GOP candidate John Kasich just ate a crazy amount of Italian food in the Bronx

Ohio Gov. John Kasich may be trailing in the polls in New York, but at least the Republican presidential candidate is enjoying the food.

On Thursday, Kasich visited a food market on Arthur Ave in the Bronx. He sat down for what the owners thought would be a brief stop. But he had other plans.

First, Kasich ate two plates of spaghetti bolognese, a sandwich with mozzarella, pickles, salami, provolone, and hot peppers.

As a butcher behind the counter named Mike tried to take away his plate of spaghetti, Kasich protested, asking for his plate back.

He then ordered pasta fagioli with cheese and tried some of the antipasto that deli owner David Grecco left on his plate. Kasich turned down the cannoli, though a staffer took some of them to go.

Kasich paused as he tasted the pasta fagioli.

"Mamma mia," he quipped.

"If I lived in the Bronx, I'd eat here every day," Kasich said.

Kasich and spoke at length with Mike, who complimented Kasich on his pronunciation of Italian foods like bruschetta. Mike also told Kasich that the media had unfairly excluded him from coverage.

Business Insider asked Kasich if he always eats like that.

"Yeah, guys gotta eat," the candidate replied.

After Kasich left, Mike said he and Grecco were not expecting Kasich to eat that much food.

"He had a lot," Mike said. "I was just saying to my coworker, 'My god, he was just walloping everything.'"