Thursday, February 20, 7:00 P.M.
Members $85, guests $110

When Equinox opened in 1999, Washingtonians—er, make that everyone—took notice. Todd Gray was a chef to watch, particularly because of his previous post as executive chef of Roberto Donna's nationally known, award-winning Italian restaurant, Galileo. For seven years Gray ran that kitchen, and under his watch, Galileo snagged a Beard Award for Best Restaurant. So when Gray took leave to open his own place, everyone wondered if it was Gray that had made Galileo, or if it was the restaurant that carried the chef. We didn't have to wait long for an answer. Equinox topped everyone's list as the year's best new restaurant, and three years later, Gray is still hitting the mark with solid American cooking that relies on wonderful ingredients and simple preparations. In naming Equinox to Esquire's 1999 list of Best New Restaurants, John Mariani wrote, "Gray's cooking makes this place buzz. His food is vibrant, his ideas sound, his instincts unerring."

His résumé is strong, too. Gray got his start at La Petite Auberge in Fredericksburg, Virginia. After graduating from the CIA, he traveled west, working in the acclaimed kitchens of Patina and L'Orangerie. Gray returned home to the D.C. area, and settled in for a four-year stint with Robert Grault at La Colline. Beginning his Galileo career as saucier, he went on to become the restaurant's only American-born executive chef. While at Galileo, Gray stage-ed in restaurants throughout Italy to immerse himself in authentic Italian cooking. And in the States, he would often stage at The Watergate Hotel with Jean-Louis Palladin and at Restaurant Daniel here in New York to expand his culinary horizons. So when it was time to break out on his own, Gray had the heavy-hitting experience necessary to wow the critics and win over the dining public. To Gray, it's a simple recipe that "pays homage to the seasons and stays true to classical foundations in tandem with keeping the food simple, comprehensible and intelligent." It works for The Washington Post's Tom Sietsema, who "wanted to order everything in sight" the last time he was there. "Just about everything was of the moment; the hardest part was deciding what not to order," he wrote, peppering his review with words like "spare," "thoughtful," and "delicious" to describe Gray's "inspired" American fare.