Oprah joins POTUS for three-hour birthday feast...
President Obama capped his 49th birthday with an intimate dinner on Wednesday night at
graham elliot restaurant in Chicago, minus the
vacationing First Lady but with close friends.
Senior Adviser
Valerie Jarrett, longtime pals
Eric Whittaker and
Marty Nesbitt, and
Oprah Winfrey, accompanied by
Gayle King, joined the President at the River North neighborhood eatery, which promises to wow patrons with "hip music, dynamic gastronomy, and a lively and relaxed atmosphere." The President ventured into chef-owner
Graham Elliot's kitchen after dinner, to meet the chef and his staff, and pose for a photo (
above).
Chef Elliot (wearing the white specs and hat, and standing next to President Obama in the top photo) is beloved--and a bit controversial--in the Windy City, and bills himself as "the country's youngest four star chef." He's currently starring on Fox TV's
MasterChef, and is very media savvy, but resisted tweeting
during the President's 3-hour dinner. But at around 2:00 AM local time, Elliot
tweeted "The GE team was humbled and honored to have the President celebrate his birthday at the restaurant tonight," and posted the photo at top of post.
A crowd of about
75 people waited in the street outside the restaurant throughout the evening, to greet the President post-dinner. He smiled and waved before getting into a waiting SUV at around 10:48 PM (
above). The crowd also got a glimpse of Oprah, who is a longtime Obama family intimate and campaign backer (
at left, leaving the restaurant).Earlier in the day, Mrs. Obama and daughters
Sasha, 9, and
Malia, 12,
phoned the President with birthday greetings.
"Needless to say both those calls were the highlights of his day,” Press Secretary
Robert Gibbs said.
T
he President landed in a rainy Chicago just after 4:30 in the afternoon, for his first visit since Memorial Day. He was greeted by local political notables, including
Governor Pat Quinn and
Mayor Richard Daley, who presented him
with gifts on the runway. After a quick visit to his Hyde Park home, the President was at graham elliot by 7:06 PM local time.
(At left: The President and Jarrett arrive in Chicago)A three-time James Beard Award nominee, as well as the
"culinary director" of the Lollapalooza music fest, Elliot was also a contestant on season 2 of
Top Chef Masters, and has been engaging in a war of words with a local magazine. Elliot describes his "bistronomic" approach as "jovial gastronomy."
The White House connections to
Top Chef are now legion. In addition to assistant White House chef/SPAHFI
Sam Kass appearing
as a guest judge on
Top Chef: DC for the special school lunch episode, as well as host
Tom Colicchio testifying before Congress in support of child nutrition legislation (and helping the First Lady launch
Chefs Move To Schools), the first-ever State Dinner Guest Chef, Chicgo/New York chef
Marcus Samuelsson won season 2 of
Top Chef Masters. Samulesson stars in the most recent
White House food video, with Mrs. Obama and celeb chef
Rachael Ray.
On Thursday evening, the President returns to Washington, after visiting a Ford auto plant and attending three more Democratic fundraisers. On deck: An evening party hosted by real estate mogul
Neil Bluhm at his private home costs $30,400 to attend. In the afternoon, the President will deliver remarks on behalf of Senate Candidate
Alexi Giannoulias at the Palmer House Hilton. Later, the President will deliver remarks at a DNC finance event at the Chicago Cultural Center.
Info: graham elliot is at 217 West Huron Street Chicago, IL 60654-3900. Phone: (312) 624-9975.
*Chef Graham officially "lopped off" his last name, Bowles, from his professional moniker last week, the fab RB from
Eater informs Ob Fo...
Birthday posts: The
First Lady and daughter
Sasha are on
vacation in Spain today, and
phoned the President with birthday wishes, as did daughter Malia. First Dog
Bo accompanied the President to Chicago, after a busy (birth)day at the White House. OFA is holding
"Presidential Birthday Events" for mid-term election volunteer recruitment today, and Mrs. Obama was the spokesperson for a Presidential
birthday card fund raising campaign.
*Updated from first post at 9:18 PM August 4.
*Photos: Top courtesy Graham Elliot; second via Reuters; third via AP.
The guest list so far...
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Update at bottom of post...
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Oprah joins POTUS for three-hour birthday feast...
Chef Elliot (wearing the white specs and hat, and standing next to President Obama in the top photo) is beloved--and a bit controversial--in the Windy City, and bills himself as "the country's youngest four star chef." He's currently starring on Fox TV's MasterChef, and is very media savvy, but resisted tweeting during the President's 3-hour dinner. But at around 2:00 AM local time, Elliot tweeted "The GE team was humbled and honored to have the President celebrate his birthday at the restaurant tonight," and posted the photo at top of post.
75 people waited in the street outside the restaurant throughout the evening, to greet the President post-dinner. He smiled and waved before getting into a waiting SUV at around 10:48 PM (above). The crowd also got a glimpse of Oprah, who is a longtime Obama family intimate and campaign backer (at left, leaving the restaurant).
he President landed in a rainy Chicago just after 4:30 in the afternoon, for his first visit since Memorial Day. He was greeted by local political notables, including Governor Pat Quinn and Mayor Richard Daley, who presented him with gifts on the runway. After a quick visit to his Hyde Park home, the President was at graham elliot by 7:06 PM local time. (At left: The President and Jarrett arrive in Chicago)
President Obama might be without his wife and daughters on his 49th birthday, but First Dog Bo has accompanied him to Chicago. Above, Bo has just landed with the President, and is being led to one of the waiting motorcade vans by Samuel Sutton, the White House's master chief valet. Reuters.
President Obama was without his wife and daughters in Washington, DC today as he marked his 49th birthday. But he received birthday wishes by phone from First Lady Michelle Obama and both his daughters, according to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
esident Obama will be carrying on business as usual today in Washington on his 49th birthday, before traveling to Chicago in the late afternoon for a stag dinner outing with friends, according to the White House.
White House requests "privacy and normality" for mother-daughter trip that includes official visit to Their Majesties King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia
The Let's Move! media strategy is working...
Transcript, below...
