Monday, August 27, 2012

A Sweet and Peaceful Tea

Sunday, yesterday, was a Sweet and Peaceful day. I had the great pleasure of taking tea with a friend at Sweet Shalom Tea Room in Sylvania, Ohio.  As always, Chris, the sweet proprietor, and her partners-in-peace had prepared a lovely themed tea on the 1950's.  Chris served as "Aunt Bea" for the day, from the Andy Griffith show.  It took us all back to a saner, more peaceful time. 

The menu was right out of the simple food of the 50's.  Plain cream scones with butter and apricot jam--warm and melt-in-your-mouth good.  Second course of quiche followed by third course of tea sandwiches: ribbon, chicken salad, and cucumber cream cheese.  Plus banana nut muffin with cream cheese frosting and peanut butter cholocate chip cookie.  
The place settings were so lovely, as usual; perhaps a bit simpler, as they would have been in the 50's.  The tea menu allows for a different tea with each course, so my friend Karen and I chose our favorites for each.  Never too much tea, and the variety offered in one setting was heavenly!  Karen had never been to a formal "tea", so it was a real treat for her.  It's always a treat for me, too, as this is where I get to relax and enjoy being served instead of serving customers myself.  That magic, rejuvenating power of tea in a warm inviting setting--one can hardly ask for more!
One of the touches I particularly enjoyed was the mantle in our room, decorated with Hats and Hankies from the era.  For those of you not old enough to remember days pre-Kleenex, a lady always had her hankies.  I remember ironing them with my grandmother, and always enjoyed the variety of prints and patterns they came in.

And then it came time to bid farewell to this retreat to the serenity of the 50's.  It was a most lovely day filled with good food, good tea and good company.  As we left, Aunt Bea stood at the front door, wishing us a "Sweet Shalom." 

 I could swear I heard Andy whistling his tune as we sauntered back to our 21st century lives, sated and filled with marvelous memories of sweeter days gone by.

3 comments:

relevanttealeaf said...

Enjoyed your post very much! Thanks for sharing your tea time at Sweet Shalom.

Marilyn Miller said...

Oh how I would have enjoyed this tea too. Thanks for sharing your very lovely day.

Linda Jennings said...

Sweet Shalom is definitely on my wish list of tea rooms to visit. Thanks for the review!