Blue Duck Tavern Blog

The Berkel Machine

Did you know that all of the charcuterie we serve is freshly sliced by one of our two red berkel machines - a focal point in both the restaurant and lounge?

In the late 1890's, a Dutch man named Van Berkel, invented the original circular rotating knife machine - today known as a berkel.  In the early 1900's Berkel started Berkel Inc., based in Chicago.  Over a century later, Berkel went from a small, slicer-only operation to a nationwide sales service company offering a full range of slicing machines, scales, saws, mixers, grinders and more.

Each night in the Lounge, we offer sliced meats from the berkel, accompanied by cured olives, marinated artichokes, oil cured tomatoes, cipollini onions, mustard and fresh baked bread with butter from Vermont Butter & Cheese.

A few of our more popular meat plates include:

Mortadella, a smooth textured meat studded with pistachios and a lightly sweet flavor.  Mortadella pairs well with a glass of Flying Fish Merlot.

Prosciutto Americano, a traditional salted, dried and aged ham using only sea salt and antibiotic-free pork. This delicate and simple meat is best served with a glass of our Meritage "Napanook" by Dominus.

Sopressata Picante, a rustic, dry cured salami seasoned with hot pepper.  Guests enjoy it with Cambria Syrah for its black cherry and pepper taste.

New Breakfast Buffet Table

Back by popular demand is our Continental Breakfast Buffet Table, available in the Lounge from 6:30 am - 11:30 am, Monday - Sunday. Priced at $26, guests will enjoy the finest selection of fresh-baked breads, muffins, croissants and pastries; a variety of cereal and yogurt; farm-fresh fruit; and assorted cheese and charcuterie.  Guests will also have their choice of beverage including fresh fruit or vegetable juice, plus coffee, tea, hot chocolate or milk.

     

 

Local Cheese in the Lounge

Did you know that Park Hyatt Washington offers a nightly cheese display in the Lounge, starting at 5:30 pm.  Guests can tempt their palates with the country's finest selection of cheese ranging from Humbolt Fog, a goat's milk from California, to Bayley Hazen Blue, a cow's milk from Vermont to Piedmont, a sheep's milk from right here in Virginia.

Piedmont comes to us from the Everona Dairy in Rapidan, VA, about a 1.5-hour drive from the hotel.  It is Everona's signature cheese - a sheep's milk that is aged to a nutty flavor, with fruity tones, and a sweet aftertaste. It won the Farmhouse category for sheep's milk cheese at the American Cheese Society's annual competition in 2005.  Piedmont is Everona's first cheese produced and probably their most popular, which is why we are delighted to offer it to our guests.

We like to source from Everona as they keep it simple and just produce sheep's milk cheese that is aged, washed-rin and unpasteruized. It's a family business that continues the tradition of artisan cheesemaking while keeping up with the demand of local, farmstead cheeses. To learn more about Everona Dairy and Piedmont, visit www.everonadairy.com.

To sample the Piedmont or any one of the American cheeses on display each evening, we recommend that our guests speak with our in-house cheese connoisseur, Andrew Marrone. Andrew, a graduate of the George Brown Chef School in Toronto, worked in Italy, in a town near Parma, where he gained insight on fine cheese and meats.  He toured the country visiting cheesemakers, butchers, olive oil producers, winemakers and others to really capture the essence of finer foods and cheese. In addition to the Piedmont, Andrew's second favorite American cheese on our menu is Oma, a cow's milk from Mad River Valley, Vermont.  Oma is silky and soft, buttery and earthy with a washed rind.

 

New Seasonal Desserts are on the Menu!

Focusing on this summer's freshest ingredients, the new Blue Duck Tavern Dessert menu is being launched today.  Over the past weeks, pastry chef, Laurent Merdy, has been working with me to source
the best local fruits including peaches, cherries and blueberries to put together a mouth-watering menu of after dinner treats and homemade ice cream and sorbet.  Here are a few of the new additions for you to enjoy this summer:

Key Lime Blueberry Tart - a zesty curd made with fresh key lime juice, eggs, and sugar and placed in a graham crum crust. The tart is topped with a fresh blueberry compote, white chocolate cream and citrus crisp with fresh orange juice, flour, sugar and lemon zest.

Warm Blackberry and Nectarine Crumble - a blend of fresh blackberries and nectarine, cooked with brown sugar and fruit pectin prepared with a walnut, oat and cinnamon crumble and served with a homemade whipped creme fraiche.

Pineapple Macadamia Handcranked Ice Cream - fresh pineapple puree with milk and cream

Plum Sorbet - fresh plum puree with glucose powder

Raspberry Oreo Handcranked Ice Cream - fresh raspberry puree with milk, cream and cookies

 

Grapevine Planting

As part of efforts to support local and sustainable agriculture, employees of Blue Duck Tavern braved the heat yesterday to plant grapevines and tropical flowers in our outdoor garden.

Each summer, the team and I plant a garden, bordering the terrace, with flowers, herbs and vegetables - including a Three Sisters Garden with corn and beans. We actively engage with our landscaping, both aesthetically pleasing as well as edible.

The team got together and removed old decorative plants and replanted the area with the grapes. In the pictures, you can also see the addition of the tropical flowers to give some added color to the area. While the vines are unlikely to fruit this year, the leaves will be used in the kitchen.

   

 

Oolong Tea

Our Tea Cellar has been quite popular since debuting over 4 years ago.  Among the aficionados that join us for tea, their enthusiasm for our Oolong collection is quite popular.  As part of the Masters of Food & Wine event, June 17 - 20, we hosted a rare tea tasting with Certified Tea Master Chas Kroll.  During the tasting, Chas explained that oolong, originating in China, is his preferred tea of choice.

Most known for their depth and aroma, each oolong tea is hand-crafted to bring out the best flavors in the leaf.  As black teas are fully oxidized and green teas not at all, oolongs delicately bring harmony to the middle ground.  Oolongs are intended to be brewed "gong-fu style", in which the tea is celebrated with multiple brewing and renowned for its ability to change with each infusion.  Floral notes such as hyacinth, narcissus, jasmine and orchid are slowly revealed as the teas brew. 

In the Tea Cellar, our current collection of oolong consists of highly fragrant teas, including the award-winning Tieguanyin Competion oolong, an aromatic and elegant tea produced in the central Fujian province of China. Its slightly twisted leaves are a mixture of reddish-brown and dark green, and as they brew, they unfurl to give lace-edged leaves that release a honey-colored liquor, a sweet, floral aroma and an orchid-like, smooth, delicate flavor.

We carry two very popular oolongs in our collection - Magnolia Blossom and Osmanthus Oolong. While the Magnolia Blossom is scented with fresh blooming magnolia blhttp://http://parkwashington.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/entertainmentossoms, the Osmanthus has tiny golden trumpets of Osmanthus blossoms, blended to provide a wonderful, aromatic infusion that fills the mouth with sweet, silky perfumed magic and heavy floral perfume.

Oolongs can be appreciated with a sampling of pastries made with milk or white chocolate, or simply dried fruits. We recommend that everyone sample an oolong, as it's the perfect way to explore the fascinating world of tea - great for beginners and experts alike!

Masters of Food & Wine - Chefs' Farm Table

My favorite events of the Masters was our Saturday evening Chefs' Farm Table dinner on the Blue Duck Tavern Terrace.  It was great to be in the kitchen with the other chefs (Spike Gjerde, Peter Davis and Pascal Coudouy) and then interact with the guests, while drinking a nice glass of wine. The weather was perfect as we served Roasted Eco-Friendly Foods Suckling Pig, St. Brigid's Pit Veal, McCarthy Farms Peas with Ricotta, Anise Hyssop and Brown Butter, Grilled Oysters, Path Valley Fava Bean Ragout, Russian Fingerling Potato Salad and more!

            

 
 
 

 

Masters of Food & Wine - Chardonnay Tasting

As part of the Masters of Food & Wine event, Master Sommelier Nate Ready (from Antica Terra in OR) hosted a Chardonnay Tasting. The tasting took place on the Mezzanine Level of the hotel on Friday, June 18 and particpants enjoyed wines from DuNah, Ramey, Domaine Serene, Caymus, Melville and Ferrari-Carano.