New Menu Visit:

Claremont Hotel

41 Tunnel Road Berkeley, CA 94705

claremontresortandclub.com

IT’S TIIIII-IIIIIIIIIIME!!

No, not for Mariah’s song… For Afternoon Tea at the Claremont!

Of all the Tea Spots I’ve visited, I get the most messages, the most inquiries, the most wish list confessions about the Claremont Hotel! Yall are obsessed!! “When will the Claremont be serving Tea again?” “Can you ask the Claremont when they’ll be serving Tea again?” “The Claremont should serve Tea all year round.” I really should have been taking screenshots, cuz yall know I love me a receipt haha.

That long awaited time is finally here! During November and December, every Saturday and Sunday, at 12:30 PM and 2:00 PM seatings, the Claremont Hotel will be serving their Festive Holiday Afternoon Tea! And of course, yours truly had the absolute pleasure of trying it all on the first day it was offered! Thank you to their amazing staff for hosting us once again and showing us a fabulous time!

What initially impressed me was how neutral this theme was executed. Festive: cheerful and jovially celebratory; Holiday: a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done. There weren’t Christmas trees everywhere, no tinsel or mistletoe. Even the menus just had a pretty floral design. So for those that don’t celebrate the popular events that happen around this time of year, they are free to come and enjoy this theme without compromising their own set of beliefs or traditions. Well done, Claremont.

Creamy Earl Grey (a remarkably heady earl grey tempered with wickedly delicious cream flavor) – I was so surprised I hadn’t ordered this one yet, as I’m a Creamy Earl Grey Girl! We made sure to try teas we hadn’t tried yet this go around. Very perfumy up front, not much depth.

Organic Oregon Mint (with a blend of the world’s finest spearmint and peppermint, this tea offers a strong aroma that’s soothing & invigorating) – Very slight minty background, not strong at all. I think I’m not too excited about the teas so much, because the food really takes center stage.

Afternoon Sparkler (Chandon champagne, Empress gin, lemon juice, lavender simple syrup) – What a cool addition to this service, we got to try some cocktails too! (clapping hands) Their sweetest bartender (always nice to see him!) surprised us with these selections, and so glad he did. So so fragrant. The citrus hits you right away, that’s niiice. Lavender is perfect. Nice tang.

Oolong Sour (oolong-infused Gold Bar whiskey, lemon juice, egg whites, simple syrup) – Ohmygosh!! That’s one of the best cocktails I’ve ever tasted. You barely know you’re having alcohol, which Chef says could be a good or bad thing haha. We loved this one so much tho. “Save me sooome!”

Spectacular tier.

Rosemary Buttermilk Biscuit (Claremont Gold honey butter) – So fluffy inside, the accompaniments go so well with it, and love love love that honey. (I made sure to take some home with me this time yay!)

Lemon Poppy Scone (orange marmalade, devonshire cream) – I don’t know how he nails that crumb every. Tiiime!? Only a little lemon which I like, but serious crunch for days. Had to take a second bite, before I moved on to my next tasting…

Winter Vegetable Quiche (honeynut squash, kale) – I don’t know but I tasted greens and it brought me right back to my Southern Granny’s greens. There was an unexpected smoke. Thick, crumbly pastry. Gooood.

Wild Mushroom Tart (truffled fromage blanc) – There’s a freshness in this one right off the bat. Chewy bread, tart in the cream, micro greens were a nice finish. This was the table fave fo sho. I could’ve eaten a million of those. It was the cold, chewy mushrooms for me.

Smoked Salmon Cucumber Salad (croissant) – Love how the salmon was minced, adored that texture. Then that good crunch in the cucumber. And I love croissant anything.

Dungeness Crab Salad (fennel, avocado, parker house roll) – Very light. Loved the fennel. I am a Fennel Girrrl!!

Prime Rib (black garlic horseradish aioli, gem lettuce, caramelized onion, sourdough) – I am all about the horseradish. And that rib was so tender!

I don’t know how he exceeds EV-ER-Y TIME!!?!

I’m usually all about the biscuit…but the scone today!! I don’t even like lemon! LOL.

It’s the choice of bread for each thing too.

Vanilla Panna Cotta – The peppermint meringue was a nice touch. But I always love the fruits, so the blueberry was it for me.

White Chocolate Cranberry Financier – Cake is always so moist. The cranberry topper was quite welcome.

Matcha Roulade – Not strong matcha at all, which is a good thing for this sweet. Inhaled this one.

Citrus Cheesecake – There’s a bitter in the citrus that I really liked. The cheesecake was more spongy than I like, but I still ate it! Haha.

Strawberry Champagne Macaron – Always excellent. Perfect amount of flavor of each profile.

We (as per usual) had an AMAZING time. The meal was excellent. Chef came out a couple times to chop it up with us (do people still say chop it up?), always good to see him and hear what he has going on. [Chef Joseph L. Paire III, Executive Chef, follow him @chefjosephl] Service is always impeccable. You will be treated with only the utmost respect and care here. They made sure we had everything we needed for a brilliant afternoon. During our visit the Hotel Manager stopped by to say ‘hello’. I was so caught off guard! It was toward the end of our meal. A few sips (of each cocktail PLUS a glass of Moet & Chandon Imperial Brut, Epernay) in and my One-Bite’s just hanging out (if you don’t know what those are, click here), and here he came for a Meet + Greet! He was so kind and I was a little starstruck at the moment hahah. After he walked away, it was discovered that I had a huge black poppyseed in my teeth!! We died and cracked up about that for a couple minutes!

It seriously is always a pleasure to visit the Claremont. Their hospitality is top tier (pun intended). For all of you who ask me about this place, help me show them some love back and take advantage while their seasonal Afternoon Tea is available. You have 8 weekends still!! I just might go back too, when my sister gets back into town. She’s always wanted to go, and we have yet to! If you see me, say HI! And if you have Tea there, tell us how it went!

All Claremont Hotel related posts:

Spot #40 :: Claremont Hotel

NEW MENU ALERT! Claremont Hotel | Galentine’s Day Tea

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I’ve been thanking people for donations for a while now. Sometimes my Stories posts mention donations. But, donations for what? Since we’re so close to approaching the 4th Leg of our Tour, I thought I would do a full blog post just about that.

Full transparency. (as per usual that you get from me)

At the bottom of every blog post I publish, you’ll see a Donations Form. It gives you options for monetary donations on a one-time, monthly, or yearly basis. And if you are moved to contribute, I wanted to tell you what that money goes towards.

If you’ve been here a while, you’ll know that Afternoon Tea is expensive. If you’re new around here (well, first Welcome!), hey Afternoon Tea is expensive. Our Leg’s are usually a full year long, sometimes longer. We do one a month. At average $50-70 each tea service, times 12 months = $600.00-840.00! And again, this is average. The most I’ve paid for tea was $250, and the least around $40.

Let’s get this straight right now: I AM NOT ASKING YOU TO PAY FOR MY TEA, that I volunteer and choose to do on my own.

For those that have and would like to donate, I’m just here telling you what that goes to. So yes, I/we have decided to visit these Afternoon Tea Spots all on our own. And I pay for these visits myself. (and my girlfriends do the same; of course, not all of them are going to ALL Tea Spots like I am) With the exception of less than a handful of collabs a Leg (that I disclose on those posts), each and every visit on the Tour is paid out of my pocket.

And that’s all that your donations go to. Not clothes, not camera equipment, not books (I’m a book-lover, are you?!). Just tea.

Without putting aaall our business out there- we are a one-income household and I am legally disabled (without disability benefits). My day job as a property manager pays me $11.00 every 2 weeks (yup, no typo there, no missing 00’s or anything). I own a small private gourmet tea boutique where I create and sell teas, for mostly friends + family. (so I’m not making major bucks off my friends or anything, the little I make goes towards my Tour visits or book habit hehe) This website is monetized, but it’s not like paying off my mortgage or anything! SO YOUR DONATIONS HELP SO SO MUCH!!!

Thanks to you kind Donators, friends and strangers, I have been able to continue doing what I love. I have never ASKED for donations, I just let you know that option is available should you choose to give out of your own genuine free will. I APPRECIATE ALL of you, whether you donate or not. Those that follow, ‘Like’, comment, share our social media posts- I see each and every one of you. Those who have entered your email and subscribed to this website (which you can do at the bottom of each blog post too)- I see each and every one of you. Those who vibe with me and get to see my personality on Threads- I see each and every one of you. Those who laugh with me and get my silly voiceovers on TikTok- I see each and every one of you. So really, while this is meant to inform you of behind-the-scenes stuff… It really is an APPRECIATION post to all of you who inspire + motivate me to keep going. THANK YOU for letting me write. (three hand thanking emojis, that are really hi-five’ing emojis, but we use for hand thanking or praying)

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Tasting:

Alexander’s Patisserie

209 Castro Street Mountain View, CA 94041

www.alexanderspatisserie.com

Do you Brunch?!

My sister + I were just talking about meeting for brunch someday soon when heyyy! Did you know that Alexander’s does BRUNCH!!?! They only started offering it recently. Daily until 2p. And YES we would love to try it!! Sadly, she had to take an emergency trip so she wasn’t able to come with me this time. But we will def be coming back cuz I have to share these gems with her!!

Tornado Egg Omelette (egg, ham, homemade honey mustard, croissant, fruit) – These eggs were scrambled just like mom would make them at home, so you’re instantly met with nostalgic comfort. The ham had a nice saltiness. As simple as this one was, it was SO good. My 2nd favorite, hands down.

Champion’s Croissant Avocado Toast (oeuf poche, avocado, crispy prosciutto, pecorino romano, micro arugula, on top of the famous flat croissant) – Freshness hits you first, then the crispy prochutes (that’s what we call it at home!) (I know, what kind of Italian am I?! hehe), a little avo action, and juicy egg! There’s a nice heat that hits you in the back of the throat…but what I really liked was that citrusy sour note.

Spiral Burger (prime beef, triple cheese, runny egg, veggies, secret sauce) – I don’t even know what to say about this… (whiny emoji) Burger King who? McDonald’s who? This burger was so juicy, the sauce was exquisite, and that croissant bun just puts it on another level. Also if I might add, if you’re an arugula freak like I am- all the arugula galore that you could ever hope for!! (clapping hands emoji) We would happily pay this price over value menu pricing any day.

Coconut Overnight Oats (chia seeds, seasonal fruit, honey glazed nuts, coconut milk, maple syrup) – Creamy like a panna cotta (raise your hand if you know that’s my favorite dessert), nice crunch from all the nuts, honey hanging out in the background, and perfectly-timed ripe sweet berries. Spoon, licked clean.

Roasted Beef Panini (roasted prime beef, sweet onion, grilled pepper with onion olive oil, secret sauce) – Let me start off by saying: I didn’t even want this one. Hahah! (I was looking at their chicken one with more arugula and garlic aioli) But I am soo grateful that I agreed to what my date chose, because this was my absolute favorite of the brunch!! The tanginess of that sauce!! Onion was grilled to perfection, the juiciest red pepper, and the bite to the beef was excellent. I’m gonna have to ask the Huz to pick me up one of these when he’s on that side of town again, cuz…ugh, SO GOOD.

What a treat, we even got to try 2 of their NEW DESSERTS! Thank you to our gracious host for picking these beauties!

Mango Tango (mango cremeux, vanilla chiffon, passion whip ganache, vanilla mousse) – The mousse was delicately light. But don’t let that fool you cuz it was FULL of mango flavor! I want more!! (Legit just remembered I had my second half in the fridge and devoured it just now after writing this!)

Zen (matcha diplomat cream, matcha sponge cake, raspberry confit) – I had to have a moment after my first bite. I keep using the word ‘perfect’ in this, but I can’t think of a better adjective!? Soo I’m gonna keep using it k! PERFECT matcha flavor (not too earthy, not artificial tasting at all) with a light raspberry vibe.

So back to my question ‘Do you Brunch?!’… If you do, I have just the place! Go for the Roasted Beef Panini alone man, seriously!! But don’t forget to get the Tornado Egg too. And you’ll have to try the Spiral Burger of course. Oh, and the Champion’s Croissant too! Just come okay!! I’ll meet you there!

Thank you thank you thank you once again to the entire Alexander’s Patisserie team for showing us such a good time! We are always welcomed with such warmth and love. You are all such a pleasure to work with, I always leave not being able to wait to come back! (and then my poor husband gets sent there consistently for the following weeks after, to fetch craving requests for me hehe. LOVE HIM for it, thank you Poppi) If you’ve not already, please visit my friends at Alexander’s and enjoy their new Brunch Menu! Then tell us all about it, we love hearing from you.

All Alexander’s Patisserie related posts:

Spot #36 :: Alexander’s Patisserie

TASTING at Alexander’s Patisserie

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“Break-shmeak!” is what I told her verbatim. Did you guys really think I would miss out on the opportunity to try Muir’s tropical tea service and surround myself with their translation of Polynesian decor?! Absolutely not. My late Hawaiian maternal grandmother would be upset! (well not really, she never got mad at anyone actually…this was just my way of bringing up my roots I guess, hehe) Their once every summer theme has returned, and parTEA with me was there the very first weekend it opened to taste everything and report back with all the deats!!

New Menu Visit:

Muir’s Tea Room

330 S Main Street Sebastopol, CA 94572

www.muirstearoomandcafe.com

The garden is in full bloom! We took our preferred patio seat outside of course, but this time on the other side. And. I loved it!!

Grandma’s Garden (A caffeine free beautiful red tea, with ripe fruit and berries.) – We both wanted something different this time, so we tried 2 teas with the words “Garden” in them. We love a red tea (rooibos) in the house, so this was an easy choice! Fruity, slight tart, (def has hibiscus in there), slight cream.

The Queen’s Rose Garden (The Queen’s roses lend their soft touch to this beautiful and sweet tea, which is richly enhanced by warm sweet vanilla.) – This tea is incredible. Yall already know the ‘vanilla’ part is what caught my attention. It had thee best vanilla flavor. I don’t know WHY I hadn’t tried this one yet…it was on their regular menu.

English Garden Prosecco Cocktail (Cherry, Pomegranate and Elderberry Juice Mixed with Grenadine and Bubbly Prosecco) – There’s the word “garden” again! We got to try some alcoholic beverages too this trip!! (yayyy) You could def taste the cherry in this one. Complex flavors made you keep sipping!

Butterfly Bellini Prosecco Cocktail (Peach Juice with Bubbly Prosecco) – Simply explained and simply delicious. The dancing glitters were a nice touch!

Hawaiian Macaroni Salad on a bed of greens – It’s hard for me to try anyone else’s mac salad, cuz the Huz makes an excellent one. But this was really good. And they always kill it with the dressing! The celery was a great addition too (which isn’t usual in your typical Hawaiian mac). My favorite part is knowing it’s not gonna tear up my stomach cuz it’s dairy-free!! For as long as I’ve been coming here, I never finish the salad. It’s a mountain of it and I always know to leave room for the tier + sweets. Girrrl, no To-Go today cuz I finished every morsel.

Mango Scone with house made lemon curd, jar of imported raspberry preserves & “cream” – Most perfect scone. Nice crunch at first bite, then all the fluffy. The mango bits were fun to chew! Lemon curd = unmatched.

My sister voted them Most Fullest Tier! The tickets were GENIUS.

Kukama (cucumber) Tea Sandwich with Chives – My favorite is that they do all the chives and use a whole STACK of cucumbers!

Ahi Kanuika | Chickpea “Tuna” Salad Finger Sandwich – I was trying to figure out what I was tasting… Is that citrus? Is that dill? It was sweet relish!! Oh man, and it was so tasty. This one had a good mouthfeel.

Uala Uwale | Sweet Potato Slice with Avocado – Okay, my favorite so far. Super roasty! Adored the caramelized edges.

Luke Melehune ‘aka ‘akai | Lettuce Cup with Mushroom Filling – “Is that poi??” That’s what my sister asked when I sent her a pic of the tier. That’s what I thought, and that’s what the Huz was thinking. WELL DONE Muir’s, well done. (three clapping emojis) It looked just like poi. Had me salivating just like poi does for me. But, it wasn’t poi. Clever tho huh!? The crunch of the lettuce and the goo of the filling just worked so well.

Ko ala ‘ala | Terriyaki Tofu & Veggie Puff Pastry Dumpling – Can’t believe that’s tofu. The sauce was everything. Pastry, always perfect. Every time you bite it, there’s something new! All the veggies in there were cooked to perfection.

Guava Cupcake – Legit licked the paper. What does Joey say…? “I’m not even sorry!” Haha. The syrup was so good!! I’m like- can I have some of that guava syrup to-go please?!

Macadamia Nut Shortbread – As always, gold standard.

Hot Lava Volcano | Coconut Stack dipped in Chocolate – Soo inventive! The moistest. Ugh, and the crunchy sprinkles. (the sighing I can’t emoji) They really think of everything!

Okay so- they executed this amazingly. It wasn’t too overly Hawaiian, like there weren’t hibiscus flowers everywhere! Muir’s did what Muir’s does and presented this theme with such class and respect for all Poly cultures. As a real Hawaiian-blooded diner (my DNA says so), I Olyve Lokelaniho’āla, appreciated this theme so much. I already can’t wait til next summer!!

If you noticed in the picture of the Tier too, they hooked it up with my favorite and had some Li Hing Mui on the side! Yezzir! Or lihimui (what we’d call it) if you grew up with it, or just li hing. IYKYK. The Huz and I practically cleaned that little dish out! They always pack their tiers with so much fruit, and this just elevated the entire experience!!

After our Service (I lie, I was eyeing about $100 worth of stuff before I even got to my seat!), I went to grab all my goodies at their Gift Shop. They hand-select specific items to be sold there and they must’ve just restocked or brought in some new stuff cuzzz- I wanted to buy everything!! MAKE SURE you peruse when you go.

A cute thing they do that I didn’t get a picture of last time (but I did this time!) is wash + leave out the old preserves jars that people leave from their tea service, for guests to take for free. The Huz got a kick out of this since we just cleaned and restocked our spice rack at home. We were short some jars, so he was excited to take a few today!

So yes, I’m still on Break…but this was so much fun! Anything for Muir’s, seriously. I am so happy & honored to be able to share this New Menu with all of you. But, I need a favor. If you’re reading this and are on social media (since I’m currently not), would you mind sharing it for me please?! Help me spread the word about this terrific theme cuz I don’t want yall to miss out! Thanks in advance. By the way, are you guys liking the Top 5’s?? I thought that would be a fun way to still put out some posts for you loyal ones while I’m out. More coming!

~ SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO ARE CONTINUING TO READ THE BLOG, FOLLOWING, DONATING, AND STILL ROCKIN WITH US ON OUR SOCIALS ~ I will be back in no time!

All Muir’s Tea Room related posts:

Spot #28 :: Muir’s Tea Room

Spot Revisit :: Muir’s Tea Room (#28) – Best Overall

NEW MENU ALERT! Muir’s Tea Room | Alice in Wonderland

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