What’s the secret behind Mitt Romney’s surge in the Iowa polls? Maybe it’s the food. The former Massachusetts governor has been pulling out all the stops to win this weekend’s Ames Straw Poll, blanketing Iowa with new TV ads and organizing buses to get supporters to the polls on Saturday. But his campaign is also throwing lots of money behind free food. On Wednesday, Romney held one of his "Ask Mitt Anything" town halls at a restaurant outside Iowa City, where prospective Romney supporters were treated to a free buffet. And we’re not talking sandwiches or finger food. Think Las Vegas style: shrimp cocktail, platters of steak, pasta salad, mashed potatoes and at least 10 different kinds of dessert, including strawberry cheesecake, brownies and multi-layer chocolate cake. Compare this to Duncan Hunter, who’s spent the past few days campaigning outside McDonald's restaurants around the state, where sad to say he wasn’t handing out Big Macs.

Wooing voters’ hearts through their stomachs is nothing new, especially in Iowa where presidential candidates are judged not only by their foreign policy skills but by their ability to flip a pancake. But you have to wonder: Are these people showing up for the candidate or for the free lunch? Romney held four food-related events on Wednesday and has five on his schedule today, including two coffees and an ice cream social. No word on what he’s planning to feed his supporters in Ames-though he’s already got competition from Sam Brownback, who’s talked up his barbecue, and Mike Huckabee, who is air-lifting a 150-pound watermelon in from Arkansas.