Eat Your History (and like it)
Lobster Roll at America Eats Tavern
Though you’d never think of it now, New York was once the oyster capital of the world, with carts on every corner, the dirty water hot dog of the 19th century.
America Eats Tavern in Washington, DC pays tribute to this legacy with a half-dozen incarnations of the bivalve taken from historical reports and cookbooks. Buttered oysters honor oysterman Thomas Downing, a free African American who stored his shellfish in his basement, which doubled as a haven for slaves escaping on the Underground Railroad. Pickled oysters – a favorite bar snack in George Washington’s time – go down smooth with an American craft beer and Oysters Rockefeller captures the young country’s fascination with “the richest man in the world.”
And who better than Jose Andres to offer America its history on a plate? An eloquent and passionate ambassador of food, culture and identity in all its forms, Andres created the non-profit pop-up restaurant in conjunction with the National Archives exhibit “What’s Cooking Uncle Sam,” which runs until January 3. All profits go to the Archives.
Crunchy, corny hush puppies salted with American caviar offer a perfect follow to the oysters. A buttery brioche bun filled with sweet lobster makes an elegant lunch. But AET’s menu begs for multiple visits, with Kentucky burgoo of rabbit, squab and lamb, an 1845 recipe for mutton shoulder and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (with foie gras!!) just waiting for a taste.
And coming soon? Pawpaws, aka: American custard apples.
In someone else’s hands, the restaurant would have been a gimmick. But Andres’ passion and the competence of his staff come through in every bite. It’s like eating a little piece of history.
For more insight on the foodways of early America, look to “Food of Younger Land,” author Mark Kurlansky’s extraordinary curation of writings done by icons like Eudora Welty and Zora Neale Hurston as part of a 1930s WPA project.
Crunchy hush puppies get salted with American caviar
2 comments
Mark Kurlansky’s book Oysters is worth checking out (as are all his other books).
As for America Eats, been there, done that and done with it.
For me, the hush puppies were fair, the cream corn was fair, the shrimps were fair, the boneless chicken wings with blue cheese were fair, and the catsups were fair, but nothing wowed me. And certainly at average price of $10 for each appetizer, rather steep for merely good. And $30 for two pieces of beef and some buttered veggies? The best part for me was the drinks menu: interesting sodas at $3.5o to $4.00, that’s reasonable.
Well, I’ll take my money and appetite elsewhere…like Blackside or Sushi Taro.
I must have been there on a good hush puppy day. The have to say that the chicken pot pie was a disappointment BUT, I suspect it was because it was so authentic. The filling was delicious (though more like a coq au vin than chicken pot pie filling) but the crust was pasty. I figured that was because, hey, what was pie crust in colonial times? Flour, lard and water. Overall, I really enjoyed the experience. Not sure I would go there because the food is better than any place in town, but for me, the combination of the very good food and the history behind it really makes a great experience.