"W hen John Adams arrived in Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress, he immediately went out to eat. "Dirty, dusty, and fatigued as we were," he wrote in his diary that night -August 29, 1774-"we could not resist the Importunity, to go to the Tavern, the most genteel one in America." A few days later, when George Washington rode into Philadelphia, he made straight for the same establishment."
"City Tavern had opened the previous year, backed by a group of wealthy Philadelphians who'd decided there was no place in town that met their standards for decent food and drink. Although the tavern's sophisticated culinary style was influenced by Europe, it was also uniquely American, and a reflection of the colonies' global ties. There was likely shad from the Delaware River, fresh corn and lettuces from nearby farms, sugar and pineapples from the Caribbean, spices from Asia."
City Tavern opened in Philadelphia in 1773, backed by wealthy locals seeking higher culinary standards. The tavern combined European-influenced cuisine with American ingredients, serving shad from the Delaware, fresh corn and lettuces, Caribbean sugar and pineapples, and Asian spices. The multistory building housed dining rooms, a bar, lodgings, a coffee room, and a subscription room stocked with newspapers and magazines from the colonies and Europe. Prominent leaders routinely met and ate there; Thomas Jefferson dined there while drafting the Declaration of Independence. The Congress held a July 4, 1777 meal at the tavern as the city celebrated with naval displays, fireworks, bonfires, and candles.
Read at The Atlantic
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