DINING/Blue Duck Moves Beyond Toast for Breakfast

Yes, Blue Duck Tavern does serve toast, but goes far beyond that.

By Sarah Valerio

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Short rib hash, chicken liver, grits, and the classic biscuits and gravy are all on the new southern inspired “influential breakfast” menu at Park Hyatt Washington's Blue Duck Tavern.

Breakfast is served at Blue Duck.

The new menu, created by Executive Chef Sebastien Archambault rolls out next week and is, as Blue Duck's General Manager Joseph Cerione notes, the establishment’s play on the power breakfast.

“Blue Duck Tavern is a staple in the neighborhood for lunch and dinner and just offering the traditional hotel breakfast when we’ve got this great chef just seemed silly,” Cerione said. “We want the same lunch and dinner experience for breakfast.”

“Spring came a bit early this year with the warm weather, so we wanted to play around more with vegetables, vegetarian and vegan dishes as well,” Archambault said. “Spring is the best season to experiment with ingredients and we will be introducing different specials. We get deliveries and they bring us a variety of items and we say ‘What can we do with that?’ It’s very spontaneous – that’s what I like.”

Blue Duck Tavern at The Park Hyatt Washington.

Blue Duck Tavern debuted its new menu items at a reception on its outdoor terrace April 24 which also featured a wine selection from Boxwood Winery.

Boxwood is the celebrated Middleburg, Va. winery owned by former Washington Redskins President John Cooke. “We're known for our Terroir driven wines...wines that express the climate, the soil, and the spirit behind the winery, that really capture the essence of the place in which they’re grown,” said Rachel Martin, Boxwood's vice president.

The Blue Duck Tavern breakfast launches May 1 and will be served from 6:30 am to 10:30 am. Complimentary valet parking, a real rarity in a parking-starved city, is included.