Blue Duck Tavern Blog

The Washington Post Awards Us Three Stars!

On Sunday, The Washington Post unveils its Dining Guide Spring 2012, but today we received a sneak peak online. And boy are we glad we did! It's been 5 years since our last review but it was worth wait as we received 3 out of 4 stars with a fantastic review of both our food and service.  

Thank you to both our team at the restaurant and kitchen, and to the paper for this terrific honor! We look forward to welcoming you, our favorite patrons, back again soon.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/profile/dining-guide/blue-duck-tavern,102675,791754.html

 

Park Hyatt Masters of Food & Wine - June 24, 2012

Celebrate the start of summer with an early morning farm-fresh breakfast on Blue Duck Tavern's spacious outdoor terrace surrounded by our bountiful herb garden.  As part of our summer Park Hyatt Masters of Food & Wine program, Executive Chef Sebastien Archambault and Chef de Cuisine John Melfi are hosting a Harvest Breakfast & Market Tour.

Participants of this upcoming Masters event will enjoy an assortment of regional ingredients such as hand-harvested Amish eggs from Path Valley in Pennsylvania and artisan cheese from Everona Dairy in Virginia. The chefs will also prepare a variety of dishes found on their new breakfast menu including Short Rib Hash with Olive Oil Eggs and Horseradish Sauce, and Fried Chicken Liver with Fried Eggs, Anson Mills Grits and Sweet Pepper Relish.

After the breakfast, the group will walk over to the city's most popular Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market to watch the chefs create a Chilled Cucumber and Crab Meat Soup, and Heirloom Tomato Tartar using freshly-sourced goat cheese and basil sorbet, right from the Market. Following the Chef at Market demo, Bernie Prince, co-founder of FRESHFARM Markets will lead the group on a tour of the Market, providing the perfect opportunity to interact with the artisans and to purchase locally-produced vegetables, fruits, baked bread, seafood and cheese.

The Harvest Breakfast & Market Tour is priced at $55, inclusive of tax and gratuities.  For more information or to purchase tickets, please email masters.phwashington@hyatt.com or call +1 202 419 6768.

Our Masters of Food & Wine program supports Hyatt's new philosophy Food. Thoughtfully Sourced. Carefully Served, providing sustainable and responsible food and beverage for our guests.

Blue Duck Tavern Introduces Breakfast

Executive Chef Sebastien Archambault & Chef de Cuisine John Melfi have introduced a new breakfast menu full of tempting southern inspiration.  Anticipate the freshest seasonal ingredients sourced from over 65 regional and all-American purveyors to start off your morning with an 'influential breakfast' of market-to-table fare.

Our desire is to make Blue Duck Tavern a favorite choice for breakfast and a welcoming experience to the neighborhood. Highlights off the new 'influential breakfast' menu include: Wood-Fired Pecan Sticky Buns; Eggs Benedict with Pork Belly and Sauce Choron; Fried Chicken and Waffles; Short Rib Hash with Olive Oil Poached Eggs and Horseradish Sauce; Fried Chicken Liver with Sweet Rella Relish, Fried Eggs, and Smoked Gouda Grits; Blueberry Stacked Pancakes; Brioche Bread Pudding French Toast; Housemade Hot Biscuits and Gravy; and Anson Mills Grits with Smoked Gouda.

Eggs Benedict with Pork Belly and Sauce Choron

Fried Chicken Liver with Fried Eggs, Sweet Rella Relish and Smoked Gouda Grits

And, now during breakfast you'll be able to choose what complimentary newspaper you'd prefer to read, and in what language; and, where you would like to sit in the restaurant, the Lounge, or on the outdoor terrace.  Additionally, we are offering complimentary valet parking and complimentary wireless internet, perfect for those hosting a breakfast meeting, surfing the web, or simply checking email.

Breakfast at Blue Duck Tavern is served Monday through Sunday from 6:30 am - 10:30 am.  For reservations, please visit our website or call +1 202 419 6755.

Fresh Baked Croissants & Muffins

Wood-Fired Pecan Sticky Buns

Mother's Day Brunch at Blue Duck Tavern

Celebrate Mom with our market-fresh Mother's Day Brunch prepared by Chefs Sebastien Archambault & John Melfi.  Brunch is available from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm on Sunday, May 13, and is priced at $90 for adults and $42.50 for children between six and 12 years of age. There is no charge for children under six years of age. 

The three-course spring meal begins with first-course starters set throughout the open kitchen, including seasonal salads, meats, breads and cheese, followed by choice of plated entree and side dishes, and ending with delicious desserts on display in the Pastry Pantry.

Brunch highlights include:
-  Scrambled Eggs with Rock Shrimp with Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, Caramelized Vidalia Onions
-  Prime Rib of Beef with Horseradish and Natural Jus
-  Wood Oven Roasted Cod with Olive Oil Crushed Potatoes, Fava Beans and Champagne Sabayon
-  Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Passion Fruit Tapioca
-  Flourless Chocolate Fondant with Bittersweet Glaze
-  Ricotta Cheesecake with Brandied Cherries

We look forward to seeing you and mom on Sunday, March 13.

Park Hyatt Masters of Food Wine Returns on June 24

Park Hyatt Washington will host Park Hyatt Masters of Food & Wine, a seasonal culinary experience on Sunday, June 24, saluting the tastes, flavors and ingredients of local chefs and artisans.

9:00 am - 12:00 pm     Harvest Breakfast & Market Tour

Celebrate the start of summer with an early-morning harvest breakfast on Blue Duck Tavern's spacious terrace. Gathered around the restaurant's communal wood table, participants will enjoy an assortment of regional ingredients such as hand-harvested Amish eggs from Path Valley, Pennsylvania; dairy products from Trickling Springs Creamery, a Mennonite Source in Pennsylvania; and artisan cheese from Everona Dairy in Virginia. Additionally, guests will be treated to Executive Chef Sebastien Archambault & Chef de Cuisine John Melfi's new arrivals on the breakfast menu, including Short Rib Hash and Horseradish Sauce; and Fried Chicken with Poached Eggs, Grits and Sweet Pepper Relish.

After breakfast, the group will walk a few blocks to the bustling Dupont Circle FRESHFARM Market to watch Chefs Sebastien & John create a Chilled Cucumber and Crab Meat Soup; and Heirloom Tomato Tartar using farm-fresh goat cheese and basil sorbet, sourced directly from the Market. Following the Chef at Market demo, Bernie Prince, co-founder of FRESHFARM Markets will lead the group on a tour of the Dupont Circle Market, providing guests with the opportunity to interact with the local artisans and to purchase locally-produced vegetables, fruit, baked bread and seafood.

Tickets are priced at $55, inclusive of tax and gratuity.  For more information, please call +1 202 419 6768, email masters.phwashington@hyatt.com or visit www.mastersfoodandwine.com.

PHOTOS: Park Hyatt Masters of Food & Wine Cherry Blossom Cooking Class

On Saturday, March 24, as part of the Park Hyatt Masters of Food & Wine, participants joined Pastry Chef Peter Brett for an intimate cooking class gathered inside our Pastry Pantry. The group worked with Chef Peter to prepare a Spring Rhubarb Tart with Almond Crumble and Cherry Blossom Sorbet.

Chef Peter Brett ready to teach and prepare the tart

Rhubarb

Rolling the dough

Adding the rhubarb

After baking for 20 minutes...the finished product

Rhubarb Tart with Almond Crumble, Cherry Blossom Sorbet, Whipped Cream

PHOTOS: Park Hyatt Masters of Food & Wine Spring Lamb Dinner

On Saturday, March 24, guests joined our Executive Chef Sebastien Archambault & Chef de Cuisine John Melfi around the private Chef's Table to indulge in a four-course menu featuring a whole, farm-raised lamb, slowly roasted in the wood-burning oven. The Park Hyatt Masters of Food & Wine dinner was complemented with varietal wines from Hope & Grace in Yountville, CA.

Chef's Table set for dinner

Chef Sebastien pointing to the live video of the lamb cooking in the wood-burning oven

Braised Lamb Shoulder with lemon & tomato confit labneh, lamb consomme, and wood-fired flatbread

Lamb Chop & Meatball with creamy Carolina gold rice, zucchini and coriander oil

Preparing the lamb in the wood-burning oven

Wood-Burning Oven-Roasted Leg of Lamb

Congratulations Peter!

We are delighted to share that our colleague and friend, Peter Brett is nominated for 'Pastry Chef of the Year' by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington! The 'RAMMY' Awards (known as the Oscars of Washington) recognize the best and brightest in the region's restaurant industry.

Other pastry chef nominees include: Cicely Austin (The Oval Room), Fabrice Bendano (Adour), Alison Reed (Ripple), and Susan Wallace (BlackSalt).  The winner will be announced at the 2012 RAMMY Awards Gala on Sunday, June 24.

We'll be anxiously awaiting to hear the winner! In the meantime, stop by the Pastry Pantry to congratulate Peter! We are all so proud of his creative talents and passion, shown everyday at Blue Duck Tavern!

Masters of Food & Wine: Meet Garret Chan, Master Tea Blender

 

We look forward to welcoming Tealeaves' Master Tea Blender Garret Chan at tomorrow's Masters of Food & Wine, 'The Ritual of Tea' class.  Lovers of tea will gain new perspective into the art of making and blending a pot of tea after spending the afternoon with Garret. 

Gathered inside Park Hyatt Washington's intimate Tea Cellar, participants will learn from Garret how to educate the palate to understand the true quality of tea. Additionally, Garret will explain the artisan process of blending to "improve" a beverage; the role tea gardens play in quality; and decipher if certified organic teas and botanicals taste as just as good as the ingredients in the actual teas.

To the tea masters, blending is passion in its purest form, strong and intense yet natural and relentless. To blend tea, one must start from basic principles - to have a deep sense of purpose through the connection with the raw ingredients of tea. Blenders have a deep understanding and appreciation of the origin, culture, intricacies and nuances of each varietal. 

Tealeaves’ team of tea masters create unique blends that instantly stand out from traditional blends - centuries old. Some describe their blenders as eccentric; others describe them as uncompromising visionaries.

Easter Brunch - Sunday, April 8, 2012

Chefs Sebastien Archambault, John Melfi & Peter Brett invite you to join them for a farm-fresh Easter Brunch on Sunday, April 8 from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm.

Celebrate and gather with friends and family while enjoying a three-course, market-fresh menu.  Brunch begins with first course starters set throughout the open kitchen, including fresh salads, meats, breads and cheese, followed by choice of entree and side dishes, and seasonal desserts to complete the holiday feast.

Hightlights off the brunch menu include: Baked Hen Eggs with Duck Confit Hash and Smoked Chili Emulsion (Path Valley, PA); Spring Green Vegetable Risotto with Shaved Parmesan and Arugua (Anson Mills, SC); Veal Paillard with Heirloom Carrots, Sweet Peas, and Morel Mushroom Gravy (Shenandoah Valley, VA); Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes with Coral Aioli (Bayou La Batre, AL); Local Spring Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese, Black Garlic, and Country Ham (Path Valley, PA); Heirloom Grits with Smoked Gouda Cheese and Red Eye Gravy (Anson Mills, SC); Ricotta Cheesecake with Brandied Cherries; Vanilla Bean Custard in Egg Cups; Raspberry Gelee with Mint Syrup; and Pears Poached in Prosecco.

Easter Brunch is priced at $90 per person and $42 for children between the ages of six and twelve; under six are complimentary.  For reservations, please email blueduck.tavern@hyatt.com, call +1 202 419 6755 or visit www.blueducktaverncom.