Banana Chocolate Scones and Tea with Alice in Wonderland

It's a Mad Hatter Tea Par-tay!   

I love quaint.  I tend to tilt my head and sigh "awwww" when I spot quaintness.  This is one reason why I melt as soon as I land anywhere in Europe; any city on the entire continent could be renamed "Quaintville".  (Side note: I just made up two new words.  If you're playing a drinking game while reading this, I advise you to buckle up; there's more ridiculousness where that came from).

One of my favorite things to do every morning in any European city: sit outside at a quaint little cafe on a tree-lined cobblestone street,  while sipping something warm and soothing and munching on a deliciously flaky pastry, watching the elegant locals stroll by.  So quaintly.

Magical Fairy Dust kindly greeted us at the front door.

 

This is just one reason why I love New York: it can rival Europe with its quaintliness.  

By now you can probably guess which word popped into my head the first time I walked into Alice's Tea Cup: quaint!  This charming little tea shop is not only adorable, it serves some of the most tasty scones I've ever had.

I ordered the appropriately named "Alice's Mad Morning Tea" which included my choice of one scrumptious scone, my choice of eggs, crunchy homemade granola with vanilla yogurt, and of course, a quaint little pot of tea.  My friend Mel chose a similar spread, except instead of granola, she received a plateful of yummy cookies.  We quickly learned an important lesson: you can't go wrong here.  

Homemade granola sprinkled with fresh berries

I chose the signature "Alice's Tea", a blend of Indian black tea, Japanese green tea, vanilla and rose petals.  Smooth, silky, almost creamy...one sip and I immediately understood why this tea has a dedicated following. 

Then came the hard part: choosing The Scone.  I have never seen so many different types of crazy tasty scones in my life.  Scones are one of my favorite breakfast pastries (anything made with outrageous amounts of butter ranks high on my favorites list), so I took some time making my very important choice.  After staring at them for a while, and animatedly discussing them with the Scone Lady (there was lots of pointing and oohing and ahhing),  I finally narrowed it down to three: 

Option #1: Glazed Pumpkin Scone

Option #2: Berry Chocolate Chip Scone

Option #3: Banana Chocolate Scone

While I wanted to try them all (and I will--these have been added to my already very long Next Time List), I chose #3.  First, because it contains bananas, which is a fruit, which made me feel better about eating a scone the size of my head.  Second, because I believe that chocolate makes everything better.  And it did--crumbly, buttery, fruity and chocolatey, this scone was quaintly delicious.

As if the to-die-for scones weren't enough reason to come back, Alice's Tea Cup also makes cupcakes, cakes, and many other mouthwatering desserts that have also been added to my Next Time List.  

Banana Nutella layered cake?  Are you people in my head?

I can't wait to try all of the locations, and have another lovely and quaint afternoon tea.

Also added to the Next Time List.  This list is getting long.

Alice's Tea Cup

156 E 64th St

New York, NY 10021

www.alicesteacup.com

212-486-9200

A Lovely Tea Party at The Plaza

The classics, dahling: Earl Grey Tea and a Currant Scone
(I'm typing this with a British accent.  In fact, I recommend
reading this entire story with a British accent).

There are few things lovelier in life than high tea.  Donning a beautiful dress and a fabulous hat, I never feel as elegant, ladylike--or British--as when I'm surrounded by scones and strawberries, devonshire cream and soothing hot tea.  In LA, The Peninsula Hotel was a favorite.  Now that I'm in New York, I'm officially on a quest to find the Best Place in New York for High Tea.

The fabulously elegant Palm Court  

But where to start?  So many choices, so little time. I decided to begin at one of my favorite hotels in the city, the classic and gorgeous Plaza Hotel.  And luckily, my fabulous friend Sylvia was in town to join me.

Set across from beautiful Central Park, The Plaza offers gorgeous scenery both inside and outside its grounds.

Palm Court, where high tea is offered on weekend afternoons, is an elegant space, complete with high ceilings, crystal chandeliers, plush velvet chairs, gilded staircases, and a jungle of palm trees.  What a perfect stage for a lovely afternoon tea party.

One of the things I love most about high tea is the high tea stand.  Mini sandwiches, scones, muffins, and petit fours are already fun, but arrange them ever so perfectly on cascading china?  Behold, The Tower of Goodies.

This little egg-filled buttery pastry cup could not be more
adorable (or yummy).

My all-time favorite little sandwich (I asked for 2!)
Smoked salmon with a rich cream cheese and dill.  Divine.

In addition to the standard sandwiches and scones, placed delicately at the top of the stand was a bevy of fabulous little desserts.   The Plaza didn't stop at 2 or 3 choices--this dessert plate offered 6 very different treats- from cakes to macaroons to chocolates to chewy fruit bars.

A warm welcome to you all, my friends.

Well hello little chocolate cake surprise (I'm still not sure
exactly what this was.)

Thank God they're bite-sized or I would have been at the gym for the rest of the day (of course I tried them all).  My favorite dessert was the beautiful little marble sized chocolate button, swirled with beautiful white and red swirls.  Almost too beautiful to eat.  Almost.

Our lovely tea experience was made even more so by the addition of adorable little girls with their mothers, bringing their Eloise dolls, and some even wearing matching Eloise outfits.  If you're not sure who Eloise is, she is the star of a children's story of a little girl who lived in the penthouse of The Plaza.  In fact, there's a lovely painting of Eloise that hangs on the wall next to Palm Court.  It seems to be tradition that when the girls are finished with their tea, they take photos with Eloise and their dolls.  Sylvia and I happened to be sitting next to the painting, and witnessed this cute little scene several times during our 3-hour tea.  Absolutely adorable!

Thank you, Eloise, for making our
tea experience even more enjoyable.

The Plaza Hotel

Fifth Avenue and Central Park South

NY, NY 10019

212-546-5300 

www.theplaza.com