Category Archives: Tea Rooms

Afternoon Tea at the Biltmore Estate Hotel

Last November (2019) David and I traveled to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville NC to experience the Candlelight Christmas Tour at the mansion…and to see the Downton Abbey Exhibit on display at the Estate.

It was totally awesome to see the largest home in America all decked out for the holidays! In addition to enjoying the festively decorated mansion, we savored gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate in their courtyard huddled close to a patio heater (it had turned cold and rainy), we further explored the mansion with “behind-the-scenes” and “up to the rafters” tours, and had Afternoon Tea at the Biltmore Estate Hotel. I will say it is the most expensive Afternoon Tea we have ever enjoyed of but it was elegant, the tea food tasty and well presented. The dessert plate was the best!

Here is a pictorial recap of our lovely Afternoon Tea at the Biltmore Hotel…

Inside the Biltmore Hotel looking down the stairs to the Dining Room where our Afternoon Tea would be served.

Looking from our table across the Dining Room with our fellow Afternoon Tea guests

Hot tea served the true English way with loose tea leaves in the pot and tea cup strainer…
David’s favorite way to enjoy tea!

Tiered server of assorted scones and condiments

Served plate of tea savories…
Grilled Vegetable Wrap, Cucumber Sandwich, Sausage Roll, Butternut Custard Tart, Smoked Salmon Mousse

“Welsh Rabbit” they called “Blushing Bunny” –
cheese sauce over toasted bread, garnished with grape tomatoes

The decadent dessert plate – we each were served our own plate of these delicious little beauties!

Sweet Shalom Tea Room – October 2020

On a gorgeous fall afternoon a couple of Sundays ago, David and I, along with our toy poodle Soapy, traveled to Sylvania, Ohio for our monthly visit to Sweet Shalom Tea Room. The theme for October…”Oct-TEA-Ber Fest”…a fun twist of the Bavarian tradition of Oktoberfest. The menu offerings consisted of an array of tasty German-style foods.

Decorated fireplace mantle in autumn hues at Sweet Shalom Tea Room

Centerpiece display with a small German flag

Cream Scone with Butter and Blackberry Jam
Hot Apple Cider (in glass cup)

Kartoffelpuffer (Potato Pancakes) with Sour Cream
Chicken Sausage
Homemade Applesauce

Three tier server with savories and sweets

Gurkensalat (German Cucumber Salad)
Bavarian Soft Pretzel with Cheese Spread
Muenster Cheese & Fruit Skewer
Turkey Ham Tea Sandwich
Apple Kuchen with Whipped Cream
Lebkuchen Spice Cookie

Sweet Shalom Tea Room – September 2020

Last Sunday, David and I, along with Soapy, drove to Sylvania, Ohio for our September visit to the Sweet Shalom Tea Room. This month’s theme is “A Leaf Peeper’s Tea” in celebration of the approaching autumn season. We met up with our dear tea friends, Betty and Ron Hill.

At each place setting was a caramel apple waiting to be decorated. An assortment of little edible decorations were on each table to use for this purpose. We each had fun with this special and seasonal activity…we all agreed David won the prize for most creative!

A delicious tea meal along with a presentation on best scenic road trips in Michigan to see fall color rounded out another wonderful time with the folks at Sweet Shalom. Thank You!

Personalized menu with September’s theme – “A Leaf Peeper’s Tea”

Caramel apple at each place setting waiting to be decorated

Generous assortment of caramel apple decorating treats

David and Ron very thoughtful about decorating their caramel apples!

David’s wins for being the most creative…at our table!

My apple on the left and David’s on the right

September’s tea meal starts with a delicious Harvest Vegetable Soup

Cheddar Chive Scone accompanies the soup

Tea server of savories and sweets – Cucumber Tea Sandwiches, Turkey Tetrazzini, Veggie Confetti Tumble,
Beefy Cheesy French Bread, and Pumpkin Run Cake with Rum Butter Sauce

Finial Dessert – Apple Dumpling with Whipped Cream

Sweet Shalom Tea Room – May 2020

After such a delightful “take-out” tea experience at Sweet Shalom in April, David and I were truly looking forward to doing it again in May! We made our reservations with Sweet Shalom, and plans to meet up with Betty and Ron Hill in the back parking area as before. When we arrived though, David and I were invited inside. Not sure what was going on, but once inside we were escorted to the big table by the front bay window where in the middle of the table was this GORGEOUS “Cara Cara Orange Cake”!

Such a surprise…Sweet Shalom co-owners Chris Kruse and Sara Velasquez, along with our tea friends Betty and Ron, organized to celebrate David and my May birthdays! Chris baked and decorated this beautiful cake for us! The tea food still was “served” take-out style to the table (except for the soup)…and it was all great fun! Besides the staff, the four of us were the only ones inside.

As I write this post, I am still in awe, humbled by the love and thoughtfulness of our dear Sweet Shalom and tea friends! It was so special and lovely! Thank You All!!

Our dear tea friends Betty and Ron Hill, along with Sweet Shalom Co-Owner Sara Velasquez

Our take-out tea food packaged and served at the table!

Our assortment of tea treats in the take-out tray…love the fresh flowers!

And for dessert…a slice of the delicious Cara Cara Orange Cake!

Sweet Shalom Tea Room – April 2020

I recently posted about our June and July visits to Sweet Shalom Tea Room in Sylvania, Ohio. For April and May, our visits to Sweet Shalom were a bit out of the ordinary to say the least!

In order to stay in business during the COVID-19 shut-down, co-owners Chris Kruse and Sara Velasquez, along with their dedicated staff, needed to get creative. They decided to offer full “take-out” service of the month’s themed tea menu.

Not to break our record of visiting Sweet Shalom each month…David and I decided to go to Sweet Shalom the last weekend in April even though it was still iffy traveling around in Michigan and especially crossing the state border into Ohio.

We made our reservations with Sweet Shalom and were given an allotted time to be there for our take-out pick-up. When we got there, we parked in their back parking area, called the staff to let them know we arrived, and the masked staff proceeded to deliver the full tea menu offerings in take-out fashion to our van.

The warm scones were packaged in white paper bags complete with butter and jam, each in their own little lidded cup. Soup was next and presented in a lidded container. Then the items normally served on a tiered server were all beautifully arranged in a brightly colored covered tray complete with the usual fresh flower garnishes.

As for drinking hot tea, David and I had brought our own personal Thermos of tea.

Our dear tea friends, Betty and Ron Hill met up with us in the back parking area to enjoy our respective take-out tea meals. It was a warm enough day that we could sit in our vehicles with the windows down to converse and still have social distancing.

I have to say…it was great FUN! Different, delightful and delicious! Thank You Chris and Sara (and staff) for your devotion to keep Sweet Shalom going for yourselves and for your tea patrons. You found a way to work around the COVID-19 challenge and present such a unique tea experience! It was beautiful in so many ways!

Sweet Shalom Tea Room – July 2020

David and I visited Sweet Shalom Tea Room in July for their “Salute to America’s National Parks” Themed Tea. It was another wonderful visit with a delightful assortment of National Park themed food!

Decorated fireplace mantle in Main Parlor Room

An assortment of National Park Themed Teas

Arcadia National Park Popovers with Maine Blueberry Jam

Tiered Server: Denali National Park Salmon Pasta Salad, Apostle Island National Park Cucumber Tea Sandwiches, Independence National Park Philly Cheese Steak Tea Sandwiches, Glacier National Park Sherried Mushrooms on Baguette, Death Valley National Park Date Nut Bread with Orange Cream, Yellowstone National Park Morning Glory Cookies

Sweet Shalom Tea Room – June 2020

Sweet Shalom Tea Room in Sylvania, OH re-opened for dine-in service in June after offering only take-out Tea meals for the months of April and May. The co-owners, Sara Velasquez and Chris Kruse, along with their staff, are like family to us. Each month Sweet Shalom presents a different theme and menu. My husband David and I have not missed going each month for years…we even went in April and May for their take-out Teas! It is a two-hour drive door-to-door and we have never tired of the drive which takes us across southern Michigan’s beautiful Irish Hills countryside.

The theme for June was “A Sumptuous Summer Strawberry Tea”.