President Obama romanced first lady Michelle Obama at Blue Duck Tavern in DC’s West End. The couple was celebrating their 17th wedding anniversary . . .

. . . Actress Natalie Portman invaded Westend Bistro at the downtown Ritz-Carlton in DC with a gang of more than 20 people. She was later spotted breakfasting at Commissary near Logan Circle.

. . . Who’s the man eating a cheeseburger and sipping Chardonnay at Trio in DC’s Dupont Circle? Shaft (a.k.a. Richard Roundtree)! You’re damn right . . .

. . . Los Angeles Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda celebrated his 82nd birthday at the upscale Italian chain Il Mulino in downtown DC. Joining the party were Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig, Dodgers manager Joe Torre, and Nationals owner Mark Lerner . . .

. . . Bill Clinton, democratic operative Terry McAuliffe, former national security advisor Sandy Berger, BET billionaire Bob Johnson, and Florida congressman Kendrick Meek crashed an MSNBC party with Chris Matthews and Andrea Mitchell at Cafe Milano in Georgetown . . .

. . . Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton supped at one of her family’s old hangouts, the downtown DC Indian restaurant Bombay Club . . .

. . . Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano had a girls’ night out at the Monocle near Union Station . . .

. . . Actor Richard Gere decompressed at the Park Hyatt Washington’s bar, which is adjacent to Blue Duck Tavern. The celebrity Buddhist was in town for the Dalai Lama’s visit . . .

. . . Former Senate majority leader Trent Lott hung out at the downtown DC tavern Shelly’s Back Room . . .

. . . Speak of the House Nancy Pelosi (plus four security guards) picked up takeout at Papa Razzi in Georgetown . . .

. . . Pelosi’s Republican counterpart, House minority leader John Boehner, took a smoke break at the Greek restaurant Cava Mezze on Capitol Hill . . .

. . . Newly minted senator Al Franken has been making the rounds at DC restaurants. He was spotted having dinner at Rasika in Penn Quarter, eating at Georgetown’s Hook with political consultant Mandy Grunwald, and hanging at Charlie Palmer Steak with Senator Maria Cantwell . . .

. . . Comedian Bill Cosby and MSNBC’s Chris Matthews tucked into rockfish and porcini-mushroom risotto at the heavy-hitter Italian mecca Tosca in Penn Quarter . . .

. . . Gabriel Byrne, star of HBO’s In Treatment, lingered over a warm drink at Bar Dupont . . .


. . . Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Clintonite Ricki Seidman dined at Buck’s Fishing & Camping in DC’s Cleveland Park . . .


. . . White House chief of staff (and foodie about town) Rahm Emanuel, director Steven Spielberg, and rocker Bruce Springsteen were spotted dining at Poste in DC’s Penn Quarter. Also in attendance were Emanuel’s family, Spielberg’s wife, Kate Capshaw, and Springsteen’s wife, Patti Scialfa. Emanuel was also seen sampling the fare at Bourbon Steak in the Georgetown Four Seasons Hotel . . .

. . . Second Lady Jill Biden delighted in red wine, French fries, and avocado salad at the wine bar Cork on 14th Street, Northwest. She wined and dined again with a friend at Westend Bistro . . .

. . . We saw Hollywood-actor-turned-White-House-staffer Kal Penn eating a late-night dinner at the low-key Thai Tanic near DC’s Logan Circle. He was also seen eating with a friend at the British-inspired gastropub CommonWealth in Columbia Heights . . .

. . . Jerry Seinfeld and his kiddie-cookbook-writer wife, Jessica, were spotted lunching at Cafe Milano in Georgetown.

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