Equinox

Miss Congeniality of the capital's elite, award-winning dining options. Zero preservatives, zero pretense. Beatific place settings of pure linen, silver. White gossamer draped under slanted glass roof. Good-humored chef strives to make "Mid-Atlantic" the new Burgundian or Alsatian. Miasmic menu reads like a zodiac of Washington's four seasons: crab cakes arrive with the tide, venison for the frosty autumn, flower-strewn spring. Young and old break bread, families come together. Heaven in two words: cheese plate.