Christmas & NYE at the Blue Duck Tavern

If you, like me, don’t cook and the mere thought of making a Christmas meal throws you into a tizzy, don’t fret.  You are not alone. Plenty of folks like to enjoy a well-made meal prepared by well, a chef.  The Blue Duck Tavern invites you to sit back and relax with friends and family on Christmas Day with a lovely decadent brunch.

Chef de Cuisine John Melfi will prepare a farm fresh holiday menu, including Roasted Denver Leg of Venison with Asian Pears & Winter Cherry Jus (Herndon, PA), Pan Roasted Swordfish with Heirloom Bean Ragout, Country Ham, Roasted Garlic & Arugula (Wanchese, NC), Muscovy Duck Breast with Duck Leg Ragout & Roasted Quince (Grimaud Farms, CA), Creamy Stone Ground Grits with Red Eye Gravy & Smoked Gouda (Anson Mills, SC) and Roasted Fingerling Sweet Potatoes with Brown Butter Charred Meringue & Sage (Gpod, ID). Additionally, Blue Duck Tavern’s Pastry Chef Peter Brett will create sweet endings for the Christmas meal, including Cranberry & Raspberry Linzer Torte, Five-Spiced Gingerbread with Lemon Glaze, Devil’s Food Cake with White Chocolate Ganache and Sticky Toffee Pudding with Bourbon Hard Sauce.

Christmas brunch at Blue Duck Tavern will be offered from 10:30 am to 3:30 pm on December 25 with a three-course, buffet-style menu.  Brunch begins with a variety of starters set throughout the open kitchen including seasonal salads, cheeses, meats, breads and smoked fish, followed by choice of plated entrée and side dishes.  Homemade desserts, on display in the Pastry Pantry, complete the Christmas meal.  The holiday brunch is priced at $90 per person for adults and $42 for children between six and 12. Children under six years of age are complimentary.

For dinner on Christmas Eve, December 24, and Christmas, December 25, Blue Duck Tavern will offer an a la carte menu from 6:00 p. to 10:30 pm.  For reservations, please call +1 202 419 6755 or visit www.blueducktavern.com.

But what about New Year’s Eve? Well, what about New Year’s Eve, or NYE as seems to be the acronym in a few emails directed at me as of late.  It’s Washington, D.C. and this social, out-and-about party Champagne drinking/toasting town wants answers.  What is going on? What are you doing? Where should I go? What should I do?  Where are the best packages?  And so on and so on and so on … We at the Punch suggest our Partner and friends at the Blue Duck Tavern once again and may we also wink, wink, nod, nod, advise you to book an overnight at the Park Hyatt property, our favorite in the city with its luxe yet distinctive all-American/Shaker contemporary decor.  The rooms and suites are sleek, simple, cool, masculine and spacious.  I’ve personally held a few private parties and cocktail hours in suites before and after dinner and guests have always marveled at the space.  And you cannot, I mean NOT go wrong with that heavenly bed and the shower that’s perhaps larger than my apartment.

Ah, memories aka Glory Days. A private dinner I held for New Year's Eve 2007 into 2008

The Blue Duck Tavern is offering two seatings for dinner on Saturday, December 31. The first seating, available from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm, will feature a three-course, a la carte menu priced at $75 per person or $145 with Robert Mondavi Reserve wines and Taittinger champagne pairing, exclusive of tax and gratuity. A second seating, starting at 8:30 pm, will also offer a three-course, a la carte menu along with a champagne toast at midnight, priced at $110 per person or $175 with Robert Mondavi Reserve wines and Taittinger champagne pairing, exclusive of tax and gratuity.

Advance reservations required.  For reservations, please call +1 202 419 6755 or visit www.blueducktavern.com.