ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 13, 1995 TAG: 9512130003
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SERIES: taste of virginia
SOURCE: DEBORAH ROSE STAFF WRITER
Historic Michie Tavern offers more than an old-fashioned hearty meal. It is also a museum, with meticulously restored buildings, carefully selected antiques and costumed guides who give a gracious taste of 18th- and 19th-century Virginia.
``We really stress hospitality,''' curator Cindy Conte said.
Michie Tavern is open year-round, serving a midday meal with a vegetable-rich menu meant to suggest the Colonial era. Fried chicken is piled high on the buffet counter, along with black-eyed peas, stewed tomatoes, coleslaw, potato salad, green bean salad, beets, corn bread and apple cobbler.
Guests help themselves and are then seated at rustic, wooden tables like those that might have been found on the 18th-century frontier. Costumed waiters and waitresses bring second helpings to the table, along with beverage refills. After lunch, guests can tour the museum for $3. (The admission charge is $5 without the meal.)
``We give a discount with lunch and say, `Now go over to the museum and experience what your 18th-century counterparts would have experienced','' Conte said.
The heart of the tavern is the building William Michie opened as an ``ordinary'' in 1784 to provide food and lodging for travelers along a well-traveled road, which was about 17 miles from the tavern's current location.
The young Scotsman, whose father had come to Virginia as an indentured servant, prospered as an innkeeper, and his descendants owned the tavern for more than 150 years. But during the 1920s, the building was sold to Josephine Henderson, a businesswoman who moved the tavern to its present location, on the road that leads to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, Conte said.
In the carefully rebuilt tavern, Henderson provided tours and food service, starting the traditions that continue today, Conte said. The tour begins in the main room of the original tavern, where food and drink were served to travelers. Local people also came to hear what news the travelers might have to share.
The tour continues through a bedroom set aside for women, a second-floor ballroom and a kitchen where food would have been cooked in a massive fireplace. Owned by the Michie Tavern Corp. since the late 1960s, the museum has been expanded with the relocation of other historic buildings onto the grounds and the construction of outbuildings that reproduce features of 18th century home and tavern life.
A grist mill and general store on the grounds, along with the original 18th century tavern and an early 19th century home. Museum staff are learning 18th century crafts, Conte said, and demonstrations are incorporated into the guided tours.
During more than 60 years since the first building was moved, Michie Tavern has grown into an important record of how Virginians understand their own, early history, Conte said.
``It tells the preservation story, the history of our understanding of history,'' Conte said. ``We want to be accurate ... and there is a lot to learn about ourselves, studying how we interpret history.''
Colonial Fried Chicken from ``The Ordinary''
1 2/3 pound fryer, cut up
3 cups shortening
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Combine flour and seasonings; roll the cut up chicken in the flour mixture. Using a Dutch oven or other heavy deep pan, fry in shortening at 350,F for 12-15 minutes on each side or until tender. Serves 2-3
- Recipe supplied by restaurant; tested by members of the junior element of the Tidewater Chef's Association, American Culinary Federation and Johnson and Wales University College of Culinary Arts.
Name:
Historic Michie Tavern
Address: On Monticello Mountain, Charlottesville. Phone: 804-977-1234. Specialty: Southern 18th century bill of fare. Price range: Luncheon buffet $9.50 excluding beverages and gratuity. Hours: April-October 11:15 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; November-March 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Reservations: Only for groups of 15 or more. Dress: Casual. Payment: Local checks, Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Alcoholic beverages: Beer and wine, specializing in Virginia wines. Non-smoking section: Yes. Handicapped accessible: Yes. Additional information: Courtyard seating, bus parking, available for private dinners, special yuletide feast in December with Colonial period musicians, gift shops.
LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Server in period dress make for a memorable visit toby CNBMichie Tavern. color.