When you like hamburger next best. Photo: Kim Raff/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Do you know what Mitt Romney’s favorite meat is? How about his second favorite meat? I did not, nor did I think I cared — until today. Now, I feel as if I’ve eaten fruit (hot dogs) from the tree of knowledge (the internet). There is no turning back.

Tucked away in a piece on his Senate run in the Washington Examiner is a bit in which Romney — who had an estimated net worth of $250 million during the 2012 presidential race — clearly wanted to show that he’s a man of the people with a casual and completely natural aside:

“My favorite meat is hot dog, by the way. That is my favorite meat,” he told a gathering of supporters as they joined him recently for a casual dinner organized by his campaign.

But what, I must ask — drenched in a cold sweat, overcome with a desperation to know more — is the meat that Mitt Romney likes “next best”:

“My second favorite meat is hamburger. And, everyone says, oh, don’t you prefer steak? It’s like, I know steaks are great, but I like hot dog best, and I like hamburger next best.”

Finally.