I have to agree with Xerxes the Ram, here, much as it pains me to say that I'm agreeing with Xerxes the Ram on anything.
I've checked out several other restaurants of its calibre, and the prices tend to be about $15 to $20 cheaper for the same quantity and quality of food. The alcolhol was certainly overpriced. While I enjoyed it, I've had better, and as my sister Giorgia told us after having had a glass of $15,000 per bottle wine, the higher cost doesn't necessarily mean it's any better. Combine that with knowing what mark-ups are and their generally expensive food and I would say that Equinox should leave it's high-priced wine pairing to places like Inn at Little Washington.
That said, I very much enjoyed the meal itself. The courses were well made, delicately constructed, and beautifully presented. I really appreciate the size of each course -- enough to give you a sense of the dish and to allow you to savor the flavor, but not so much as to make you full and pained at the end of the meal. Mostly, I enjoyed the interesting combinations, like the almond, cheese, and grilled pineapple creation, and the lightness of the flavors. Even the particularly rich foods, like foie gras, didn't weigh on me.
The wait staff was attentive and courteous, and I can tell you that a certain someone enjoyed leaving the table just to see if his napkin would be folded by the time he returned. (It was.) I never felt rushed, and our header waiter was always very patient in explaining things on the menu that were completely foreign to me. There was little wait in between the courses, but not so little that we felt rushed. And, most importantly, even though we didn't all get the same number of courses (which is what they recommend) and one of us had a purely vegetarian selection, he never got anything wrong (and he certainly didn't take anyone's food away).
All in all, I'd moderately recommend it, but only for special occasions, and even then, only if you've never been there before and you just want to try something new. If you have been there before, then I'd just go somewhere new and see what else was out there. There's plenty of it in DC.
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