"The World's Most Exciting New Restaurants"
Conde Nast Traveler

Equinox, Washington, D.C. - Close enough to the White House for the president to jog over on his lunch hour, the one-year-old Equinox serves up the kind of elegantly inspried American food that might just seduce the First Junk Food Addict away from White Castles and get him interested in white truffles. The decor at this centrally located resaurant is understated-almost, but not quite, to the point of banality. And Todd Gray, who was ther inspried chef at Galileo for seven years, has spruced the place up and breathed new life into the still relevant idea of serving only the freshest of seasonal foods. Start with the room-temperature belon oyster on a bed of pureed parsnips, or the amazing Gulf shrimp in sesame seeds. Then, if you're there during fall or windter, try the breast of Muscovy duck roasted in truffle jus and served with homade chestnut-stuffed ravioli. the desserts are both imaginative and delicious: ginger ice cream with fruit compote and pumpkin cheesecake with candied pumpkin seeds. The wine list is expertly chosen with an emphasis on-you guessed it-American wines. Perfect, patriotic, and presidential fare(202-331-8118;entrees, $16-$25).

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