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City Tavern:

The Founding Table

Monday, November 9, at 6:00 p.m.

Uncover the lost history of one of the most important social and political meeting places of the American Revolution. Food writer, librarian and historian Becky Libourel Diamond presents her book City Tavern: The Founding Table – Colonial Dining, Revolutionary History, and the Restaurant at the Center of it All. This program will take place in-person at the Princeton Public Library.

Several blocks from Independence Hall, City Tavern was a hub of life in colonial Philadelphia and its dining table an important political and social meeting place. Built through a subscription model funded by fifty-three of Philadelphia’s wealthiest and most socially connected men, City Tavern soon became an essential meeting place for Continental Congress delegates to make connections, solicit opinions, and offer off-the-record thoughts and solutions—all over a pint of ale or glass of Madeira. Many of the Founding Fathers dined there, and George Washington even used it briefly as his headquarters.

Beautifully illustrated with 40 period images, City Tavern: The Founding Table – Colonial Dining, Revolutionary History, and the Restaurant at the Center of it All views this crucial time in America’s history through the tavern’s lens—from the decision to break from England to the Constitutional debate and the grand banquet Washington enjoyed there in 1789 on the way to his presidential inauguration. Throughout, the business of an eighteenth-century tavern is described in detail along with the food and drink enjoyed by customers at the crossroads of the American Revolution. With 2026 the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, this book is a perfect opportunity to celebrate the City Tavern’s key and extraordinary role.

This is a free program taking place at the Princeton Public Library. Pre-registration is required. The talk is held in partnership with the Princeton Public Library, the Historical Society of Princeton, and Morven. 

About the Author

Becky Libourel Diamond is a food writer, librarian, and research historian. She is the author of two cookbooks, "The Gilded Age Cookbook" and "The Gilded Age Christmas Cookbook," and two books of culinary history, "The Thousand Dollar Dinner" and "Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America’s First Cooking School." She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Rider University and a Master of Library Service from Rutgers University and has worked as a business librarian at Rutgers–New Brunswick since 2020.