posted 05-25-2016 12:25 PM            

Also I wonder what would an "Alexander Hamilton" 18th century table setting might look like?

posted 05-27-2016 03:58 PM            

I have been to both Williamsburg and Michie Tavern and their 18th century style food is great.

posted 06-02-2016 11:53 AM            

quote:

---

A Dinner with Alexander Hamilton

One of the most fascinating of the Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton was born illegitimate in the West Indies and rose to become, among other distinctions, the chief staff aide to George Washington during the Revolution, then one of the most important writers urging the adoption of the Constitution, then the first Secretary of the Treasury and founder of a political party, the victim of a fatal duel with Aaron Burr, and finally the hero of a hit Broadway musical. What would it have been like to have dinner with Alexander Hamilton? Here's a unique opportunity, through the magic of food, to travel back in time to the New York of the 1790s.

Harvard University's distinguished James Duncan Phillips Professor of Early American History and Chair of American Studies, Joyce Chaplin has a special interest in the history of food, and, specifically for this event, she has studied Hamilton and menus of the period to create a special dinner of dishes closely associated with Hamilton, researched and planned by Professor Chaplin, brilliantly recreated by the DTA's wonderful Chef Anthony LoCastro, and served with wines and other beverages typical of the era.

We are extremely fortunate that Professor Chaplin will be present at the dinner to discuss both Hamilton and the menu. Professor Chaplin is a wonderful speaker. Her books include The First Scientific American: Benjamin Franklin and the Portrait of Genius, which won the Annibel Jenkins Biography Prize. Evan Thomas calls her "a great historian with a fresh eye and a sure touch. She is a story teller with keen insight, command of the material, a sense of whimsy, and a flair for portraying human drama." Of her most recent book ROUND ABOUT THE EARTH: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit, Walter Isaacson wrote, "Joyce Chaplin shows the interplay of aspirations and technology, from sail and steam to jets and rockets. More profoundly, she explores what it means to circle our globe, act on a planetary scale, and encompass, both figuratively and literally the whole earth."

The word "unique" is overused. This is the real thing—the only chance there will be to experience this extraordinary evening of culinary time travel.

You'll be dining in the stunning 1887 landmark surroundings of the beautiful and friendly Down Town Association, in the company of some of the nicest people in town.

---

posted 06-02-2016 02:43 PM            

The quail entrée paralleled Hamilton's rise in society as game at the time was shot on private property and so was only served in well to do households. Macaroni and cheese was a popular side dish at the time with the rich taste complementing the game. The peas were also only served in better households as fresh vegetables were seen as risky to eat by average folk.

Finally the dessert was again a tribute to Hamilton's start on an island. It was, by the way, fabulous!