Warm up at the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club in Durham, North Carolina, with Executive Chef Jason Cunningham’s new seasonal winter menus, just in time for the holidays.
Launched this week, the menus include breakfast, weekend brunch, lunch, dinner, and dessert including Dinner at Dusk at the AAA Four Diamond and Forbes Travel Guide Four Star award-winning Fairview Dining Room and meals in the Bull Durham Bar.
The winter menus are also offered for in-room dining, banquets, meetings, and special events throughout the hotel. All menus are available on the Inn’s newly launched website.
Chef Cunningham’s seasonal menus are inspired by the winter offerings from the finest Carolina farmers, which he pairs with premium products from around the world. The Fairview Dining Room’s winter dining experience highlights dishes that consumers crave this time of year.
The dinner appetizers include items such as Roasted Winter Squash, Southern Farms Meatballs, Duck-Rabbit Confit, and Chicken & Dumplings Redux. Chef Cunningham’s regional and international culinary experiences are reflected in the gourmet entrees—from seafood and poultry to meat.
Dishes include the Potato Crusted North Carolina Flounder, Herb Seared Loch Duarte Salmon, Heritage Farms Bacon Wrapped Scallops, Muscovy Duck Breast, and the Coriander Spiced Domestic Lamb Rack. He also continues his long-standing commitment to vegetarian with the Lemon Pepper Linguine and menus now denote a significant amount of gluten-free options.
End the dining experience with many in-the-spirit-of-the-season dessert choices such as Whiskey Sticky Toffee Pudding, Chocolate Hazelnut Napoleon, Gingerbread Soufflé, and Vanilla Bean Crème Brûlée. Wine lovers will especially appreciate that all nine of the dessert menu options offer wine pairing recommendations.
The winter Dinner at Dusk menu, served daily in the Fairview Dining Room from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., is a $35 three-course prix-fixe menu that includes a choice of appetizer, entrée, and sampling of sweets. It’s the perfect quick epicurean experience before a holiday party, movie or theater performance, a concert, or other Duke or Triangle-area special event.
Lunch in the Fairview Dining Room (open Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.) offers Carolina farmers and artisan partners-inspired gourmet creations in salads and sandwiches and more substantial lunch entréees with highlights of the restaurant’s winter dinner menu.
Try the Winter Salad with the WaDuke Shrimp, Corn & Bacon Chowder, the Slow-Roasted Turkey and Firsthand Foods Pork Confit Grilled Cheese sandwiches.
The Bull Durham Bar’s selections will appeal to a variety of appetites. From 11 a.m. through midnight enjoy a variety of small plates, including the Southern Farms Meatballs, or large plates such as the Inn’s famous Chesapeake Lump Crab Cakes. Salads and sandwiches, including The Duke Dip with an herb jus, will certainly be a favorite.
Sip eight in-house designed signature holidays cocktails including the Snow Day made with Carolina Coast Spiced Rum, the Appalachian Sazerac made with Defiant whisky and served in an absinthe-scented glass, the Ambrosia made with Covington sweet potato vodka or the Chocolate Covered Cherry made with brandy and served with a chocolate straw.
For wine, chose a vintage from the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence wine list or if it’s a beer that wets your whistle, choose locally brewed beers from the tap or domestic and import selections.
Weekend brunch (served Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.) is a three-course indulgence menu accompanied with live piano tunes. Start with a selection of appetizers, a choice of entrees—maybe the Malted Belgian Waffle, Cornflake Challah French Toast, Scottish Smoked Salmon, or Fire Grilled Tenderloin of Beef—and finish with multiple trips to the sumptuous dessert table.
