Blue Duck Tavern - West End, DC

Another wonderful year with the bf! When deciding where to have our anniversary dinner, I checked out some menus and saw bone marrow being served at Blue Duck Tavern and our decision was made. Located in the West End's Park Hyatt hotel, there is valet parking for $10. There is always street parking if you're not running late for your reservations. The closest metro station is Foggy Bottom/GWU on the Blue-Orange line. There is also an outdoor patio for use during nice weather.

You can enter the restaurant through it's massive front doors, or through the inside of the Park Hyatt hotel, which we did.

Certain parts had very high ceilings, marble, and soft lighting. I felt like I was eating in a museum.

The layout of restaurant is quite interesting aka confusing. It is not an open space, but more sectioned off into specific areas with multiple doorways, stairs and hallways. They offer full view and access to their kitchens, which are beautiful to see, however we got lost in the pastry station while trying to leave through the front entrance from the bathroom. We also had to ask someone where the hostess stand was when we first arrived too. Sooo my suggestion would be to enter through the large front doors and avoid going through the hotel all together.

I booked our reservations using opentable.com and tried to request a table near the kitchen for a nice view of people cooking. We were actually seated next to a window without a view of the kitchen, but were given complementary glasses of champagne. How nice! The bread and butter were very good and well-made.

The menu consists of organic, seasonal and sustainable ingredients. The ingredient's place of origin is listed on the menu next to the dish. There are also no off menu items offered and the dishes are meant to be shared (of course they don't have to be).

The bf and I enjoy watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, and in the the London episode he's eating roasted bone marrow. He refers to it as "God's butter", and describes it as one of his favorite foods. We were so curious to try it! 'Oven Roasted Bone Marrow (Vadouvan Crust)' for $13 is served with sea salt and toast. It's very rich and oily. It tastes and feels more similar to fat than anything else. I really liked it, but the bf thought it was ok.

For our entree we had the 'Braised Beef Rib (Homemade Steak Sauce)' for $24. The portion was small, however it was so good. It melted in your mouth and the homemade sauce was delicious. This was the bf's favorite part of the meal. We also shared a side of 'Hand Cut BDT Triple Fries' for $10. These wedges were fried in duck fat, however they didn't have much flavor or taste as succulent as I expected. I think we could have done without them.

After almost bursting, we had to order dessert. We shared the 'Apple Pie' for $9, which was literally a small pie. The apples were cut into thick wedges, and the crust was to die for. They offered us complimentary vanilla ice cream with our pie, which was some of the best we've ever tasted.

We had a great evening celebrating together, and appreciated Blue Duck Tavern for making us feel special. Aside from the interior being a bit confusing, it's very different and beautiful. The staff was very attentive and filled our water glasses often (the bf's a camel). The food we ordered was delicious, and I think sharing dishes helps to cut back the cost of the final bill. The presentation of the food in the pans and with the bones was really entertaining. I suggest you make reservations way in advance because popular times go fast.

1201 24th Street Northwest
Washington D.C., DC 20037
(202) 419-6755
www.blueducktavern.com

Woodberry Kitchen - Baltimore, MD

My college friend lives in the Baltimore area and invited us to celebrate her birthday at the farm-to-table American restaurant Woodberry Kitchen. Almost everything is made from scratch in-house. All of their ingredients are seasonal and local. This place is off the beaten path, so don't get too confused when you're GPS is taking you somewhere odd. They offer free valet and a free parking lot right past the restaurant.

Customers can enjoy their outdoor seating at communal tables during warmer months. It's adorable. The space glows at night with the help of Christmas lights.

The interior has two floors. The top floor is very small but overlooks the main dining room. There is also a side room on the main floor. I love the exposed brick, wood and "urban country" feel.

Getting a reservation was HARD for a regular dining hour even 2 weeks in advance, so the 4 of us ate at the bar.

They served us 2 kinds of bread and butter while we waited.

Their specialty cocktail list is pretty long and they offer an amazing variety of alcohol. All of the beer and wine are either local or organic. They offer many varieties of bourbon and other liquors made in the US. I ordered the 'American Pie (Apple brandy, Reid's apple cider, ginger, brown sugar, warm spices)' for $12. Hands down this was the BEST cocktail I've ever had in my life. The ingredients melded together so beautifully. You could taste every single ingredient individually, it wasn't weak, and finished very smoothly.

Time for food! Please know that their menu is constantly changing based on the ingredients they have at the moment. They also run out of items often because of that same reason. Their menu offers small plates and entrees. The birthday girl ordered the 'Springfield Chicken 'n Biscuit (kale, young carrots, roasted garlic pan sauce)' for $23. She said the chicken was moist and flavorful. The kale was a hit at the table, and the biscuit tasted of rosemary.

The birthday girl's BFF ordered the 'Slow-Roasted Pork Shoulder (fingerling potatoes, buttered turnips, farm egg, pork gravy)' for $22. She said the pork was very tender and even took her leftovers home because it was so good.

My cousin ordered 2 small plates as her meal. 'Marvesta Sizzling Shrimp (romesco, onion, lemon)' for $14. She ordered it after the lady next to her was eating it. She said it was really good, but a bit expensive for a small plate. Behind the shrimp was her 2nd small plate of 'Salt Baked Beauregard Sweet Potatoes (maple butter)' for $8. Those were so good! I took a few. They are really tiny and soft. The salty and sweet caramelization was delicious.

I ordered the 'Anson Mills Sweet Corn Polenta (stewed tomatoes & eggplant, okra)' for $18. This dish had every kind of ingredient that I love. The corn polenta (boiled cornmeal) was soft with a nice exterior, and the flavors from the stewed veggies were comforting and warm, and the okra was roasted to perfection.

Um, did I mention how much I loved that dish?

For dessert our server recommended the oddest sounding one on the menu. 'Corn brulee with chocolate cake and red hot ice cream'. This was insanely good. The brulee was sweetened with corn, the ice cream gave it a nice spice and the chocolate gave the dish some texture. Mmmmm...

We loved the night SO MUCH, so we reserved another birthday dinner there for 2 weeks later. So I'm going to quickly run through this experience. They ran out of my 'American Pie' drink, but was recommended the 'Headless Horseman,' which also had warm flavors and bourbon.

The dishes showcased fall veggies like squash, potatoes, zucchini, etc. Our table ordered the pork shoulder, chicken & biscuit, the steak and woodoven rockfish. We had such a hard time deciding on the dessert, but gave us the pumpkin roll to try on the house.

For my aunt's birthday dessert, the oddest sounding one on the menu was recommended to us again! 'Apple Cheddar Strudel with Sour Cream Ice Cream'. It was so good! The Cheddar gave the dessert a mild salty flavor to contrast the sweet apples and strudel. The sour cream ice cream was amazing! Tasted slightly tart, but was very creamy. We actually ordered a 2nd plate and a whole other side of the ice cream.

I can't tell you how much I love this place. To top off the amazing food, the service is probably the best I've had. The staff is very knowledgeable of the menu and how the food is made. They are very patient and warm. The first time we went there, our friend got lost and the manager was on the phone with her and eventually said he'd go out and meet her so she could follow his car since he was leaving to get a keg anyway. Unheard of! The menu is constantly changing, which is a good and bad thing. I love the concept of seasonal dishes. I like trying new things, but the only sad part is you might have loved something one time, but it might not be there the next time. Prices are higher, with entress in the mid-20's. I can't wait until I bring the bf here!

2010 Clipper Park Rd
Baltimore, MD 21211
(410) 464-8000
www.woodberrykitchen.com

Founding Farmers - Foggy Bottom, DC

Recently, my friend invited about 14 of us to get brunch at American restaurant Founding Farmers for her birthday. Located three blocks from the White house, there is street parking and hourly garage parking (one block away). The closest metro stop are Farragut West and Foggy Bottom on the blue and orange lines.

This is DC's first Certified LEED restaurant. That means the restaurant's architecture and interior have been constructed and created with a minimum impact on the environment. They also purchase ingredients from family farms, compost, recycle, and practice other methods of being "green".

I wasn't able to check out the top floor but the 1st floor could fit a lot of people. This 2-level restaurant has a modern-colonial look. The high ceilings, large windows and "slabs of tree" tables were casual but refined.

They gave our bustling group a few pitchers/bottles of water (how cute!), and the bf ordered an 'Arnold Palmer (iced tea and lemonade)' for $3. Since this drink is made to order, they didn't offer free refills like some other drinks. I wish they did though because it was refreshing.

Our table shared some orders of deviled eggs.
Top: Devil-ish Eggs: The Classic (A Platter of Our Traditional Deviled Eggs with the Classic Filling) for $4. Who doesn't love deviled eggs?
Bottom: Devil-ish Eggs: The Combo (Our Classic Devil-ish Eggs, with Maine Lobster, Gulf Crab, and Salmon) for $14. I found these to be overly salty.

This was a little less than 1/2 our table. Lots of people and food crammed onto one table! I'll be mentioning some other people's dishes so you can see what they look like.

My cousin ordered the 'Eggs Benedicts with Crab (Two Soft Poached Eggs on House-Made English Muffin. Served Leek Hash Browns)' for $13. She found the dish to be somewhat soggy, and lacked bold flavors. She also didn't finish the leek hash browns. Overall, she said it was ok.

The birthday girl ordered 'Southern Pan Fried Chicken (Crispy Fried Free-Range Chicken with Gravy and Waffles. Served with Mac’m'Cheese and Today’s Vegetable) for $16. This dish came off of the lunch/dinner menu, so the portions were huge! She found the fried chicken to be non-greasy, and the green beans cooked perfectly. The mac & cheese was a bit overcooked and bland.

The bf ordered 'Fried Chicken, Eggs and Waffles (Crispy-Fried Free-Range Chicken Tenders with Gravy, Two Eggs Any Way and a Golden Waffle with Whipped Farm Butter) for $12. I felt bad because he wanted to order the item above, but I pointed this out on the brunch menu thinking it was the same for cheaper. Nope! These are chicken tenders and apparently I can't read when I'm hungry. He thought the chicken tenders were better than ones you get at the bar and he actually liked the waffle even though he's not a pancake/waffle kind of guy. He ordered this dish because he wanted to relive our visit to Roscoe's in LA.

I ordered the 'New Orleans Style Stuffed French Toast (House-Made Brioche Soaked in Brandy Creme Anglaise, Flash Fried and Filled with Vanilla Pastry Cream with Maple Cinnamon Syrup) for $8. They looked like mini bricks of fried dough. Only one of them had filling, so they weren't as special. It tasted more like a dessert and though I enjoyed it, it wasn't what I was expecting.

Look at the cake her boyfriend surprised her with! A giant red velvet cupcake cake from Just Cakes in Bethesda. It's so adorable!

I love red velvet, but I think this cake might have become a bit dry because it was picked up a few days prior.

A pic of all the ladies!

We had such a large table of people, so at times food and drinks were coming out slow but that's understandable. The atmosphere makes it a cool place to eat with friends. The food was average/normal because no one said their dishes was spectacular or horrible. The prices are kind of high for breakfast food, but they offer large portions. It's always nice to support a place that is environmentally conscious (hippie at heart) and they offer around 8 vegan-friendly dishes too.

1924 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 822-8783
www.wearefoundingfarmers.com


Mon-Tue 8 am - 10 pm
Wed-Fri 8 am - 12 am
Sat 10 am - 12 am
Sun 10 am - 10 pm