Washington  - US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle had a quiet Valentine's Day dinner at an upscale restaurant in Chicago Saturday night.

The first couple dined at Table Fifty-Two, near the north side of their home city. The restaurant is owned by talk show host Oprah Winfrey's personal chef, Art Smith, and serves traditional Southern cuisine.

The Obamas are spending a long weekend in Chicago, the first break for the president since he took office January 20.

They managed to give the press the slip, briefly and inadvertently. The president's motorcade left for the restaurant before the bus carrying the press circled around the block, politico. com reported.

Table Fifty-Two's menu features buttermilk fried chicken, pan- seared catfish with cheese grits and jambalaya with wild rice. The restaurant's website describes the interiors as cozy, welcoming, rustic and luxurious. It was once a 19th century carriage house and survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 in which hundreds were killed.

Obama will be back at Tuesday, when he is expected to sign into law a 787-billion-dollar economic stimulus bill in Denver, Colorado. dpa