An Adventure for 1: My Lunch Date with History

Literally, at the end of September, I was called upon - quite suddenly - to fly to Pennsylvania to argue a motion in federal court. My co-counsel was unable to attend and I went alone, which is unusual for me. I have never traveled in such a fashion alone. My normal tendency would be to head from the airport straight to the hotel, work, eat in my room, work some more, go argue my motion the next day, and head home. This time, however, I decided to be adventurous and take advantage of an opportunity I might not have again for some time.

Recently, we started watching a cooking series called A Taste of History on Amazon. Chef Walter Staib, who hosts the show, also owns the historic restaurant, City Tavern, where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and other Founding Fathers conducted business. As it turns out, City Tavern is 20 minutes from the Philadelphia Airport and was only a slight detour on my way to Reading, where my argument was. My flight landed about 1 p.m. local time and, well, one has to eat. I made a reservation for 1 for 2 p.m. 

I would have a lunch date with history. After some slight difficulty, I found parking and arrived. I was very much the tourist. 

That's it! The building is quite large. 

Philadelphia is, as you might expect, full of history! 

As I was traveling alone and it was lunch and I needed to drive to Reading, which was about 90 minutes away, I did not imbibe. Had my co-counsel or Toby been there, I would have. 

This was how it looked as you walked in. Everyone is in period costume and very, very friendly. 

I was seated in a corner in one of many dining rooms they have there. They also have a bar area. 

This was taken from my little corner. On the other side of the fireplace was the kitchen. The staff was just laughing and having a good time the whole time I was there. That was nice to hear. There was a good vibe in this place.

Here was the setting of my table. 

Water was served in a pewter goblet. As you'll see, I took 2 home with me with the City Tavern logo on them.

Our waitresses were in costume. 

This was my view. 

My table was on the far right in the back. It was a great experience.  

Here is one of the other sitting/dining rooms.

Of course, you'll be interested in the menu. I am happy to say - and was very surprised to learn - that they accommodated gluten free diners so well! 

They have their own beers! I knew that Toby would be interested in this.

I zoomed in on this to emphasize the request that cell phones not be used. It was a mostly quiet dining experience. 

This was a vertical pano I tried to take to give you the history of the place. 

I ended up ordering these:

This was the Country Salad. It was fresh and flavorful. 

Black Forest Kielbasa - it was extremely satisfying with very nice mustard and sauerkraut that was just the right amount of tart.

Creme Brûlée - always a favorite of mine. The sugar topping was very different. The sugar was finer than usual and it was slightly burnt, but not unpleasantly so. I'm sure it was done under a boiler. The texture of it was softer than most modern creme brûlées and it was more golden, which I attribute most likely to farm fresh eggs which have yolks that are more orange than yellow.

It was a very satisfying lunch date with history. My waitress was delightful and volunteered that Chef Staib, having just been to the Emmies, was out shooting the new season. She offered me the card of his personal assistant and encouraged me to call ahead next time to find out when he's there. She said he always likes to meet his fans and is usually there from 9-5 each day working unless he's out filming. I had toyed with bringing my copy of his cookbook, A Taste of History, to have him autograph it, but was happy I'd not tried to shove one more thing in my carryon bags when I learned he was not there. 

Speaking of the series. 

I think I counted about 19 awards.

The most recent award.

I had to purchase some gifts. I bought two pewter goblets with the logo (one for Toby and one for Carl) and two blown glass sherry glasses.

All in all it was a very pleasant experience. But I confess, I could almost not enjoy it because Toby was not there. I kept thinking the whole time, "Toby would love this" or "I so wish Toby was here to try this" and so forth. I was texting him and Carl the whole time, as well as my co-counsel who also would have loved it. 

These are things that I love sharing with my Toby and part of the reason why I rarely do them alone. But having said that, I'm very glad I did this and so was Toby. 

I then drove to Reading. I knew that the leaves would not be changing yet, but I was disappointed nonetheless. I then spent the evening and next morning preparing to argue my motion. The next afternoon I did so, then rushed back to the airport determined to get home as soon as possible. I was able to catch an earlier flight and arrived about the time the original flight I'd booked was taking off. Toby was there to pick me up with a little treat, as I always do for him when he returns home. 

An Amaretto Sour in the car! 

It was great to be home again. I was eager to blog about this and yet somehow it took me over a month to get to it. I was in PA September 30-October 1, but could only get around to blogging about this on November 5. Such is life. 

If you ever get to Philadelphia, there is much to see, but do make time to have your own culinary date with history. Hopefully, you'll get to meet Chef Staib! 

Thanks for reading!