Philadelphia, PA – After having a large sandwich from DiNic’s for lunch, we hit the town again seeing more sights. It was over 100 degrees with high humidity, so I was ready for a break. We were in the area of the City Tavern which I wanted to visit. In 1774, John Adams called the City Tavern “the most genteel tavern in America”. In 1777, the Continental Congress celebrated the first July 4th here. Because of my mom, I appreciate old cities such as Philadelphia or historical places such as the City Tavern.

Everyone working was dressed in 18th century costumes. We mentioned we wanted some snacks and drinks, so we sat in the front room. We shared a cheese and crackers platter and an assortment of bread. Dylan had a glass of Thomas Jefferson’s 1774 Tavern Ale. This ale was made especially following Jefferson’s original ale. The ale was rugged and smooth at the same time. They also have ales from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton. After our snack, I mentioned how full I was. Dylan said I had to order Martha Washington’s Chocolate Mousse Cake because he did not want to hear the rest of the week how I wished I had gotten the cake. Let me just say I was not disappointed. The bottom layer was chocolate cake, the middle layer was chocolate mousse and the top layer was a chocolate ganache. It was sinfully decadent.

After getting back home I read up on the City Tavern some more because I was so intrigued. I was slightly disappointed to read that the original building had burned in 1834. In 1948, Congress commissioned the site to be accurately reconstructed. The City Tavern reopened in 1976. It was still a great stop.