Tuesday, February 22, 7:00 pm
Members $90, guests $115

Colvin Run Tavern may derive a certain cachet from sharing its tony shopping center setting with neighbors Tiffany and Gucci. But when Bob Kinkead sought a name for the well-appointed eatery, he ignored fickle fashion, looking instead to area history, and hitting on a moniker that conveys a richly storied rootedness. The inspiration behind Colvin Run Tavern’s name lies about five miles west of the restaurant, at the site of a stream and historic gristmill significant in both the Revolutionary and Civil wars. The cuisine, executed by Jeffrey Gaetjen, is modern American. Yet very old-fashioned touch points—like a corn pudding that sent critic Corby Kummer swooning, “I wanted to alert my favorite writers on Southern food and tell them I had found an exemplar of what they had made me hope one day to taste”—moor the cuisine, while showcasing the best of the eastern seaboard’s bounty.

Gaetjen was washing dishes at a Virginia steakhouse when his thoughts first turned to life behind the stove. He learned the ropes as a prep cook for Design Cuisine before attending the CIA. Gaetjen worked for Larry Forgione as lead cook at An American Place, then like many a young chef, he moved to France (though he went, quite uncommonly, to play semi-professional rugby). But the kitchen beckoned, and Gaetjen donned his toque at the Michelin two-star Hôtel de France in Auch. When he returned to the United States, Gaetjen began his tenure with James Beard Foundation Award winner Bob Kinkead as sous chef at 21 Federal in Washington, D.C. He was opening sous-chef at Kinkead’s, where he worked his way up to chef de cuisine and helped secure the celebrated restaurant’s many awards. When his mentor opened Colvin Run Tavern in 2001, Gaetjen was on board. From the get-go, per Kummer, the restaurant “had the feel of a smooth-running, long-established operation…I was impressed with the confidence and flair of the kitchen.”