82 replies to this topic

[DonRocks]

Wow - nice evening for Equinox (and their special guests)!

I think Todd and Ellen might want to stock up on all the ingredients that went into creating "The Obama Meal," and sooner rather than later.

Cheers,
Rocks.

[ladi kai lemoni]

I think Todd and Ellen might want to stock up on all the ingredients that went into creating "The Obama Meal," and sooner rather than later.

Cheers,
Rocks.

Good luck getting a table here now..

[mr food]

First visit tonight-what should I expect? What should I order?

[JHG]

First visit tonight-what should I expect? What should I order?

If my experience Saturday was any indication, great things! As much fun as visiting the hottest new opening may be, there's something to be said for a restaurant that's comfortable in its own skin. I think Equinox is an exmplar of poise, confidence and fidelity to vision while avoiding stasis.

The seasonally driven menu means you're unlikely to select a clunker, but I can personally vouch for the shad roe (more texturally and flavorfully complex than most fish eggs), the veal ravioloni (delicate pouches holding big flavor hits) and the bannana-citrus parfait. I wasn't overwhelmed by the rockfish or chocolate truffle cake, but this may be due to the vastly lower novelty factors attached to those dishes.

Depending on the size and mood of your party, I might seek out a table in the more intimate wine room adjoining the main dining room. Expect attentive, knowledgable & welcoming service!

[mr food]

We were indeed in the wine room. Todd came out and tasted a few of the 1st growths we were drinking-a very pleasant guy devoid of chefishness). Overall, I give the food an A- and service A+ (Colin from Maine). A quail salad was a total nonstarter with little flavor then yellowfin tuna (isn't this an endangered fish?) which was perfect. . My entree was the veal ravioli which was delicious, my wife's was the sirloin which was pedestrian at best. We had the parfait for dessert which was also delicious.

[deangold]

yellowfin tuna (isn't this an endangered fish?)

Yellowfin stocks are in decent shape and there is a sustainable harvest amount. The issue with yellowfin is that the fish should be line caught and not long line which involves a huge amount of by catch and habitat damage. US fleets maintain proceedures designed to reduce the damage and are considered a "good alternative" on most sustainability lists.

[Ericandblueboy]

The menu online is exactly what's served at the restaurant, no off menu specials. So we picked from 6 appetizers and 6 entrees, none of which were particularly appealing to me. We settled for cream sweet corn soup with crab meat, which turned out to be fantastic. My wife's crab cake starter was also fantastic, with mildly sweet crab meat. The fried green tomato that came with the crab cake had no flavor and resembled a hockey puck. The entrees were decidedly less fantastic. Neither the duck breast nor the black angus beef had much flavor - needed seasoning for sure. The duck confit was nice as was the beef hash that came with the steak. Overall, not very exciting food even if they were perfectly exectued (in this case they weren't). I'm more or less writing off both restaurants on that block (the other being Oval Room).

[Elyssa]

Todd Kliman said on Twitter that the kitchen and private dining room of Equinox burned down last night. Does anyone have any details?

How horrible for Chef Grey and his staff. Equinox is one of my favorite restaurants in town. I hope they recover soon.

More info on the Equinox fire here.

[Elyssa]

Todd Kliman said on Twitter that the kitchen and private dining room of Equinox burned down last night. Does anyone have any details?

How horrible for Chef Grey and his staff. Equinox is one of my favorite restaurants in town. I hope they recover soon.

More info on the Equinox fire here.

The Washingtonian has talked to Ellen Gray and it appears as if Chef Gray is already in the kitchen at Aria cooking up a storm. If folks have a reservation at Equinox in the coming days it will be honored and I urge you to keep your reservation. Chef Gray's cooking will be amazing, regardless of where he is serving.

[kirite]

How awful!! We have reservations for the 28th and intend to keep them. Does anyone know if they will be automatically transferred to the Aria venue?

[Elyssa]

How awful!! We have reservations for the 28th and intend to keep them. Does anyone know if they will be automatically transferred to the Aria venue?

I'm also curious about this...how does one restaurant "move in" with another one. Is Aria still in business? Will they be splitting the restaurant down the middle or something. How does this work?

[Roberto Donna]

I hope everyone will support Equinox in this moment of need! Todd I wish you the best and be strong!

[jparrott]

I'm also curious about this...how does one restaurant "move in" with another one. Is Aria still in business? Will they be splitting the restaurant down the middle or something. How does this work?

According to various blog posts, Chef Gray is using a banquet kitchen and ~65-seat private dining room at Aria/Reagan Building. I know that Mr. Gray used to have some sort of advisory relationship with the Reagan Building staff...not sure if this is still true.

[kirite]

Tim Carmen has posted a long interview with Ellen at Equinox, and it is not at all clear that they will continue to serve at Aria. Damages are now estimated at $300,000. I reserved a table at Equinox on Open Table for December 28, but when I tried to cancel, Open Table said to call the restaurant. When I called, no one answered. Until I cancel, Open Table will not allow me to make another reservation on the 28th at another restaurant.

[leleboo]

Until I cancel, Open Table will not allow me to make another reservation on the 28th at another restaurant.

Call -- or if they have no customer service number, email -- Open Table. The automated service has no way of knowing what happened, and it's possibe there's not a human being who's lately been paying attention to the Equinox fire -- and they do that with the time frames to prevent people booking several restaurants and then leaving all but one with an unfilled reservation, essentially.

[Tim Carman]

Here's the full interview with Ellen Kassoff Gray. The damage is more extensive than previously reported. She's not sure when Equinox will reopen, but she guesses in about six weeks, depending on the availability of materials for construction. In the meantime, if you have questions you can e-mail her directly at ellen@equinoxrestaurant.com.

[Tim Carman]

The latest from Todd and Ellen Gray at Equinox. Big hassles and big plans for the scheduled spring reopening.

[agm]

According to the "Zagat Buzz" email I just got, Equinox is open again.

"Back with a lighter, brighter, elegantly modern look, Equinox, the top-flight New American just steps from the White House, has reopened some five months after a pre-Christmas kitchen fire. New innovations on chef-owner Todd Gray’s menu include shareable starter renditions of his most popular dishes, plus über-seasonal sides to accompany a roster of grilled or roasted meats and fish, while the decor has been redone with soft pendant lights, textured tile walls and etched glass dividers. The wine room, popular for intimate private dinners, is now encased in art glass, and the new bar sports two beer taps. "

[dcandohio]

My generous students gave me a gift certificate to Equinox, and as soon as reservations were accepted post-fire, I booked. We dines on Friday before the 4th of July holiday. At 7:00, the restaurant was nearly empty. This is a shame. Maybe folks are not aware that Equinox has risen from the ashes already, or maybe the regulars had skipped town for the long weekend. But if you have not been since the fire, GO.

We had the eggplant fries (I think that was the name - fried eggplant sticks) from the "for the table" part of the menu. As my SO said, "if our table had more than the two of us no one else would be getting any of these fries." I then had the soft shell crab appetizer, served on a black eye pea "salad" of some sort. The crab was really sweet and fresh, and the pea salad was tart enough to serve as the acidic foil for the fried crab. It was a large serving - and had I known it was so substantial, I might have ordered it as my main course. As it was, I ordered the Carolina trout on a corn relish. The skin on the trout was perfectly crisp but the flesh was moist. It's really, really easy to screw up trout, but this was perfect - three generous pieces. SO had the crudo (sashimi? I can't remember how it was listed) and the halibut. I tasted both, and both were just wonderful. Oh, and we added a side of the cauliflower. And a Sancerre. No room for dessert.

The service was gracious and friendly. The room (the glass enclosed sun porch overlooking the outdoors) was quiet and relaxed. Overall, it was one of the nicer food experiences I've had in DC. WIth fairly gentle pricing (entrees under $30, for the most part) for an experience of this caliber, this is surely one of the best values in the city, too.

[Banco]

2:00 today after a rather harrowing dental appointment, and I wandered into Equinox for lunch at the bar.

After a post-dental Martini I had the Pepita Crusted Tenderloin of Pork with Sweet Potato Latke, Wilted Red Swiss Chard, and Green Peppercorn Jus. The pork was medium rare, which is usually underdone for my taste but in this case was perfect. Sliced in medallions, it was mounded on a latke which had been assertively but judiciously seasoned. The jus was excellent, which is why I could have used a bit more of it, so quickly did it congeal amid the heat of the other ingredients on the plate. I also would have wished for more of a green peppercorn flavor, but these are quibbles. The Swiss chard was ennobled by its preparation and made me want to learn how to give a similar treatment to this vegetable, which as a West Coast boy I never grew up with. A domestic Cabernet Franc whose details I cannot recall went perfectly with this dish. The bartender at first tasted from a bottle that had only a glass or two left in it, thought the better of it, and opened a new one for me, which I appreciated. Dessert was Pear Sorbet, Almond Cake, and Jasmine Coulis. This looked somewhat thrown together but was very good and well balanced.

I was there at end of the lunch hour as the suits were departing and the staff were busy getting ready for a catering event at Union Station. Nevertheless I was made to feel at home.

As I ended up telling the solicitous bartender after he kindly allowed me to discuss the weather with him, it was the first time I had been to Equinox since the Clinton Administration. It made a better impression this time around.

[Sthitch]

The pork was... mounded on a latke

Something just does not seem right with this, I just cannot quite put my goyish nogl on it...

[Banco]

Something just does not seem right with this, I just cannot quite put my goyish nogl on it...

Celebrate diversity!

[zoramargolis]

Something just does not seem right with this, I just cannot quite put my goyish nogl on it...

Obviously in honor of the first candle tonight. Mrs. Gray's maiden name suggests that she may be from among the chosen. There's an old joke: a guy goes to a friend's house for the first time and goes into the kitchen. "Why do you have THREE refrigerators?" he asks. The friend shrugs, as if the answer is obvious. "One is for meat, one is for dairy. And the third one is for treyf." It's a very old tradition.

[Michael Landrum]

Something just does not seem right with this, I just cannot quite put my goyish nogl on it...

Sounds like something out of Die Vergewaltigung der Rheingoldbergs...

Wotan Forever!

[cibo matto]

is it spring yet? well, perhaps we're shy of the vernal equinox, but one thing is clear: shad roe has arrived on the lunch menu. it's sprinkled with pistachios -- a nice touch. my first of the season and it's as divine as ever.

get there!

[Twinsdaddy]

Obviously in honor of the first candle tonight. Mrs. Gray's maiden name suggests that she may be from among the chosen. There's an old joke: a guy goes to a friend's house for the first time and goes into the kitchen. "Why do you have THREE refrigerators?" he asks. The friend shrugs, as if the answer is obvious. "One is for meat, one is for dairy. And the third one is for treyf." It's a very old tradition.

LOL. Here's another oldie (whether it's a goodie is up to you):

Lady in the shtetl walks up to the local rabbi and says, "Rabbi, why can't we eat pork?" The rabbi says, "We can't? Uh-oh."

[DonRocks]

LOL. Here's another oldie (whether it's a goodie is up to you):

Lady in the shtetl walks up to the local rabbi and says, "Rabbi, why can't we eat pork?" The rabbi says, "We can't? Uh-oh."

I'll regret straying from topic, but you guys need to read (the very short story) "A Yom Kippur Scandal" by Sholom Aleichem.

[Twinsdaddy]

I'll regret straying from topic, but you guys need to read (the very short story) "A Yom Kippur Scandal" by Sholom Aleichem.

I will!

Getting back to the topic at hand, my brother and I had appys at the Equinox bar a few weeks ago. Can't remember specifics, but the food was very rich and very good.

[New Foodie]

Although there was really nothing wrong with our meal at Equinox last night, I came away more lukewarm, and thinking if I was going to spend that amount ($12-15 apps and $30-35 entrees), I'd prefer to go elsewhere around town (Corduroy comes to mind).

I do have to give our waiter credit though for reading the table well. It was a group of six 30 year old women out for a holiday dinner, and in a lively mood. He gave us room when we needed it without being gone too long, and even played along with us during our conversation on whether Santa wraps presents or not (the table was split 3 to 2 favoring unwrapped).

The meal started with a plate of gourges and what I believe was focaccia. The gourges reminded me of a bigger version of those found at Central and were really great. The focaccia was less so.

Appetizers around the table included:

• Shaved House Cured Lardo ($11 Sweet Potato Biscuits, Hot Mustard) - This is listed under "For the Table," but I got it just for myself. It was 5-6 little biscuits, topped with mustard, a small slice of lardo, and a very thin slice of radish. The biscuits were excellent, but between that and the hot mustard, I could hardly taste the lardo at all, which was a little disappointing. This would be a good thing for the table to split though.
• Pan Fried Rappahannock Oysters ($15 Celery-Apple Mousseline, Wilted Baby Spinach, Pineapple Caper Brown Butter) - This was across the table from me so I didn't get a taste, but it looked good. Four plump oysters propped on top of spinach.
• Agnolotti of Roasted Middleburg Chestnuts ($14 Roasted Mushrooms, Marjoram, Truffle Salsify Cream) - Again, didn't get a taste, but the two that had it seemed to enjoy it. They weren't bowled over by the pasta, but liked the flavor.

We obviously didn't branch out enough since we only had two different entrees among the five of us:

• 7 Spice Roasted Peking Duck Breast ($34 Braised Endive, Spaghetti Squash, Candied Kumquats) - Three of us had this and I think we were all a bit disappointed. The waiter recommended it as one of his favorites, but it was just ok. There wasn't much diversity of flavor or texture between the duck, endive, and squash. The duck was cooked a nice medium rare, but there just wasn't anything exciting about the dish.
• Butter Basted Carolina Grouper Filet ($33 Smoked Pine Nut Couscous, Prosciutto di Parma, Parsnip Apple Fondue) - I think the two that ordered this were happier with their entrees. It looked to me like a very good-sized serving of fish, and appeared to be moist and well cooked.

We were too full for dessert, but a plate of treats came out with the check and included a homemade cranberry marshmallow and a sea salt caramel truffle. The caramel was better than the marshmallow, but both were appreciated as a nice way to end the meal.

[DonRocks]

I enjoy Equinox's bar, and have eaten there over the years more times than I can count. That said, this photographer deserves some pretty serious attention from restaurant publicists.

[jiveturk21]

Way back in the day, I want to say 2000 or 2001, I had dinner at Equinox.  I don't remember any specifics of dinner that night, but it was early into my foray of "fine dining" and I remember liking it quite a bit.  I have not returned since that night, for no reason other than there are a ton of restaurants in DC and I want to try them all.

 

So, my father and I went on Friday night for dinner because it is close-ish to Constitution Hall, where we went to go see something later that night.  Even though it was a relatively nice evening, they did not allow us to sit outside when I asked.  They did, however, allow us to sit by the window on the inside, so it gave us sort of an outdoor feel, I guess.  After sitting down, I ordered some Pappy Van Winkle ($16) from the spirit list.  Our waiter came back to me, stated that they had run out of it, but showed me a bottle of Basil Hayden's and said that I could have that for the same price.  It would have been generous of him except for the fact that it was $2 less ($14) on their spirit list than Pappy Van Winkle.  So, I ordered a Sazerac which ended up being so sweet that I let my dad drink it (he has a higher tolerance for terrible drinks than I do).

 

As we started looking through the menu, we realized that a pre-theater menu was not put on our table, so we asked our waiter for it.  He went to get it for us, came back five minutes later without it, and asked us if we were ready to order.  We asked for the pre-theater menu again and he did the same thing again.  So, I walked up to the hostess stand, asked for the pre-theater menu and she gave me two of them.  When our waiter came back around, we ordered from the pre-theater menu ($35) and asked what wines were included in the wine pairing ($12), to which he told us, "You don't want to order those, those wines are terrible."  He then opened up the wine list for us and recommended a bottle of Pinot Noir that would go "perfectly" with our meal.  If I remember correctly, the bottle that he pointed to cost $135.  Whatever.  My dad quickly looked at the menu, ordered something that was much cheaper (I don't remember exactly what it was), and we were thankful that our order was in and that we would have less contact with our waiter the rest of the evening.

 

As bad as the service was (a jackass simply trying to line his pockets), the food was rather good.  The selection on the pre-theater menu was small, but the red pepper soup, hanger steak and pistachio cake were a great deal for $35.

 

In the end, my second visit, 12 or 13 years later, wasn't as good as my first, but minus a bad cocktail and a worse server, Equinox is still putting out good food after all of these years.

[DonRocks]

Way back in the day, I want to say 2000 or 2001, I had dinner at Equinox.  I don't remember any specifics of dinner that night, but it was early into my foray of "fine dining" and I remember liking it quite a bit.  I have not returned since that night, for no reason other than there are a ton of restaurants in DC and I want to try them all.

 

So, my father and I went on Friday night for dinner because it is close-ish to Constitution Hall, where we went to go see something later that night.  Even though it was a relatively nice evening, they did not allow us to sit outside when I asked.  They did, however, allow us to sit by the window on the inside, so it gave us sort of an outdoor feel, I guess.  After sitting down, I ordered some Pappy Van Winkle ($16) from the spirit list.  Our waiter came back to me, stated that they had run out of it, but showed me a bottle of Basil Hayden's and said that I could have that for the same price.  It would have been generous of him except for the fact that it was $2 less ($14) on their spirit list than Pappy Van Winkle.  So, I ordered a Sazerac which ended up being so sweet that I let my dad drink it (he has a higher tolerance for terrible drinks than I do).

 

As we started looking through the menu, we realized that a pre-theater menu was not put on our table, so we asked our waiter for it.  He went to get it for us, came back five minutes later without it, and asked us if we were ready to order.  We asked for the pre-theater menu again and he did the same thing again.  So, I walked up to the hostess stand, asked for the pre-theater menu and she gave me two of them.  When our waiter came back around, we ordered from the pre-theater menu ($35) and asked what wines were included in the wine pairing ($12), to which he told us, "You don't want to order those, those wines are terrible."  He then opened up the wine list for us and recommended a bottle of Pinot Noir that would go "perfectly" with our meal.  If I remember correctly, the bottle that he pointed to cost $135.  Whatever.  My dad quickly looked at the menu, ordered something that was much cheaper (I don't remember exactly what it was), and we were thankful that our order was in and that we would have less contact with our waiter the rest of the evening.

 

As bad as the service was (a jackass simply trying to line his pockets), the food was rather good.  The selection on the pre-theater menu was small, but the red pepper soup, hanger steak and pistachio cake were a great deal for $35.

 

In the end, my second visit, 12 or 13 years later, wasn't as good as my first, but minus a bad cocktail and a worse server, Equinox is still putting out good food after all of these years.

 

What you describe is inexcusable. I wonder what Todd and Ellen would have to say if they knew what this bad apple was doing - if he did it to you, he's done it to others, and he's hurting the restaurant badly. 

 

This is precisely the situation where someone might say, "Well, did you ask to speak with a manager?" What people don't realize is that complaining to a manager about something like this absolutely ruins the entire meal; whereas if you just grin and bear it, you can still enjoy the evening.

[jiveturk21]

What you describe is inexcusable. I wonder what Todd and Ellen would have to say if they knew what this bad apple was doing - if he did it to you, he's done it to others, and he's hurting the restaurant badly. 

 

This is precisely the situation where someone might say, "Well, did you ask to speak with a manager?" What people don't realize is that complaining to a manager about something like this absolutely ruins the entire meal; whereas if you just grin and bear it, you can still enjoy the evening.

 

Don, I agree with you on this.  I have complained to managers in the past and, to be honest, it makes the rest of the night kind of miserable (and wary of the food coming out of the kitchen).  Since my dad doesn't go out to eat often, and never in the city, we just dealt with it and enjoyed the food (and company).  I did consider saying something to the manager after we had dinner, but decided against it.  Then again, I come on this board and bitch about it, so I'm not sure if that is any better.  It basically seems like a lose, lose, lose situation all the way around.

 

I do chalk it up to one bad server though.  I think that he saw two people eating dinner at 5:30 PM and determined that we were rubes and could be bullied into ordering whatever he told us to.