Alexandria Virginia, remains a delightful place to learn about and still experience a bit of early America’s colonial charms. But even the most dedicated history buff gets hungry.
Herald Gadsby’s Tavern to the rescue.
Here good food, from both yesteryear and modern day, are presented in gracious style for both lunch and dinner.
Settle into a comfortable Windsor seat and immediately the ambience of rich woods, heavily patterned chintz fabrics and sparkling glassware placed aside pewter plates transports you to a time when Jefferson, Adams and Washington often wined and dined here. A seasonal crackling wood fire and wafting 18th century music adds to the atmosphere.
Completing the transformation is the food. Starting with appetizers where a diversity of delectable delights could threaten any diet.
Baked Brie en Croute presents the creamy cheese in a caraway puff pastry along with cardamom infused apples. Finishing with a raspberry couilis and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar cheers the mouth, as does a crock of fried oysters served with a green onion rémoulade and a cocktail sauce tinged with citrus juices.
Peanuts, once an important crop in the Commonwealth, are presented as a soup made from a rich chicken stock and fragrant with ginger and garlic.
With prices under $10.00 salads and sandwiches and a multi itemed children’s menu make the tavern affordable for most travel budgets.
Lunch entrees feature long time favorites. No need to wait for Thanksgiving when roasted turkey is available year round complete with sage gravy, whipped potatoes laced with rosemary and green peas with roasted pearl onions. Cock-a-leekie pie is perfect refueling fare where chicken and vegetables stew under a crusty crust.
Pie, or pye in its former spelling, can still be savored at dinner. Gentlemen’s Pye is a medley where a trio of meats, lamb, venison and duck, blend with a red wine sauce and other ingredients. Comprising the fowl entrees are roasted game hens, whiskey flamed chicken and cider glazed duckling.
Mini Key West cheesecakes, pear tartlets, apple gingerbread with cinnamon icing, rum-laced banana bread pudding and a sherry laden tipsy English trifle finish your dining experience with palatable pleasure.
Aside from the tavern’s food Gadsby’s is also a great attraction with its connecting museum.
Days and hours of admission change during the year, but visitors can be assured of entrance Wednesdays through Sundays.
During colonial times, taverns had three reasons for being – providing food and beverage, entertaining the locals and visitors and providing a place to sleep.
Entertainment came in the form of such oddities as Toby the Learned Pig, a swine renowned for his ability to count and spell with cards.
Times were not often as genteel as history books might make them, and the museum realistically displays one room with broken crockery, spilled food and pipes laying about. The sleeping arrangements could be just as rustic. Unlike today's travelers sleeping space was not rented out by the room or even the bed. Sharing with complete stranger was the norm. And while providing clean sheets was mandatory - tavern owners were allowed to interperate the word "clean."
Also important at the Tavern are annual events like the Birthnight Ball, the Great Rum Punch Challenge and its inclusion on the American Whiskey Trail.
Gadsby's Tavern surges strong into its 4th century.
Huzzah!
Linda J Bottjer - I have wanderlust! It began, at the age of five, when my mother gave me a National Geographic map, and said, "become a citizen of the ...
