i will say that although revolutionary war era/colonial america isn't my fav time period (LATE VICTORIAN/EDWARDIAN WHOOO), i find it really useful for referring to when plotting out roleplay minutiae for #ffxiv roleplay.
i really really like domestic history and food history but ffxiv's wibbly setting makes #ffxivrp a bit hard to pin down. but i feel like colonial food is a good representation of "the common man's food available to everyone in eorzea; things everyone knows about and eats".
i have however taken analogues straight through all the way up to early edwardian period. for example, my rp cafe has a soda fountain! ...that is an expensive boondoggle LOL, and it just makes soda water, the syrups are mixed in by hand.
at that point i view recipes/historical analogues by class. if a character is paying, i'm comfortable with pulling recipes all the way on up to 1908 or so - but that's mainly for ul'dah's upper crust spending lavishly.
"harp is a large part of your rp making menus and checking food history and suchlike?"
......yes.
it's my brand and in my defense, i think i'm pretty fuckin good at it: http://bit.ly/bunclestail
the 'fancy dinners' that my #ffxiv rp cafe offers are from menus borrowed more or less straight from victorian menus, but pared down a bit and me looking for the recipes that seem more simple. however i think a lot of the victorian foibles are still great to slide in there to rp - want to know your dinner is fancy? REST ASSURED, THERE *WILL* BE SOME SORT OF FOOD TRAPPED IN GELATIN, MADE IN A FANCY MOLD, TO ASSURE YOU OF HOW FANCY YOU ARE.