Washington, Feb 16 (IANS/EFE): US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, celebrated Valentine's Day here in style with a dinner at acclaimed Spanish chef Jose Andres' MiniBar restaurant.

The president told his aides Thursday morning during an event in Atlanta to promote early childhood education that he needed to get back to Washington because he had a date that night.

During that same appearance, he joked that it was easier to find flowers for the first lady because of his access to the White House Rose Garden, where he frequently gives press conference.

Obama also sent a Valentine's Day greeting to his wife via Twitter and included a link to a black-and-white photo of the couple in their younger years.

The web site for MiniBar, located in Washington's Penn Quarter, says that diners should prepare themselves "for a once-in-a-lifetime experience that pushes the limits of what's possible with food".

Jose Andres has a dozen restaurants in the US and Friday will inaugurate a new cocktail bar named barmini, which will be an extension of MiniBar and pay "homage to the golden era of cocktails and forgotten techniques".