History Bites

It was time for the third annual History Bites during Battle of Hampton Roads Weekend at Mariners’ Museum, and I was excited to meet Honest Abe and eat some good food! This was a special event, combining food with history. «Top restaurants and caterers in Hampton Roads will compete in a food-​tasting event of historic proportions. The contestants will prepare a selection of traditional 19^th century dishes representing the North, the South and the Navy, preparing their best interpretations of dishes» (
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The details:
The ticket got you into the event, allowing you to eat as much as you wanted (Piggy Town – woohoo!) and a ticket for one alcoholic drink (beer, wine or spiked lemonade). You were free to walk around, table to table, trying all of the selections from the contestants. There were some tables –some real large, sit-​down tables and some small, tall tables for standing– but they were filled up pretty quickly. I was alone, but if I had a partner, I would have kept one person at a table, and the other go around and grab food. Once you finished eating all of the items, you needed to pick just ONE selection on the ballot.
The Goose Grey– The first item I tried was The Goose Grey’s Grandma’s Bean Soup and Plum Cobbler. Unfortunately, these were probably some of my least favorites. The «soup» needed seasoning real bad and the cobbler was dry and disappointing. Not a good start to the event. Soup/​Cobbler 2*/3*
Harpoon Larry’s– Fried Clams and Apple Custard were from Harpoon Larry’s and those clams were awesome! They served them on top of a lemon aioli and in a sea shell – so cool! Delicious and one of my top three favorites. The Apple Custard ended up being kind of like a shot, and added some brandy in a cup. It was okay, but not my thing. 5*/3*
Ms. Mary’s Catering– To Make Olla (a Spanish-​type soup) and Common Cheesecake were next up for my taste buds. The soup was good, had several types of meat, good flavor with some spice and sweet, and overall was tasty. The cheesecake didn’t really work for me. Something about it had an odd flavor. Olla/​Cheesecake 4*/3*
Smoke BBQ– To Roast a Pig and Johnnycakes and their plate reminded me of Thanksgiving. The pork came out like pulled pork without the sauce – moist and good flavor. It was served with some stuffing that I liked, and a dense Johnnycake, drizzled with molasses. I really enjoyed their plate, and probably was my third favorite restaurant overall. 4*
The Catering Co.- 1845 Chicken Salad and Same Potatoes Salad according to the ballot, but they also served some baked beans with it. The salad tasted like deviled eggs – kind of different, but I liked it. The Potatoes Salad had no flavor, but the beans were really good. Chicken Salad/​Potatoes Salad 3*/2*
The Chamberlin– Fried Salt Pork and Trifle were two of my top three favorites. The Fried Salt Pork reminded me pork belly – nice and crispy and to die for! It was served on top of puréed butternut squash and topped with an apple slaw. The presentation was beautiful and the taste was outstanding. It was the only item I went back for seconds. The trifle was delicious, too, and easily the best dessert there. Pork/​Trifle 5*/4*
Encore– Chicken Salad and Bounce – I’m sorry to say that I only tried Bounce. I was getting full at that point and the chicken salad didn’t seem appealing to me. But, I’d heard that Bounce was amazing and I needed to try it. It was like a cherry cordial, warm and inviting. Very good. 4*
Fin– Clam Chowder and Sweet Potato Biscuits was my last trip to the tables. While the «chowder» was very flavorful, it didn’t seem chowder-​like to me. Not thick at all. Maybe they tried to thin it out and stretch it? It also was cold – much like most of the items and I like my food hot. I understand that is probably difficult – just sayin’. The biscuit was heavy, but I’m comparing to Blue’s amazing sweet potatoes that I tried last week. 3*/3*
Schlesingers/​Opus 9– Macaroni Pudding and Ginger Beer were their entries, and sadly I didn’t try either. Their table was the only one I didn’t get to visit. I am not a big fan of rice/​bread pudding and the idea of Macaroni Pudding did not excite me. However, I did talk to a lady and it was her favorite of the night. Now I wish I had tried it!
My Picks:
1^st The Chamberlin’s Fried Salt Pork
2^nd Harpoon Larry’s Fried Clams
3^rd The Chamberlin’s Trifle
Honorable Mention Smoke BBQ’s To Roast a Pig
I had a great time, and can’t wait to find out who the winners were since I left before they were announced. Overall, it was a fun event, but it was very crowded in there! Too bad they couldn’t use a larger room and spread out. All of the contestants were fabulous dealing with the people, and so cool to be held at a museum. Huzzah!

This event had tons of food vendors from all around the tidewater area that came to make food from historical receipes throughout various times in American History. Anything from fried oysters to barbecue, to Apple sauce, and various other food

What an awesome event! It was scheduled from 6:30PM — 9:30PM. I arrived around 6:30PM & was waiting for a friend. There were 3 tables that ran out of food by maybe 7:30ish??? Bar ran out of Grog (time unknown). Not good! BUT, the rest of the food and drinks… ON-​POINT! I highly recommend attending next year and every year thereafter. I’m optimistic this event will only get better! Everyone started shutting down around 8:30ish… The crowd… cut-​throat. One lady in front of me thought I cut in line and loudly directed me to get to the BACK of the line and be respectful! Wow lady… And no, I did not cut into the line and if I did, people should mind their business and stop being so uptight. It’s not like we were at Busch Gardens waiting in line for a roller coaster. Lol And no, neither I or my friend entertained her disrespectful demands. I digress. Maybe rope lines next year with arrows? Lol anyhoo… Grog, Oysters, and stews… All so very delicious! Great event!

What a great event put on by The Mariners’ Museum! I enjoyed each dish that I tried and that each dish had a historical meaning behind it. The brochure provided had each recipe for those brave enough to try to prepare each dish, hoping they taste just as delicious!
Each dish was prepared by a local business which I plan to visit in the future because they were THAT good. This is certainly an event I would love to come back to!

This is the first time to join this event. History Bites! What a great title!
I went there 30mnts in advance. So I didn’t need to wait in a long queue to receive drink tickets and real drinks. They had good wine and local beer too.
As soon as they opened, I started to try food sampling from left to right to avoid crowds. Some spots offered both food and mock coffee. If you have a drink from bar, it’s hard to carry all at once and find a space to settle down. Not so many tables at the center. Some people were sitting on the stage and stairs too.
I tasted all samples and got really full but had some more because this even is all you can eat. I had curry, oysters, crab soup, apple dumplings, and etc a few times. At the really end of this event, I found one restaurant have raw Janes River oysters which were caught last night. They should have put the sign or something. Many ppl missed the chance to try them. Not so much fruits nor vegetables. Mostly salty stuff. I drank gallons of water later. The most interesting thing was that many restaurants served mock coffee made from peanut (gone quickly), sweet potato (yummy), beet (pretty color and powerful taste), etc…
The ticket is $ 35 in advance and $ 45 day of event. Included 2 drinks. I reckon it’s a good deal;)
Heavenly fresh juicy raw James River oyster
Fried oyster on the carpet of corn and bacon
Mouthwatering stripe stew
Refreshing cauliflower pickles
Spicy fancy crab soup
Quick-​sold-​out apple dumpling
Healthy tasty curry
Salty ham goes with beer and wine well
Always good pulled pork
Peanut coffee I missed
Sweet potato coffee I drank a lot
Beet coffee made me pretty surprised
I was so happy and lucky to go there with one of my best friends on her birthday:) Thank you, Mr. X!