While visiting Philadelphia, we ate at City Tavern. The original City Tavern dated back to colonial days, and was known to many of the important figures of the American Revolution, including Paul Revere, George Washington and members of the 1
st and 2
nd Continental Congress. The Tavern was in continuous operation until 1834. In 1854 it was demolished to make room for some new stores, but in 1975 Independence National Historical Park completed an accurate replica.
The new City Tavern offers dishes adapted from the 18th Century. The staff is garbed in period costumes helping the visitor get a feel for the history of the times. Here's a link to their website:
The table was set with blue feather-edged dishes. The pretty dishes are a reproduction of antique creamware that was widely produced in the 18th and 19th centuries. The pottery is made from a soft paste clay and glazed in a cream color, with a darker hue used at the edge that bleeds into the cream, giving the dishes a feathery look, from which it takes its name . . .
This one was made in Germany . . . Doesn't everyone turn their dinner plate upside down . . . ?
Water was served on pewter goblets . . .
But we quenched our thirst with a Shrub . . . From the City Tavern menu: “Shrub is a drink made from fruit juice vinegar sweetened with sugar and spiked with alcohol or fizzed with soda water.” Ours was prepared with Spiced Rum. It was very light and refreshing.
Then the bread arrived, including slices of Sally Lunn bread, a sweet bread leavened with yeast, Anadama loaves, made with wheat, cornmeal and molasses, and sweet potato biscuits . . .
My husband had the West Indies Pepperpot Soup, a version of which was supposedly served by George Washington to his troops . . . I was concerned about how spicy it would be, so I played it safe with some lentil soup . . . I did try it, though, and it was delicious. I have the recipe now and hope to make it this coming winter . . .
The main course selection is varied and interesting. They even offer tofu, which was introduced to America by Benjamin Franklin . . . Tofu . . . who would have thunk . . . ? We unfortunately had no room left for dessert, so were unable to taste Martha Washington's chocolate cake . . . Ah, well, maybe next time . . .
Going back wouldn't be a hardship - not with such interesting surroundings . . .
The attention to detail was impressive . . . Here's a closeup of the molding . . .
It would have been fun to pretend for a little while that we had been transported back to that era, but our group was too grounded in this century, with our digital cameras, iPads, smart phones and other electronics, to be able to immerse ourselves fully in the period . . . Of course, come to think of it, I'm not sure that it would have been seemly for me, a mere woman, to cross the threshold at City Tavern in those earlier times . . . I'm ready to return to the 21st century now . . .
