"'Tis The Season For A Place Such As Equinox"
Washington Times, by Corinna Lothar
September 20, 2001

When Ellen Kassoff Gray talks about her little son, Harrison, her husband, Todd, or their restaurant, Equinox, her big brown eyes light up, her smile is devastating and her enthusiasm is infectious.

Equinox, on Connecticut Avenue between H and I streets, two blocks from the White House, has just completed its second successful year, and the young proprietors look forward eagerly to breaking new ground. Todd Gray is one of Washington's most inventive and talented chefs. Both he and his wife are from this area - he was born in Fredericksburg, Va., but went to school in Washington, and she is a genuine Washingtonian. (They met on Todd's first day as sous chef at Roberto Donna's Galileo when Ellen Kassoff, working for a wholesale food purveyor, tried to sell him some of her company's products. "He was more interested in having dinner with me than buying what I was selling," she says with a chuckle.)

To start the restaurant's third year with fresh ideas, they turned to local cooking. A trip to the Eastern Shore for the Blue Crab Festival and a visit to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels gave them an idea: Why not use those wonderful little clams in a sophisticated dish for a special fall menu?

Mrs. Gray points to the van that has just pulled up in front of the restaurant. Here comes Kay from Stonestill Farm with baskets of beautiful fresh produce - including one containing four different types of grapes just picked. Fish comes from a local supplier and one in Maine; the freshest tuna is supplied by Charlie (that's really his name) in Ocean City.

The Grays started collecting local cookbooks and poring over 19th- and early 20th-century recipes. Mr. Gray began adapting them to his culinery concepts. The result is a special tasting menu that is being introduced just in time for the equinox. It's a five-course tasting meal, available with or without selected accompanying wines. The portions are small so that the diner is not overwhelmed with food and can enjoy the meal to the last bite.

Everything is perfectly prepared. There are no razzle-dazzle presentations here, only sophisticated style and elegance.

"Wine dinners," as they are called, have become almost de rigeur for most of the first class restaurants for special occasions or charitable events. For example, Cafe Atlantico is featuring the wines of Mexico at a six-course Mexican Nuevo Latino dinner created by chef Christy Velie on Oct. 9 ($65) and the 1789 is celebrating Georgetown's 250th anniversary with a five course "gourmet evening of American history featuring regional specialties and domestic vintages ($125) on Nov. 7.

But aside from the special occasion dinner, regular prix fixe tasting menus have become popular at several of Washington's restaurants. Many change their menus daily; some don't have written menus; some are assembled from regular menus dishes at the pleasure of the customer. Most reflect the chef's fancy of the day. Prices range from about $45 for a four-course meal at Tosca (1112 F St. NW) to $110 for Michel Richard's nine-course feast at Citronelle (3000 M St. NW) or Roberto Donna's 11-course extravaganza at his Laboratorio at Galileo (1110 21 St. NW).

At Marcel's (2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW), the tasting menu costs $85; at Teatro Goldoni (1909 K St. NW), a six-course tasting menu is $65; in the kitchen at the chef's table, eight diners get an extra course for $75. Timothy Dean (St. Regis Hotel, 931 16 St. NW) prepares a four- ($65) or five-course ($75) dinner selected from the day's menu items. All are memorable culinary fantasies.

At Equinox, Todd Gray begins his special menu with a slightly spicy crab soup with a tiny dice of vegetables, accompanied by a crisp deep-fried Tidewater clam. The clam is prepared tempura style, rather than the breaded version available on the Eastern Shore; it's light, tasty with only the slightest chewy edge - an haute cuisine version of a country dish.

A miniature thigh and leg of honey-glazed quail rests on a delicate corn fritter, topped with sauteed chanterelle mushrooms. The quail, although not absolutely tender, is delicious; the corn fritter melts in the mouth and the combination of flavors is splendid.

Next comes a small square of wonderful wild rockfish. The fish filet is fresh, tender and delicate. It rests on a bed of pureed butternut squash, a golden autumn splendor. The dish is garnished with fried okra and hazelnut butter incoporated into the puree. The whole dish is perfection; even a non-fish eater would enjoy it.

The meat course consists of sliced rib pork chop, combined with braised kale, sauteed apples and a rich, smooth Calvados sauce. Again, it is a splendidly conceived and executed dish. Pork and apples are traditional companions. Here, the sweetness of the apples and the mild meat merge with the tang of the Calvados and the slight bitterness of the kale in an inspired combination.

By the time dessert arrives you think you couldn't possibly eat another bite. But dessert is a slice of "tippler's torte" with a small scoop of rum raisin ice cream and chocolate sauce. One taste of the delicate, crunchy cake with its light chocolate frosting and lemony undertone, and you'll change your mind quickly.

Coffee is accompanied by house-made, old-fashioned cookies - peanut butter cookies, chocolate cinnamon stars, "crabcakes" of chocolate and coconut and savory "retriever biscuits" (Chesapeake, of course) for the doggy bag, or for the doggie's owner if he or she sees fit.

Almost the same meal will be the menu for the Equinox Fall Harvest Wine Dinner, to be held on the equinox, tomorrow. The piece de resistance will be neither food nor wine but a guest speaker astrologer, "on hand to discuss the autumn night sky and zodiac signs."

It's a great meal and can be paired with wine: Reisling with the first course, an Oregon pinot noir with the rockfish (interesting idea), a California Santa Cruz mountain red with the meat and a French sauternes with dessert.

There is nothing pedestrian about Todd Gray's work in the kitchen; he is an artist. It is a pleasure to eat his inventive dishes and to savor the products from the region. The only pity is that it's all over so quickly.

WHEN YOU GO

RESTAURANT: Equinox, 818 Connecticut Ave. NW, 202/331-8118
HOURS: Lunch Monday to Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner Monday to Thursday 5:30 to 10 p.m., Saturday 5:30 to 10:30 p.m., Sunday 5 to 9 p.m.
PRICE: Chef's tasting menu $85 with wine, $65 without
CREDIT CARDS: All major cards
PARKING: Metered street parking; $4 validated parking in the garage next door

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