Gettysburg Gourmet: Fine Dining at the Gettysburg Hotel

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Not everyone will pay $510 for a $10 bill, but then Phillip E. Murray is not everyone. He is the general manager of the Gettysburg Hotel. The bill, dated 1929, was issued by the Gettysburg National Bank, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The old bank building is now the hotel’s Grand Ballroom.

“Did you really pay $510 for it?” A price tag marked “firm” was still on the clear plastic sleeve.

“No, I told the seller that came in here that the bill has seen wear and I won’t go more than half that,” Phillip Murray said while laughing. Still, $250 is a lot to shell out for 10 bucks. You have to get to know Phillip Murray to understand the value he placed on this throw back to history.

Born in Chelmsford, MA, Murray went to vocational high school then attended Johnson and Wales Culinary School in Providence, Rhode Island. “I wanted to become a world renowned pastry chef,” he recounted. He became a noted chef working at restaurants like Anthony’s Pier 4 in Boston, the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, then the Sheraton Rolling Hills in Andover, MA. Phillip was asked to help out in the restaurant.

“When I started to interact with the public I said, ‘What am I doing in the kitchen?’” he said. “The Sheraton’s GM put me in a management course and here I am today.” He’s been managing the Gettysburg Hotel for the last eight years.

Phillip Murray is gregarious, always ready to laugh and knows the kitchen from the inside. Good food and hospitality are his special talents; history is his passion.

The Gettysburg Hotel is in the center of town right on Lincoln Square. The hotel boasts 119 rooms and two restaurants. Established in 1797, it sits on the site of the second tavern in town. According to Phillip, the first was built by William Getty, the town’s founder. The hotel itself was built in 1819, enlarged, destroyed by fire, abandoned, and rebuilt like a Phoenix from the ashes. It was reopened in 1991, after remaining a derelict eyesore in the town square for 10 years.

There are two restaurants in the hotel. They offer every modern convenience in recreated 19th century ambiance. Part of the hotel was the former Gettysburg National Bank building. The bank annex and vault room are available for parties and serve the hotel as a Grand Ballroom. There is a fireplace in the hearth in cold weather.

The wine list is moderate in pricing. Chardonnay by the bottle runs from $24 to $32. Sparkling wine is $42 a bottle, and red wines average $32 a bottle. Wine is also served by the glass. Appetizers include crab dip at $9.75, brie au crab at $8.95, and side salads a la carte at $5.95. A good sized mesclun salad is included with dinner entrees.

Entrees at Centuries on the Square include salad, hot rolls, and butter. Friday and Saturday night prime rib is served from black angus beef. They call the large portion the Ike cut, the smaller is a Maime cut after the former president and first lady who lived in Gettysburg. The cost is $28.95 for the Ike and $22.95 for the Maime. A New York strip, runs $24.95 as do char broiled lamb chops. There is also trout amandine for fish lovers, at $22.95.

A children’s menu is $6.95 with choices like cheeseburgers and fries. There are ample photo opportunities in front of a smaller bank vault door with a hand painted nautical scene. It is fun to take time to explore the hotel between courses or as a pause before taking coffee and dessert. Debra brings forth a tray of temptations that include berry tarts, cheesecake, and fudge chocolate cake.

McClellan Tavern, at the other end of the hotel, is immediately reminiscent of an English pub. The bar itself is of magnificent mahogany made at the turn of the century. It was brought from Brick Lane and reportedly, “Drinkers in the old neighborhood mourn its loss, which is our gain.”

The atmosphere is distinctly British past the antique bar. McClellan’s dining room is intimate with six tables and an inviting hearth, lit in cold weather. Its mahogany mantle has a mirror, trumpet, and at the side, ladies hats from days gone by. Some of the tables are set with high back, upholstered chairs in keeping with dark wood tables, unfettered with linen cloths, replete with candles.

“My favorites are crab cakes and Shrimp al la Greque. These are large Gulf shrimp sautéed with fresh garlic, sun dried tomatoes, and feta cheese, served over angel hair pasta,” Phillip Murray said.

He was right. The crab cakes can be ordered as an appetizer, like the shrimp, and are available as main courses. It was all crab meat, no fillers, prepared to perfection. The shrimp dish was so beautifully presented that it seemed a shame to disturb the plate. As a main course the crab cake is $17.95, $5 more for a second crab cake, the shrimp is $22.95. Appetizers on the menu consist of Brie en Croute at $8.85, stuffed mushroom caps at $9.50, Buffalo chicken wings at $8.95, and an assortment of soups or salads including salmon Nicoise, $13.95.

A specialty of McClellan Tavern is its prime rib served on weekends. Like Centuries on the Square, it is available in a huge cut at $25.95 and a large cut, $22.95. The tavern prepares a woodsman steak, hand cut New York strip at $24.95 and lamb chops at $24.95.

Drinks from the bar can be as exotic as their Turkey Trot, a concoction of Wild Turkey, Sprite, and cranberry juice or an orange Vodka, cranberry juice martini. Wines include Budini Argentina Chardonnay, $34 for the bottle, Rudi Rhein River Riesling at $35 a bottle, McManis California Merlot at $34, as well as local Adams County wines that include a German style Riesling blended with Tramminette, Rebel Red, semi-dry table wine, both $35 a bottle.

Desserts were presented by Tom, a server, on a tray. Tom graduated a political science major at Gettysburg College. He turned his college job into a career and has fun serving. While the dessert tray held bundt, apple cakes, and cheesecakes, Tom wouldn’t bring out the chocolate since he feared it would slide off the tray. It was a special treat with homemade ice cream and thick hot chocolate sauce.

Of course if hearth side dining is not on your agenda, then head up Buford Avenue to the tavern and bar of the Appalachian Brewing Company. The Pennsylvania home brew is made in Harrisburg with satellites in Gettysburg and Camp Hill. There are 16 rows of beer steins, five rows deep, over the bar. Beer is king and seasonal fare includes Hoppy Trails, India Pale Dry beer. The legend has it that when pale ale was shipped to troops stationed in what was then part of the British Empire, it spoiled in transport and from the heat. Brewmasters added more hops to preserve it. Thus the expression for returning troops as “Hop Heads.”

Gettysburg Hotel and Centuries on the Square Restaurant can be reached toll-free at 866-EST-1797 or 717-337-2000. Their Web site is www.hotelgettysburg.com.
The Appalachian Brewing Co. telephone number is 717-334-2200 or visit their Web site at www.abcbrew.com.

Dr. John Christopher Fine is the author of 24 books. His articles and photographs appear in major magazines and newspapers in the U.S. and Europe.