The Gist: http://www.blueducktavern.com
The Why: Sometimes there just isn’t enough time to visit all the restaurants that need to be visited during a short vacation and under those circumstances, particularly when planning around a baseball game (Steven Strausburg’s first home run as it would turn out,) brunch with new friends, dinner with your uncle, and a Kings playoff game one has to make sacrifices…or wake up bright and early for a morning run, drive to DC, and 6:30am visit to the only Molteni range in town and a recently updated breakfast menu offering far more than the standard boring hotel breakfast.
The Reservation: 6:30am – none needed – though I admittedly did contact the restaurant in advance with a very specific request; one accommodated without question – and with a big smile from the chef when I arrived.
The service/setting: Yes, it is in a hotel, but featuring dark woods and a wide open kitchen and pantry where the morning buffet is laid out the space at Blue Duck is anything but generic. Clean lined and warm with plenty of light from floor-to-ceiling windows and with both indoor and outdoor options the restaurant feels rustic and modern at once without feeling forced at all.
Moving next to the service and bearing in mind both the location and clientele at The Hyatt my guess is that the servers are trained to be attentive without being personable, a fine attribute for the well-heeled hotel guests on both sides of me but a bit ‘cold’ to the solo gourmand more interested in the cuisine than ‘the market.’ Taking into account the menu prices, partially influenced by the environs and in part by the sourcing to be sure I guess I would have simply preferred a bit of a smile or some cheer rather than the solemn ‘yes sir’ and ‘no ma’am’ solemnity from my server Sharihan and her team.
The food and drink: Coffee, one appetizer, one main course, two small complimentary pastries, and a special request to go.
Coffee: $5 but replenished before it ever neared empty this aromatic medium roast from Counter Culture was quite good, a bit of cocoa and a lot of fig notes plus a rich mouth-feel thanks to the French Press.
Pastries: Part of the $32 breakfast spread (or “$10 for 3” on the Pastries and Bread menu) but delivered to my table along with a quartet of preserves by one of the runners along with my coffee at no extra charge I did not see any other table receive these so I’m uncertain whether it was a comp or a mistake but either way the warm Blueberry Muffin and Banana Bran Muffin were both quite good; small enough to be eaten in a couple of bites, dense with fruit, and rife with butter – the banana particularly impressive and rich.
Wood Fired Sticky Bun: $8 for two and approximately 3-4 bites each these are the best sticky buns I’ve ever tasted by a rather substantial margin. Light like a beignet but with a golden exterior rendered just a bit crunchy by the smoky maple glaze and nuts…seriously, just order them.
Fried Chicken and Waffles with Steens Pure Cane Syrup: $15 and served on a stainless steel platter this was another excellent dish with both the chicken and the waffles crispy on the exterior and perfectly cooked within – each teaming with buttermilk notes and a great take on the southern sweet meets savory classic. Served with Steens but also with Blis Bourbon Aged Maple syrup available I requested a bit of each and would personally recommend the Blis as it really brought out the brine on the bird while the sugary sweetness of Steen’s personally made me desire-full of some hot sauce.
Apple Pie: $9. Having already mentioned my call ahead request I’ll just admit my gluttony right here and say there was no way I was leaving Blue Duck without trying their famous apple pie and although I guess I did technically ‘leave’ the restaurant before consuming the dessert I was glad the team was willing to assemble one from scratch for me at 7am, bake it, and pack it up in a thermal foil box to help it retain heat – a task it achieved admirably for nearly 2 hours until I sat down on a grassy hill in Logan Circle to enjoy. Featuring a flaky butter crust, tender chunks of granny smith apples, ample cinnamon and brown sugar, plus a drizzle of apricot glaze this pie is every bit as good as the rumors and taken with a to-go cup of the coffee on the sunny hill a near picture perfect scene.
The Verdict: Professional, classy, and featuring high quality locally sourced ingredients in a truly beautiful space it would be hard to find any fault in Blue Duck Tavern save for service that was a bit less warm than the room or food would seemingly command. Certainly not a ‘cheap’ breakfast but undeniably a place where you get what you pay for I wouldn’t consider it an everyday indulgence but I would definitely recommend a visit to anyone considering it and will very likely include it on my list of spots to revisit for lunch, dinner, or perhaps just a dessert (or two) during my next visit to the capital.