The Village Tearoom – New Paltz

July 16, 2012 Leave a Comment

The first time I had stopped by the village tearoom in New Paltz, it was rather unplanned. My brother and I were trying to cover some local wineries, we had stopped at Clinton Vineyards and I wanted to hit Adrair. That particular day, the hours did not co-operate, hunger prompted us to the tearoom. I was pleasantly surprised by the food and of course, the nice cup of tea that went with the snacks to boot.

It is of course another thing, that this post has been sitting in my drafts for over two months, and I am finally getting round to posting it. I am bad that way, and look for a change I shall not really blame anything else.

Now, life and food is always about expectations! The next time I went that way was to very specifically get there for a cup of tea (and everyone knows I am a tea buff!). I had also been educated about the reputation of the restaurant. The place as you walk in is like walking into someone’s house. They have a very cozy atmosphere and are surprisingly child friendly. There is a blackboard with chalk and a small collection of children’s books that can help engage their little customers while the food is being prepared. This can possibly be attributed to the fact that the proprietress is a mother with relatively young children. It is a nice change from the super buttoned up tearooms that one might find. The atmosphere is very pleasant and inviting, however on a busy afternoon they can be a little slow.

Their afternoon tea, which is what I ended up getting is wonderful, their home baked goodies, sweet buttery and fresh tasting. Their use of spices is perfectly balanced and adds wonderful notes of flavor and character to the menu. The minted chicken salad with lovely notes of almond hits the spot. They do well in the seasonal and local department, and their absolutely rich and heavenly goat cheese sandwiches are a testimony to this. Other interesting offerings are their Malaysian spiced chicken wings and they have a soup of the day, which the last time that I tried it was really nice. The two teas that we ordered came well brewed in brightly colored teapots and a little hour glass to help you brew the tea to perfection before pouring a cup.

Their sandwiches included an interesting mint almond chicken salad, and the goat cheese sandwich offered the best of Husdon Valley, in creamy, earthy mouthfuls.

Now, on the other side, they have a surprising full mealtime menu, not quite what I would expect in a tearoom, but I imagine there must be plenty of takes. Their tea selections were small and this menu was also complimented with wines. Somewhere here the restaurant does steer away from being just a tea room, possibly to widen its horizons. This does take away a little from what the restaurant tends to do best – be a tea room.

It is however a wonderful stop for tea and company as long as you are happy with a few select teas, brewed to simple perfection. On a cooler day it would also be an inviting lunch stop. If, of course I do make it to the winery one of these days, I shall definitely pair it with a visit to this charming restaurant. Possibly to try their goat cheese sandwiches again!

 

 
The Village Tea Room Restaurant & Bake Shop on Urbanspoon

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With Husdon Valley, New Paltz, Restaurant Review, Tea, Village Tearoom

The taste of Nostalgia – Flurys

November 26, 2011 Leave a Comment

 Park Street in Kolkata used to be the fun place to hang out in when I was growing up. In particular, the confectionary called Flury’s. A special place where you could get tea, cakes, cookies and breakfast.

Back then, whenever my father was visiting he would bring me here for a special treat. In August this year when I visited I went down, mostly to visit a music store where comming to think of it I have picked up an assortment of Bengali movies that I have not yet made time to watch. I reached early, I forget that shops open later in Kolkata, so I went in to see if I could conjure some of that special magic. A part of me was very hesistant, since this was a very fond memory and as most of us know, something is always brighter, lighter and sweeter in ones memories.

A still majestic place, when I went in they were still doing breakfast. There was no concept of Brunch, at 12:30 they cut off for lunch. I decided to order an order of scrambled eggs, tea and cookies and their much touted baked beans on toast. Something that I used to love…

My need to savor and sample everything often prompts me to order way more than I can ever imagine finishing in India, but nonetheless I persist happy to see the food, savor the moments of satisfaction when it comes. I did not drink tea in my school days and now as most readers know, I love my tea with a passion. The instution with its marble floors and monogrammed paper napkings did not disappoint me with its tea. The selection was not huge, but the well brewed pot of darjeeling that arrived was the right temperature and had tea leaves steeping in the white teapot. It is difficult to believe but good tea is becoming a dying art. It is always disappoint to me to find the offending tea bag when I order tea.

Breakfast was a quite peaceful affair, allowing me some time to reflect something that is too rare an occurance in my life, especially here in the US. I knew but still did not accept that it was my swansong visit with Dad. It was ironic to sit here and realize that I would not be eating with him out again…

The tea was complete with tiny tea cookies that were served with the tea. Then came breakfast. The scrammbled eggs as predicted were a lot and then I had the baked beans on toast to boot.

So, the question here was how good was the food. Actually, the baked beans were still almost every bit as good as I remembered finished with the tiny miced onions and green chilies. What I did not like anymore was white bread and both the eggs and the baked beans came on well buttered slices of white bread a la colonial India.

I hope I am back some time, with more time on my hand to repose and enjoy more tea, maybe this time with some of the black forest pastries that I loved so much. For now, I just keep this experience in mind and enjoy my stash of movies over the holidays.

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews Tagged With Flurys, Kolkata, Tea, Travels

Tea, Spice and Memories

November 16, 2011 Leave a Comment

We all have that special friend from childhood, the one who you befriend at one of your first days in school and then she hangs on as a part of your life. In my case, she has hung on through all her cross continental journeys and mine, through life, children, jobs, the good times and the bad ones.

She visited me this summer from England. She is good that way, she makes it a point to visit from all corners of the world. This summer was special since her son graduated college, the family visited us en route. It was a shorter trip, but we managed to squeeze in a lunch between a relaxed breakfast and them leaving. We went to Temptation Tea House, in Mount Kisco. It was a choice that I thought might work, it had enough to make it interesting and was locationally acceptable.

Possibily the highlight of the place for us was their service. We needed things in a rush without feeling rushed, they were able to do this gracefully. The food had enough of a selection that covered a pan asian spectrun, nothing exceptional but sparkling flavors, well cooked crisp vegetables and very attractive presentation.

What really stood out was the mango salad which was a Thai style adaptation of something that I am normally seen done with green papaya, the mango used was just right, crisp and not too ripe. This dish is certainly a must try, in face, even as I write this I realise that I need to see if I can find a recipe to cobble this together. It has been a while since this visit, and the memories are as warm and fragrant as the lovely jasmine tea that I ordered. Other teas we tried on the table included a passion fruit tea and bubble tea, yes, they have those too.

So if you are in Kisco and are looking for a fun place to get a quick and satisfying meal, please do give Tempation Tea Room a try. This was probably my third visit and I have found them predictably even.

Tempation Tea House

11 1/2 South Moger Street

Mount Kisco, NY 10549
Temptation Tea House on Urbanspoon

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews Tagged With Asian, Chinese, Mita, Mount Kisco, Tea, Temptation Tea House

Tamarind Tea Room

September 6, 2011 1 Comment

I love tea, in fact I am sipping a cup of tea even as I write this post.

There a few things that however make the Tamarind Tea Room interesting, they could comfortably pass off as a lunch place, they are Indian inspired with just the right touch of Indian, wraps laced with parathas, lightly spiced cookies and rice pudding served in small inlaid silver coated bowls, so I think you get my drift. Something very important is that their tea is done right, hot water brewed just right.

They are however good for the tea lover who wants something on different on their tea or lunch break, but they do not have the largest selection of tea. Their selection of wraps are interesting, the lamb and mushroom that we tried were good, the lamb better than the mushroom, that seemed to lack enough zing. If the sandwiches lacked anything in filling, they more than compensated in the wrapping, the light well made parathas that were used as wrappers were perfectly done with the right touch of lightness. They are do a good job of keeping an identity separate for the restaurant adjacent with its own distinct little menu.

Another interesting note, on their menu is that they actually suggest tea pairings, their afternoon tea for two at a little over $32 is actually a very good deal, especially when compared to the restaurant that is adjacent to them.  They are another one of those places that I like to keep up my sleeve, since people are not quite sure what to expect when I suggest the place and are usually not disappointed. They fall squarely in the category of good, leaving just enough room and fine touches to move up to excellent.  I think it just might be the overly square lines of their decor, that left something a little wanting, nonetheless I am sure I shall be back and if you have not tried it and are a tea afficianado, please do go ahead and give the place a try.

41-43 E 22nd St
New York, NY 10010

(212) 674-7400

Tamarind on Urbanspoon

Filed Under Restaurant Reviews, Uncategorized Tagged With Indian Restaurant, New York City, Restaurant Reviews, Tamarind Tea Room, Tea

Weekly Wrap Up and a Cup of Ginger Lime Tea

July 2, 2011 Leave a Comment

 If you know anything about me you should know that I am obsessed about tea, I am fussy about its quality and brewing and do not drink tea that is made with tea bags. I might under extremely duress, or chances are I will settle for coffee instead.

A good friend is one that indulges your obsessions. Last weekend, my friend brought me this sampler of the classic Indian trio of Darjeeling, Nilgiri and Assam teas. The San-Cha brand I discovered is a brand of collectors, rather than a tea estate, a new way of exploring tea for me.

The week was a good and busy one. The kids started camp and have so far been enjoying the experience. This is always good. This camp is closer to home and works better with our schedule than the previous year, so thus far all is well.

The book project is moving along, so today I reached home early, before anyone which does not happen too often. I decided to brew myself a good cuppa to indulge in those 15 minutes of peace. The tea I picked was the South Indian Nilgiri, the tea being strong but fragrant. I then got fancy and added ginger. I wanted a touch of citrus, just a touch and I realized that I was working with lime for our dinner. This is never a novelty, we love garlic and lime in this house. What I did was actually steep the squeezed lime into the pot, which is actually a good idea since the skin of the lime is oily and imparts a nice amount of flavor. The resulting tea was full bodied, spicy and heady with the taste of ginger and light and refreshing with the nice gentle hint of the lime. I drank this warm, but it would work very well as an iced tea.

Ginger Lime Tea

Prep/Cook time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2

Ingredients

2.5 cups of water

2 teaspoons premium quality black tea (I used Nilgiri as mentioned above)

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (this needs to be done very fresh)

Lime slices or squeezed reserved half of lime

Optional Sugar to Taste

Method of Preparation

1. Bring the water to a boil.

2. Add the tea leaves to the infuser basket in a teapot.

3. Add in the ginger and the lime. Pour the hot water over the tea and lime.

4. Steep for 3-4 minutes before serving.

This holiday weekend I plan on being very low key and taking time to smell the flowers or at least enjoy them in full bloom. The garden is yielding the best broccoli ever and we have been very excited about it.

Filed Under Uncategorized Tagged With Drinks, Ginger, Lime, Nilgiri, Tea

Kathleen’s Tea Room

September 9, 2010 Leave a Comment

Kathleen's Tea Room on Urbanspoon
LT on Whole Wheat Toast
Earlier this year, when the whether was cooler, I ventured one lunchtime to try out Kathleen’s Tea Room. I think my love for tea competes very strongly with my love of wine. This visit turned out to be a fairly costly one, since I actually ended up with a ticket for parking incorrectly. Fortunately, the tea room was a lovely place to visit. A small place somewhat bring forth the appearance of an old english cluttered service room.
There tea selections were not very extensive but adequate, their service came in mismatched (as in different cups and plates for different tables) completing the atmosphere of a down home feeling.
In general, had this place been closer it would have been a good place to take a book and read on a quiter day. The tea was brewed in piping hot water (one of the most essential elements of brewing black tea). Actually a simple fact that most people overlook.
`A somewhat lopsided view of what the place looks like.
The sandwich that I ordered was nice and substantial, in fact my only complaint with it was it was too much like a good lunch sandwich rather than a  teatime sandwich. It came with a side of potato salad, healthy but a better option than potato chips.
So if like me you want something warm when there is a nip in the air, a quaint place where you can while an hour or two with friends or even your favorite book, try to take a ride up county and check this place out. If you like to collect tea and try some later, they also sell loose tea like most tearooms.
Kathleens Tea Room
979 Main Street
Peekskill, NY
914 734 5420
Filed Under Restaurant Reviews Tagged With Peekskill, Tea, Westchester County

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