Tavern reenacts wine dinner with Founding Fathers

WILLIAMSBURG — If you could have dinner with anyone from the past, whom would you pick?

The King’s Arms Tavern selected a few Founding Fathers.

Colonial Williamsburg is hosting a food series, Wine Dinner with a Nation Builder. The first two dates are already sold out — dining with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and their wives is apparently popular. The next installment is Dec. 16 with the Marquis de Lafayette and Alexander Hamilton.

The two-hour dining experiences feature international wines and a menu recreation of the famous June 20, 1790, “dinner table bargain” in New York (or, as fans of the musical

“Hamilton” know it, “The Room Where It Happened”); it was organized by Jefferson, then secretary of state. (The meeting between Jefferson and Virginia’s James Madison, and political opponent Hamilton, resulted in the nation’s capital relocating from New York to what is now Washington, D.C.)

For the CW meal, servers in 18th-century attire will present foods such as capon stuffed with Virginia ham and chestnut puree, boeuf a la mode (beef braised in wine and stock) and macaroons.

The King’s Arms Tavern was opened in 1772 by Jane Vobe. Virginia aristocrats and politicians held meetings there and socialized while eating off plates with the royal coat of arms. The tavern also accommodated the American troops with lodging and food before and during the Revolutionary War. The name switched over the years with the political climate but the tavern’s operations remained the same.

In the 20th century, artifacts and sketches were used to reconstruct the tavern’s 18th-century building with tables, chairs and serving pieces.

COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG A dining program at Colonial Williamsburg, Wine Dinner with a Nation Builder, allows people to buy tickets and eat dinner with historical interpreters and discuss Colonial life. Katharine Pittman, left, and Daniel Cross portray Martha and George Washington. The events run through December.