing a hearing on proposals to abolish or overhaul the central bank, the Texan congressman sat down for the first meal of the day Wednesday with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, the lawmaker confirmed in a brief interview at the Capitol. The decision to meet for breakfast at the Fed was “mutual,” said Mr. Paul, who last year introduced a bill to eliminate the central bank.

The Fed chief and lawmaker had “sort of an open discussion,” Mr. Paul said, while declining to provide any details of the conversation. “It was off the record,” he said. The Fed declined to comment on the meeting.