Our 40th Spot:

Claremont Hotel

41 Tunnel Road Berkeley, CA 94705

claremontresortandclub.com

Have you ever been driving around the East Bay and notice this big beautiful white building in the hills?! Being from Richmond, we would see it all the time. I would hear about it all the time too. My bio mom worked for this really generous boss and she would get sent on weekend retreats there for spa treatments. She would come back telling us all about the food and the glamour of being there. So, I always viewed it as this ‘untouchable’ place that I would never have any business stepping foot in.

Well, that place is the Claremont. And, I had business to tend to in there!

Check out this view, too!

Yes, this was a new Spot I squished in on the Tour again! Tho the Claremont has been serving afternoon tea for decades, this is the first since the Pandemic that they’ve opened their doors for their seasonal offering. I booked the soonest day we had available. Because we were so starstruck just being INSIDE, we wanted to make sure we looked like we knew what we were doing and were important enough to have a reason to be there!! LOL. We passed by an area we thought Tea would be at, but there was a sign on an easel in the front that said “PRIVATE EVENT”. Yeah, that’s not us! So we kept on walking…

Still walking…and nothing. I approached the Concierge to ask where Afternoon Tea was being held, and she directed us to where that sign was. I reiterated- where it says Private Event?? She responds, “You are the Private Event!” (about to cry emoji) THE SWEETEST!!

Just look-

So luxurious right?! Are you excited?? I’m excited to tell you!

Organic Bella Coola Punch (A warming sip for cold winter nights with notes of creamy orange & pineapple) – Very tart, with a slight cream undertone…a punch for sure!

Ontario Icewine (Smooth and silky with light Riesling and berry notes) – I’ve had an icewine before that I really liked. But what caught my attention was the Riesling part! I used to love me some Riesling. My favorites were Pacific Rim and Chateau Ste Michelle… Anyway, I chose good!

There were too many good shots of this tier, I couldn’t choose just one! So enjoy all three!

Our server beautifully explained each carefully prepared piece. Everything was made in-house. From the bread, to that amazing honey. From the looks alone, you could tell attention to detail was important to them. The bottom tier of sweets had desserts themed from all over the world! I loved that part.

Sweet Potato Cheddar Biscuit (Apple Spiced Butter, Claremont Gold Honey) – I’m not really a fan of cheddar, but I had an open mind when trying this one. I put it all together with its designated fixings. Man oh man!! That thing was incredible! The combination was so complex, I didn’t even know how to describe it!? It became my favorite, fast. And I think it was all because of that honey!!

Cranberry Orange Scone (Blood Orange Preserve, Devonshire Cream) – Ugh, the crispiest edges! Again with the complex. The texture was on point sure, but the flavors were so so good together.

Truffled Egg Salad (Chive, Pain au Lait) – Speechless. I’m learning I really like egg and truffle together!

Honeynut Squash Tartine (Whipped Burrata, Toasted Hazelnuts, Smoked Honey) – There was quite a bite to the squash that was unexpected…thought it was gonna be more mushy, but I welcomed it! The herby flavor gave it much depth.

Smoked Mary’s Chicken Salad (Blistered Grapes, Compressed Celery, Croissant) – That meat was so tender!! Love the grapes, and lots of celery yay! It’s kinda like the chicken salad I make for the kids at home, but a much elevated version of course haha. Just saying that I loved the simplicity of it…especially because it’s like the version I like! Didn’t realize til I was typing it out now, that that was croissant bread!? Um, yum! When I got to the crust part of it, I was so happy about the bread! It’s a good bread.

Lobster Roll (Fermented Chili, Shaved Fennel, Brioche) – Loooved the crunch of that fennel so much! There was a little tiny aftertaste of spice from the lobster, that was nice. It was a little too much bread for me. I would’ve liked more lobster filling for a better ratio.

Shaved Prime Rib (Horseradish Aioli, Mizuna, Chive Parker House Roll) – With all that green poking out, I already knew I was gonna like this one. Didn’t know it was mizuna, but it so closely resembled arugula and the arugula-lover that I am appreciated that so much! The rib was so thinly sliced, rare, and buttery. Made for an easy bite, score points.

There was so much to try in this tea service, and everything was so hearty! It was a nice + welcome change from some services that have the tiniest mouthfuls of things. I took another bite or two of my sandwiches before I moved on to the sweets.

Citrus Cheesecake – Subtle cheese flavor, nice crust, the rind was fun to chew.

Matcha Cake – Very moist cake. That jello center was an interesting surprise. The matcha flavor was really mild.

Chocolate Hazelnut Financier – Sooo chewy! For the bottom and corners of this, think of brownie texture. I loved that part of this sweet so much. And it wasn’t rich at all.

Vanilla Panna Cotta – Since panna cotta is my all-time favorite kind of dessert, I always get excited when I see it on a menu. I wish I would’ve gotten to this sooner, cuz it was melty by the time I had it. Still good flavor, and the raspberry made it better.

Macarons – Our server didn’t know what flavors these were… My best guess would be pistachio and birthday cake. Either way, they were very good! I said I coulda had the whole bottom tier just be these macarons and woulda been fine with that!

The service here was very noteworthy. Everyone treated us with so much kindness. Our server had been in the hospitality industry for some time and you could tell. He was informative about the building and history of the hotel and had a nice conversation with us at the end of our meal. That alone will change my whole tone of my review. If you serve me a step above mediocre food BUT THEN show me some genuine personal interest on top of that, you just raised my experience.

I’m so glad we got to have tea here. Being able to say I went inside the Claremont was worth it alone! The amount of food they present is definitely the value for what you’re paying. As high class of an establishment, no one makes you feel like you don’t belong there. At the end of our party, we were met with the most STUNNING Bay Area sunset. I kinda went crazy with my shots between the DSLR and iPhone! Here’s just a couple… Enjoy!

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Our 38th Spot:

Crown & Crumpet

22 Ross Common Ross, CA 94957

crownandcrumpet.com

If this tea room’s name looks familiar, it’s cuz we’ve visited them before…but in the City! Crown & Crumpet has been around for a long time!! Their first location was in Ghirardelli, that’s when my love affair with them started. Who remembers the story about the facebook pictures and my bedridden pregnancy!? Ahh, huh, ah-ha! So, our very first Spot on the Tour in 2014 was their next location (btw the Ghirardelli one closed) in Japantown. That’s when I met their cheeky owner, love her. Read about that visit here. When I opened the Tour again and started our 3rd Leg, she invited us to visit their Ross location. Of course we would!

Now it’s got its own Spot Number and Review, because they’re different! Just like Lovey’s is different from Lovejoy’s…

I didn’t get too much of the interior (1) cuz there were people eating in there, and (2) cuz I was already busy talking with the owner when we got there! But here’s a pic or two…

We had a bit of a drive to get there…a little over an hour. And it was such a rainy day. But we were still thrilled to have this adventure scheduled! In April of this year, I was so honored to be invited to a friend’s first time to C&C’s place in San Francisco. She had always wanted to go, and I had the privilege of attending with her. Since C&C was her JAM, I invited her to this tea party too! We took another cutie friend, and the 2 coolest gramma’s you will ever meet!! (too young to be my gramma’s, but happy to have them as friends!) I felt so flattered that they agreed to spend the afternoon with me. Just the ride over was already fantastic! Nothing like passing San Quentin and being in Pac’s hometown of Marin hehe. So. Many. Inside jokes… Such a cute little town, Ross is. We woulda loved to spend more time perusing the boutique shops around their main street feel!

When she walked us to the back to our table and it was OUTSIDE- (the ‘I can’t handle this’ emoji) let’s all say it together: “I love eating outside!!!” Since I don’t look at social media or websites too much before visits, I either didn’t know or had forgotten that they had an outdoor option. Even their tents were so cute with window details! They helped us feel so comfy back there. We had cozy blankets, heaters on (that later we even turned off), and even (guys) purse holders were offered! This elevated the experience for me already.

After we got settled in, we all took turns selecting our teas. Here’s what we ordered at our table: Alice Drink Me Tea (raspberry, white peach, strawberry black), Pretty in Pink (strawberry vanilla herbal), Earl Grey (bergamot black), Swamp Water (tropical rooibos), and my pick Lychee Congou (special reserve black). Everyone absolutely loved their choices! Especially my friend who ordered their Alice blend, she even purchased some on our way out. My Lychee was soo good (yall know I love me a lychee tea), it was like lychee but also creamy!? Happy they were happy!!

We’re sitting there enjoying our teas and the rain really starts pouring. Ugh, it was BEAUTUFUL. Hearing the pitter-patter of each of those chunky raindrops hit the canopy we were under… While sipping our hot drinks… I could’ve stayed under there forever. I JUST LOVED IT!!

I’m always saying this but I never do it… I need to record them when they’re explaining what’s on the tiers, especially when each item isn’t listed in detail on their menus! I legit got quiet when they were sharing with the table next to us, and told all my friends to ear hustle so we could get the deats again! Haha! I have some official names aand some I made up…hehe.

I always go for my Crumpet first. And they bring it out warm, so come on! Theirs is perfect, lemme just say that right here. It might not look like much in the picture…but I can assure you, each of those crannies are filled with buttery goodness. The edges are crispy, the middle is chewy. And their fixings aren’t pictured here, but they lovingly gave us EACH our own to use and (ugh I wanna cry) their clotted cream and house-made lemon curd + jam = gold standard, period.

Cucumber Sandwich – Okay so, their cucumber is a bit soggy. Yes, I admit. However. I love me some chewy soggy bread thooo!! This one almost melts in your mouth AND they put something a little different in theirs!? Like, I kinda tasted dill…but…it could be something different, I don’t know. It’s one of those tastes that make you go hmm.

Egg Salad on Croissant – You can see it in there, I know you can. There’s a big chunck of GREEN ONION. Right there! There! (whiny emoji) If you’re a longtime reader of this blog (thanks for still being here, love ya for that), you’ll know I hate me some green onions. (green nauseated emoji) Can’t stand em, won’t eat em, can’t do em. When I’m watching a cooking show with the Huz and they add that scallion business on anything, I have to obnoxiously + verbally take my stand on my hatred. BUT. I don’t know if I was feeling brave or didn’t wanna bother with the removal project… (takes a deep breath) I just freely took my bites out that sandwich. And you know what. I loved it. There, I said it.

Coronation Chicken Sandwich (lightly curried chicken with apricots, almonds, green onions & mango chutney) – Their menu says “lightly” but that didn’t taste ‘lightly’ to me. That joint was FULL of curry flavor. I’ve had a number of curry chicken sandwiches on this Tour in the last almost 10 years, and my friends, that is one SLAMMIN chicken curry sandwich!! (three clapping emojis) I couldn’t get enough. I woulda eaten a whole loaf mmkay, of those things!

Sausage Savory – This may not look like much (I know I said that already about something else huh), but don’t let this tiny bite fool you. It packs a smoky punch boyy!

Brie Tart – That’s a sturdy pastry!! Made this savory so much more fun, that crumbly crunch. The brie and jelly were a match made for each other! So yum.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberry – Always a happy-maker. I could eat these all day!

Cinnamon Cake – Dense bread, subtle spice.

Lavendar Rosemary Shortbread – Crispy cookie, light flavor, the sugar crystals gave exciting texture!

Apricot Bar – I wanted a whole 9 by 13 of this!! I savored every morsel. Not too sweet, great textures (with the crunchy bottom, gooey center + crumbly topping). Absolutely delicious!

Cranberry (I think) Scone – And last but not least! Just a really good standard scone. Fluffy, nice flavor. Couldn’t say anything bad about it if I tried!

Honestly, I breezed through my pictures + notes! Even forgot to post on Threads for my ‘Real Time Thoughts’ hahah. (I mean, I did post…but not as well as I could’ve) I was just thoroughly enjoying myself with my guests, I wanted to join in on all that laughter that was being had!! The owner of C&C (as I’m sure I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts + social media) is just such a riot, she always hosts us to such a good time. And as I told her verbatim, “I could never say anything bad about this place.” They know what they’re doing with tea and they do an exceptional job with it all. We browsed around their shop next door, met their sweet Shop Girl! Used the bathroom one last time before our long drive home, and took photos with their Queen cut-out on the wall hehe. Can’t wait to come back here! If yall find yourselves out that way, please stop by and have some Tea at the Crown & Crumpet. You won’t be sorry you did!

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