High-Low

Who's to say you can't go from hot dogs and onion rings right to fancy tea?

Worked out well for us, since we hadn't had dessert yet, and are always up for tea at Mariage Freres. Before we went in to the tearoom, we went across the street to the tea annex that sells pre-packaged loose teas. I wanted to smell them to see if something less heavy than Lapsang Soucahng might appeal to me.

With our choices made, we headed into the tea room about twenty minutes later.

As lovely as the last time, and a bit more crowded,  we were seated right next to the cake display, in front of the tea bar. I settled on the Carre D'Or- 24 Carat and an iced Himalayn Rose tea, Isabella chose the creme brulee scented with their Marco Polo tea and an iced Earl Grey.

We both thought I'd be getting a few pieces including a chocolate mousse and some kind of caramel. Turns out, they made a little stack of everything included in the description and it was all wrapped up in an edible 24 karat foil. Very nice indeed, but oh so rich.

The creme brulee we had had last time was more of a coffee scented affair. Marco Polo tea added a fruity flavor that was ok, but not as perfect as the last time.

Regardless, we had a lovely time people watching, evaluating the white linen suits of the servers vs the beige linen suits of the men who worked in the tea shop measuring out tea for customers. The beige ones, overall, looked better on the men, which does not surprise me.

Over tea, we discussed Isabella's next big adventure: a trip with Kristin to ParcAsterix the next morning!

Tea Cakes

Once we were seated, I had a chance to catch the song they were playing. It was "Rum and Coca-Cola" by The Andrews Sisters. Gran Fran and Joe must have put that request in.

The tea service was different than what we are used to, as, in general, we've gone to English tea. The teas were all listed out on a seperate menu (2 pages long).

We chose sweets instead of sandwiches. Here is what we got:
* creme brulee that Isabella proclaimed as her favorite ever
* a little pound cake (like the size of your thumb) which was green for some reason but didn't have much flavor)
* the tiniest madeline i've ever seen
* a tart berry coulis
* a canale (not sure I spelled that right, but it looks like a muffin but fluted)

The tea choice for me was, of course, Lapsang Souchang and for Isabella, also of course, Earl Grey. I took mine hot even though it was 92 degrees here, hers was cold.

We would like to go back and try other food, since none of it was that memorable except for the creme brulee, but the tea is what is bringing us back.

Slurpee...Wait, its Fancy Tea

Check it out. Isabella got herself the largest, most delicious iced tea at our fancy ladies tea today. It was seriously as big as a Big gulp, only far superior.

Mariage Freres makes some of the nicest teas I've found and the place is beautiful I have posted the pictures I have from tea on flickr, but I want to go back and take some shots of the shop, too. IT's like stepping into a 1930's spy movie. I kept waiting to be passed some kind of instructions for my next mission, but alas none came.

There are huge wood shelving units behind the counter, where all the tea is stored in giant tins. The staff, all men as far as I've seen except for the cashier, wear white linen suits, white button downs and white bow ties. They measure out your tea to order, hand you a slip from which the cashier rings you up and then gives you your tea. So nicely done!

Next time, we will go in the morning, so the caffeine has time to work its way out and not keep us up until 1am!!