A Birthday Tea
A week ago I invited a long-time friend out for tea to celebrate her birthday. I suggested we return to a tea room we hadn’t been to since 2014. I remembered thinking the food was pretty good back then so maybe it would be a nice change from the usual local restaurants and cafes. She happily agreed as she enjoys afternoon tea almost as much as I do.
With fall just around the corner, the late morning weather was cloudy with patches of rain on the thirty minute drive. But we were fortunate to see a break in the clouds to expose a little bit of beautiful blue sky as we walked to the tea room.
Housed inside a 100 year-old building (which is considered to be old for the USA) that used to be a hotel, the tea room was almost exactly how I remembered it from eight years ago. There is still a gift shop on one side of the building and a tea room on the other.
The front door is at the far end of this photo, with the tea room just to the right of the pillar.
The tea room.
This place isn’t fancy, but I love how they use old light fixtures, mismatched chairs and china and old silverware for a shabby-chic look. Unfortunately, you could recognize where little things have changed since Covid. The tablecloths are now covered in lace-printed plastic and the white cloth napkins with ceramic napkin rings have been replaced with pre-wrapped silverware in paper napkins. I was a little concerned if the food had also changed.
While we were both disappointed with the tea, I was anxious to taste the scone when it arrived. I wondered whether it came from a mix, as this is the place I was first introduced to the Iveta brand scone mix. I was pleasantly surprised with the sweet flavor. It was crunchy on the outside due to the dusting of sugar, but it was still moist in the center. And most importantly, it was fresh. I could tell it had been baked that morning. Yes, it was Iveta!
The sandwiches and hot savories were a change from what I usually expect to see at a tea room. Besides the usual cucumber sandwich, there was a large pecan crusted chicken salad sandwich, artichoke and melted cheese on a toasted baguette, a puff pastry pinwheel and mushroom and melted cheese in a phyllo cup.
Dessert arrived and we each received a mini cheesecake, petit four and a slice of butterscotch shortbread. While my friend boxed some of her food to take home, I forged my way through all of my share! I was very full, but satisfied.
After we finished eating, we decided to browse the gift shop. The shelves were overflowing with new and used collectibles. It was so nice to take our time to look around before we left for home.
Even though the weather wasn’t perfect, this turned out to be such an enjoyable birthday lunch. It was fun to catch up with an old friend, have good food and end it with a little window shopping. Happy Birthday, my friend! I hope you had a wonderful day, too!