Speaker Hastert dines out

Posted by Jeff Zeleny at 9:06 p.m. CDT

Hours after he was released from the hospital, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) joined other Republicans for dinner Monday evening at the fashionable Cafe Milano restaurant in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood.

Hastert was released Monday from Bethesda Naval Hospital at 2 pm after four days of treatment for a leg infection. Six hours later, he was sitting down to dinner at a table for eight.

When Hastert walked in, heads turned at the restaurant.

Swamp sources report that he was joined by Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-N.Y.), the chairman of the party's Congressional Committee. Also joining Hastert was longtime friend, lobbyist and adviser Dan Mattoon and the speaker's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, as well as a handful of GOP staffers.

Hastert, 64, was admitted to the hospital last Thursday with a case of cellulitis, a skin infection, on his lower left leg and was treated with intravenous antibiotics.

The speaker, dressed in a light blue shirt with dark suspenders, was all smiles as he took his seat on the front porch dining area at Cafe Milano. The Prospect Street restaurant is a favorite in the capital for politicians and media personalities alike.

No word on whether Hastert had his signature Manhattan with cherry juice.