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A Valentine's dinner fit for the leader of the free world

By Mary Owen and Stacy St. Clair | Tribune reporters

11:36 PM CST, February 14, 2009

If it's good enough for Oprah Winfrey, it's good enough for the leader of the free world.

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, celebrated Valentine's Day at a Gold Coast restaurant owned by the TV queen's one-time personal chef, Art Smith.

For their first big date since the inauguration, the Obamas selected Table Fifty-Two, an upscale establishment where the menu features decadent southern fare such as pan-seared catfish, low-country shrimp with stone-ground grits and buttermilk fried chicken. Red velvet cake was the dessert special Saturday evening.

Smith, a renowned cookbook author who served Winfrey for 10 years, greeted the couple as they entered the restaurant while fellow diners applauded and cheered. The Obamas smiled and waved before heading to a private dining room on the second floor, patrons said. Their meal lasted for about two hours according to media pool reports.

"Everyone seemed to be in awe. Everyone's phones opened up," said Brandon Byrne, 22, a Northwestern student who was celebrating Valentine's Day at the restaurant.

"It's crazy. You're eating dinner 30 feet from the most famous person in the world."

Located in the former Biggs Mansion carriage house on Elm Street, the 36-seat main dining room embraces its cottage chic decor with a stone bar, hickory flooring and a pressed copper ceiling. Tables are extremely difficult to secure, with diners making Valentine's Day reservations as early as November.

The Obamas' date destination had become a popular parlor game for Chicago foodies, with some assuming they'd hit old favorites such as Spiaggia or Topolobampo.

Outside Topolobampo, Kimberly Blake Fadim sat in her car waiting to see the president.

"I want him to meet me directly so I can personally deliver my résumé," said Fadim, a sandwich delivery driver who'd like to work for the next secretary of health and human services.

The dinner also offered the Obamas a chance to celebrate passage of a $787 billion economic stimulus package he has made a hallmark of his early presidency. In his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday, the president called the measure "a major milestone on our road to recovery."

The massive spending plan cleared Congress Friday largely along party lines. "I will sign this legislation into law shortly," Obama said during his address, "and we'll begin making the immediate investments necessary to put people back to work doing the work America needs done."

Critics said the government is spending too much money and failing to offer enough tax relief.

"Republicans have been supportive of a stimulus plan all along," said Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R- Alaska), who delivered the Republican response.

"Yet, over the past few weeks, a serious difference of opinion has emerged over what an economic recovery plan should include. Democrats, it seems, settled on a random dollar amount in the neighborhood of $1 trillion and then set out to fill the bucket."

mowen@tribune.com

sstclair@tribune.com