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"It&amp;#039;s simple, really. The ingredients are rigorously American; they&amp;#039;re seasonal and sourced as much as possible from local farms and beautifully prepared and presented. It&amp;#039;s farm-to-table cooking, American-style, and at the Blue Duck Tavern in the Park Hyatt Washington, D.C., they make it look easy. If opposites attract, the design of the Blue Duck can be said to complement the food. Rather than the rustic surroundings you might expect, New York designer Tony Chi used lots of glass and steel to create a cool, contemporary look. Floor-to-ceiling glass panels divide the airy space into smaller, more intimate areas furnished with uncovered black walnut tables and twisted log chairs. The open kitchen, with a wood-burning oven and shelves stocked with house-made canned goods, is more in keeping with the restaurant&amp;#039;s concept of simplicity and tradition. That uncomplicated approach extends to the way the food is served\u2014family-style. &amp;quot;Everything is \u00E0 la carte,&amp;quot; says Brian McBride, the Park Hyatt&amp;#039;s executive chef who opened the restaurant with chef de cuisine Mark Hellyar. &amp;quot;We present everything in silver casseroles, and everyone just helps themselves.&amp;quot; The menu, for which Hellyar is principally responsible, changes seasonally; purveyors&amp;#039; names are meticulously listed on the menu next to the foods they produce. &amp;quot;Season dictates the menu, and I make small changes constantly\u2014I let my purveyors tell me what they have and what they believe in.&amp;quot; The 30-year-old chef&amp;#039;s culinary experience is well suited to the demands of the Blue Duck&amp;#039;s cuisine. Growing up in the Midwest, an 18-year-old kid with no interest in college, he first got a taste of restaurant work in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant in Milwaukee, which led him to the culinary program at Johnson &amp;amp;amp; Wales University. After graduation, Hellyar worked in several kitchens, including three-star restaurants in Europe. A stint at England&amp;#039;s famed Le Manoir aux Quat&amp;#039; Saisons taught him about organic gardens; three years at Restaurant Nora, the acclaimed organic spot in Washington, D.C., furthered his commitment to cooking locally and introduced him to Pennsylvania&amp;#039;s Amish farmers, a significant source of ingredients for the Blue Duck. Hellyar&amp;#039;s menu here showcases autumn produce and features roasting, a technique that edges us toward winter. The meal begins with a salad of roasted beets and an addictive warm appetizer of Dungeness crab, sunchokes, Swiss chard and Gruy\u00E8re cheese spread on toast. Porcini mushrooms and Brussels sprouts grace a vegetarian entr\u00E9e, roasted with garlic and served on top of creamy South Carolina Anson Mills grits. A rack of pork is roasted with bourbon-preserved peaches from Toigo Orchards, a local farmers&amp;#039; market, and accompanied by butternut squash. The meal concludes with a heavenly dessert of figs infused with red wine and cassis. The Blue Duck Tavern is an appealing exercise in contrasts, from its ultra-sophisticated design to its nostalgic connection to farms and those who work them. Even the food is its own sort of delicious marriage, an elegant mix of simplicity and refinement, engineered to celebrate the land and its seasons. It&amp;#039;s irresistible, really. Recipes Roasted Beet Salad  Dungeness Crab, Sunchoke and Swiss Chard Dip with Country Toast Roasted Procini Mushrooms and Brussels Sprouts with Anson Mills Grits Rack of Pork with Country Sausage, Bourbon-Preserved Peaches and Squash Pur\u00E9e Figs Baked with Cassis and Red Wine Topped with Mascarpone Click here to see the resources. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elledecor.com/life-culture/food-drink/a1573/duck-duck-blue-a-44032/>