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Dining in Williamsburg

A tasty look at historic tavern fare and Marcel Desaulniers’ The Trellis

By Suzanne Hall

There’s no better place to get a first-hand look at how our early American ancestors lived  than in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. It’s an educational and entertaining experience for every member of the family. The historic area includes some 500 restored or recreated buildings, including the Governor’s Palace (pictured), home of seven royal governors and Virginia’s first two state governors. Recreations of Colonial activities, from political speech making and parades to gardening, farming and the making of the everyday things today we buy in stores, take place each day. On the Fourth of July, the Declaration of Independence is read on the courthouse steps. Throughout the year, special events focus on gardens, food and every aspect of Colonial life.

Colonial Williamsburg also is a wonderful place to eat. In the taverns on Duke of Gloucester Street, you can dine in an 18th century atmosphere, enhanced by servers dressed in authentic costumes. Crab cakes, spoon bread, vegetable pies, soups and other dishes are adapted from Colonial recipes which reflect the diversity of foods available to Colonial Americans.

Compared to ours, their lives were primitive. But make no mistake about it, while establishing our nation and its government, the fathers and mothers of our country ate well and took entertaining seriously. Although they had no supermarkets, they did have butchers and bakers. Their kitchen gardens were extensive. They had a wide array of foods to choose from. They tended to eat heavier than we do. But their favorite dishes were very similar to ours.

Soups were a staple in the 18th century. They were served in taverns and at home. On the family or entertaining dinner table, a steaming cauldron of soup was placed on the table for the first course. It was served by the host or hostess and usually eaten not with a spoon but by scooping it up with chunks of bread.

In the Colonial Williamsburg taverns, the soup first tradition remains, although most diners choose to use a spoon rather than bread as a utensil. On the appetizer menu at Christiana Campbell’s Tavern, you might find soups  like New England clam chowder and Mrs. Campbell’s gumbo, a rich fish soup. King’s Arms Tavern offerings include peanut soup and beef and barley soup. The soup of the day at Chowning’s Tavern could be delicious blend of split peas and ham. Guests also can sample some traditional Brunswick stew there.

When it came to main courses, Colonial Americans had many choices. They caught game and fish for the dinner table. They raised chickens and pigs. Beef was a favorite. Some of it came from cattle they raised, but much also was imported from England. This beef was cooked in a variety of ways including what we would call grilling. Beef steaks were cooked on a grid of iron bars over an open fire.

Surf and turf combine in an authentic Colonial way at King’s Arms. The menu includes osyter-stuffed filet mignon with tarragon butter and roasted new potatoes. While tarragon butter, may seem a contemporary accompaniment, it’s well in keeping with Colonial culinary traditions. The flavor of Colonial dishes often was enhanced by the use of herbs grown in everyone’s kitchen garden. That same garden produced ingredients for the large selection of side dishes which were part of most 18th-century dinners. Our early American ancestors grew carrots, beets, squash, berries, tree fruits and many of the foods we find in produce departments each day. They also were among the first to recognize the role of tomatoes in cooking and menu planning.

The King’s Arms menu also includes roast prime rib of beef with horseradish, a game pie of venison, rabbit, duck and vegetables and roasted chicken with peanut chutney. Crab cakes, codfish cakes and collops of turkey, a dish of sautéed cutlets of herbed turkey breast with cranberries and port wine sauce, are on the dinner menu at Christiana Campbell’s. The Gloucester Dinner there is a tavern specialty and includes a first course followed by fried chicken and Smithfield Ham. Desserts like, creamy peanut, sour cherry or rum cream pie and Granny Smith apple dumplings or carrot cake, are included with the meal.

While dining in one of Colonial Williamsburg’s historic taverns is an event not to be missed, no culinary adventure in the area would be complete without a visit to super chef Marcel Desaulniers’ The Trellis. Located in Merchant’s Square on the Duke of Gloucester Street (outside the Historic District), the lunch and dinner menus combine the best of regional ingredients with the finest of contemporary techniques. Menus at The Trellis change seasonally, but always include a selection of fish, seafood, meat and game in the evening. Desaulniers and his chefs take simple foods like calves liver and combine them with sausage, tarragon potatoes and red onion marmalade to make gourmet dishes. Or, they’ll pair rabbit and country ham and serve the duo with grits cakes, black-eyed pea and artichoke relish and peanuts. Lunch at The Trellis is a simpler affair, with a good selection of salads and sandwiches. Desserts at noon or in the evening are Desaulniers’ specialty. Quite simply, they are to die for.

Dinner in one of Colonial Williamsburg’s historic taverns or at The Trellis is not inexpensive. With appetizer and dessert, expect to spend $25 to $30 per person and up. But the experience and the food are well worth the cost.

For more information on Colonial Williamsburg and its historic taverns call 1-800-History or visit the historic area’s website at www.history.org . The phone number for The Trellis is 757-229-8610.

Images courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg

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