We had gone to see a movie at the West End Cinema in D.C., and were wandering around the area for a nice place to have dinner, knowing it might be dicey since it was a Friday night. Well, we got lucky -- we spotted the Blue Duck Tavern on the corner of 24th and M Streets, on the ground floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel, and got one of the last few tables available. I had expected a decent dinner, but what we got was much much more than that!!! (Click here to see their website.)
From the moment we entered the restaurant, we were treated very warmly by the staff, despite the fact that we didn't have reservations. I loved the setup of the restaurant--the first thing you see is the open Pastry Kitchen, with platters of the evening's dessert selections on display. I thought that was clever, especially when you see those humongous apple pies just begging to be eaten, and you knew you just have to have that for dessert! They also have an open kitchen facing the main dining area, and you could see the action in the kitchen and the big table where the dishes are passed onto for finishing touches before they're brought to the diners. I got the impression of a very efficient system, with everyone knowing what they needed to do, calmly and with a smile.
I liked that on the menu, there was a note of thanks to the purveyors and artisans who have enriched the selections with their fresh ingredients - you don't see that very often. So many good choices on the list, making it a bit hard to pick just one for each course, but as soon as I saw "Oven-Roasted Bone Marrow" ($13), I knew what I wanted. I had never had this dish in a restaurant before, except back home in Manila, where a popular beef soup incorporates chunks of marrowed beef bones. Here, the halved bones were roasted to perfection, and you could scrape the marrow onto crostini (on top of a big dab squeezed out of that roasted garlic) and be transported with your first bite.
My hubby had the Watercress and Shaved Fennel Salad, with Ewe's Blue Cheese and Almond Citrus Vinaigrette ($11), which was very good, but not as exciting as my bone marrow.
For my entree I had the Fish of the Day, Whole Roasted Sea Bream ($30)--it was a big fish, expertly roasted and sitting on a delicate butter sauce. They asked if I wanted them to fillet the fish, and I said no, I wanted the whole thing, heads and tails and all. The skin was crispy and well-seasoned, and the flesh was so juicy and fresh it hardly needed that great-tasting sauce. Of course, I couldn't finish the whole thing even if I wanted to--it was just too big; besides I was thinking of that apple pie with my name on it in the pastry kitchen.
Hubby had the Braised Beef Rib with House-Made Steak Sauce ($24), a big chunk of falling-off-the-bone beef resting on a long, flat single rib. It was pleasingly flavorful and very satisfying. As a side dish, we had the Daily Harvest Vegetable ($9), an ample selection of roasted veggies.
And then came the pièce de resistance--the Apple Pie! ($9) I hardly had any space left for it after my two not-so-small dishes, but I just had to have a couple of bites -- the crust was crispy and crunchy, and the apples inside were perfectly caramelized. We doggy-bagged the left-over pie, and enjoyed it the next day!
You can now easily guess that I would highly recommend this restaurant, and we will definitely go back for another treat. I think their charcuterie selections are exciting, which included a "Confit of Lamb Belly," "Chamomile-Poached Sweetbreads," and "Brulee of Foie Gras" that I really would like to try. Bon Appetit!
I googled the Blue Duck and was not surprised to learn that they have won many culinary awards, on top of which they got rave reviews from such notables as Tom Sietsema and Bon Appetit Magazine.Click here to see their website.
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