On Thursday, October 27 at 6:30pm, join The Mount Vernon Inn for a special dinner event with Yards Brewing Company. Enjoy exclusive evening tours of George Washington’s Mansion and feast on a four-course tasting dinner where Tom Kehoe, president of Yards, will discuss the pairings of the colonial-inspired culinary creations with Yards’ “Ales of the Revolution.”
Tickets are $95 per person and are available at MountVernon.org or on location at the Ford Orientation Center.
Menu:
Opening Reception at the Shops of Mount Vernon with VIP Tours departing every 15 minutes
Hors d’Oeuvres to include: Smoked Whitefish Crostini, Fried Rabbit Tenderloin with Dip, Wild Boar Satay with Barbecue and Imported Cheese & Fruit
Yard’s Brawler
Mount Vernon Hoe Cakes
(Pancake Style Corn Fritter topped with Virginia Ham, a Fried Oyster & Hollandaise)
Hoecakes were George Washington’s favorite breakfast. Family members later recalled that he preferred to eat them “swimming in butter and honey.” This recipe utilizes cornmeal produced at our nearby gristmill. Martha Washington was very proud of the hams produced on the estate and is known to have sent them as gifts to friends. A big fan of seafood, she would have enjoyed oysters from the Potomac.
Yard’s Extra Special Ale
Venison Tenderloin over an Arugula Salad with Grilled Peaches & Feta Cheese
On trips to the frontier, George Washington often shot deer for food. Back home at Mount Vernon, the Washingtons once received a haunch of venison as a gift from neighbor George Mason of Gunston Hall Plantation, who was a good friend for many years. Cranberries were a Mount Vernon favorite, purchased by the bushel or barrel, from sources in New England.
Thomas Jefferson’s Tavern Ale by Yard’s
Homemade Breads and Colonial Crackers
Colonial Mixed Grill to include:
Sliced Duck Breast over Hominy Grits and Broiled Rockfish over Baby Spinach & Red Onions
The Chesapeake region is well-known as a wintering ground for migratory waterfowl, including ducks. A visitor to Mount Vernon in the fall of 1785 recorded seeing the Potomac River with “thousands of wild ducks upon it, all within gunshot.” While dining with friends in an Alexandria tavern after his retirement from the presidency, George Washington ordered ducks, hominy, and a bottle of Madeira wine. The Potomac River was a great source of fish, which appear to have been one of George Washington’s favorite foods. In 1791, a Mount Vernon houseguest caught a rockfish that was “four feet long and sixty-four pounds weight.”
General Washington’s Tavern Porter
Apricot Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce
Mrs. Washington oversaw the baking of bread—a daily chore—at Mount Vernon. Her grandson once remarked that “bad bread was a thing entirely unknown” in his grandparents’ home.
Poor Richard’s Tavern Spruce