Todd Gray's Watershed

I just got back from a work week in Washington DC.  I love our nation's capitol, especially when all the rats are gone.  And you know of whom I speak.

Our celebrity chef partner in Washington is Todd Gray at his namesake restaurant, Watershed.  I've worked with him and his fun wife Ellen over the past year but I never got a chance to sit down and share a glass of grape juice and some conversation with Todd before this trip.  I always think when someone has achieved the kind of fame he has--especially with his legendary restaurant Equinox-- that they might be a little too big for their chef pants.  Not Todd.  He is down to Earth, and talkative and funny.  Todd had some great stories about a recent James Beard event he participated in that was in the Hamptons.  He said it was so beautiful there and it'd be a great place to live if there weren't so many New Yorkers.  Hah.  He's a great chef and a cool dude.



Shrimp and Grits



Our restaurant, Watershed, is in an emerging neighborhood of DC, in the Northeast quadrant called NoMa (short for North of Massachusetts Avenue).  A couple of years ago angels would've feared to tread there, but now NoMa  is the hottest developing destination in town. There are literally cranes on every block replacing torn down tenements with sleek new offices and snazzy residential spaces.



It Looks Better With People On It



Chef Todd created a seafood-centric concept that's like a drive up the Eastern seabord from Florida to Maine.  Shrimp on Grits, Hushpuppies, BBQ Salmon, Skipjack Chips, Lobster Rolls, Crab Club Sandwiches--shucks, he's even got a raw bar with Oysters, Clams and Mussels.  I personally had the best Crab Cakes I've ever had the pleasure of devouring in 6 seconds.  The finest patio in DC belongs to Watershed, as evidenced by every seat being taken by 7 p.m. in perfect 72 degree weather.

Crafted cocktails are de rigueur these days, and Watershed is no exception.  We have a "cocktail of the week" program, so of course I was duty-bound to try a dozen or so Blueberry Mojitos.  Hey, it was over the course of several days.

Celebrity Chef Driven Kitchens

One of our long term growth strategies is to partner with notable chefs in key cities to stimulate interest, media coverage and customer visits to our restaurants.  This strategy has worked well for us in Minneapolis with Tim McKee at Sea Change, Ryan DePersio at NICO Kitchen + Bar at NJPAC and  Todd Gray at his namesake Watershed in WDC.

The Approaching Storm

This past weekend I had the great fortune of dining around New Orleans (mercifully spared by Hurricane  Isaac) and went to one of the most famous celebrity chef restaurants in the country, Emeril Lagasse's NOLA in the French Quarter.  NOLA has been around for years and I feared that some of the luster may have faded as Emeril's celebrity grew.  Happily, this was not the case.

NOLA's Display Kitchen

The restaurant is wonderfully decorated in a New Orleans Industrial Chic motif with an open kitchen and a dramatic glass elevator that ascends to the primary dining room.  The hostess seemed genuinely glad to see us.  Our service team (there were three of them taking care of two of us) was led by a witty, off-beat and super professional waiter who clearly loved his job-- and everything on the menu.

Starting with perfectly prepared martinis, we enjoyed the lagniappe of tiny brioche rolls that were warm from the oven and very moist, dense cornbread muffins proffered with room temperature butter in a crock.  I usually forego bread but ate one of each with noisy gusto, vowing an extra 30 minutes of cardio in the morning (and which I fulfilled!)  My next course was celery root and beets with lobster chunks, but my companion's soup of cream of Parmigiano-Reggiano and roasted garlic was so good it seemed like proper marriage material.  We finished with a nicely grilled, flavorful sheepshead fillet and Emeril's signature shrimp & grits, which were both stunning.  The ticket before tax and gratuity was under $80-- well worth that price and quite unexpected given the famous name on the marquee.

So I understand better now why our celebrity chef driven kitchens draw in more customers.  It is the talent and the passion and the show business they bring to the industry that elevates a diner's experience from simply enjoying a meal to making it a most memorable excursion into the culinary arts.