Traditional Afternoon Tea Recommendations

Happy Spring everyone! 😊 One of the things I look forward to during this time of year is...tea time with my girlfriends! I absolutely love catching up over some mini sandwiches, pastries, fruits, and of course, a steaming cup of hot tea. This past weekend, however, I got to do something different besides the traditional tea. Some girlfriends and I went to a winery and attended a "Taste of Rose Tea Party." We got to pair our food with different wines and it was delicious! 😋

If you are ever in the area, go and try Bluemont Vineyard! They have some of the best farm food and wine. I have went there for their Chef's Table brunches and dinners by the talented Chef Karli and I always want to go back for more! 😋

Afternoon Tea Suggestions

Mother's Day is coming up and I have compiled a list of Traditional Afternoon Tea places that you can go to and/or just to catch up with your friends in the Virginia area!

Places I have visited:

1. Crest Hill Antiques - located in Fauquier County, VA, they serve over 25 varieties of tea. I love their quaint little place, its comfortable and cozy, with servings of scones, mini sandwiches, tea breads, cakes, cookies, tea sandwiches, fruit plates and salads. I love how much food I get for the price, it's delicious and I am always stuffed with leftovers!

2. Ritz Carlton - located in Tysons Corner, VA, inside the hotel is the Entyse, Wine Bar & Lounge where they serve afternoon tea with "Tea through the Seasons" on Saturdays & Sundays. I have only been to one of their events, and it was the Halloween Tea Party with my kids and their friends! I remember everything was so beautifully decorated to the T with the Halloween theme and my boys enjoyed their cookies and sandwiches of ghosts and goblins. 

3. Elden Street Tea Shop - located in Herndon, VA, although I have never been to their afternoon tea events, I have stopped by there with some friends for just tea and it was satisfying and hearty. Looking at their website, they do offer private afternoon tea, afternoon tea events and weekly tea shop events. Be sure to check it out here!

4. Historic Rosemont Manor - located in Berryville, VA, they have signature teas that are very savory and flavorful. I love the smell and taste of their teas that I ended up purchasing some to take home! My favorite was the Signature Bryd Blend Black Tea.  Their scones, sandwiches and cookies was also absolutely delectable! Weekend teas usually fill up quick so be sure to make reservations way in advance. Here is the link to their tea schedule.

5. Oatlands Historic House and Gardens - located in Leesburg, VA, they offer afternoon tea and generous portions of mini sandwiches, fruits, scones, and cakes! They have tea for Mother's Day weekend so be sure to check that out!

6. The English Rose Tea Room - located in Virginia Beach, VA, this place offers a variety of scones, sandwiches, salads, cheese slices, fruit, and their spreads and jams are so delicious! 

Places I haven't been to but plan to go visit:

1. Henwick Hard Cider - located in Bluemont, VA, they are currently offering a Mother's Day Tea Party Picnic for May 8 & 9 weekend. There are various times listed so be sure to reserve in advance and bring your own picnic blanket! The Birds Bite Kitchen will be serving a picnic spread made for two that consist of cream scones, tea sandwiches, mini quiche tarts, sweet breads and shortbread cookies. They will also have cold brew teas for purchase and farm fresh hard cider.

2. The Tea Cart Tearoom - located in Berryville, VA, they offer traditional British tea, monthly themed tea events such as Bridgerton and The Sound of Music for the month of April. They have sandwiches, scones, selections of sweets, mimosas and even champagne! They have a Mother's Day tea so be sure to reserve online! 

3. Gateau Bakery Cafe & Tea Room - located in Warrenton, VA, this place offers luxury tea with sandwiches, salads, scones, and a variety of desserts such as cake pops!

4. Cafe Renaissance - located in Vienna, VA, this place offers afternoon tea time during the last Saturday of each month, so be sure to call and book in advance! Although I have never been here, some of my friends have and they raved how good this place is, especially their mini sandwiches and desserts!

5. The Jefferson Hotel - located in Richmond, VA, they offer afternoon tea with pastries, finger sandwiches, and scones on Fridays through Sundays. Their Mother's Day Tea is currently sold out but if you would like to go on the weekends, be sure to call and make reservations in advance!

6. Belle Grove Plantation - located in King George, VA, with over 200 years of history in this place, they use antique china, offers loose-leaf teas, scones, tea sandwiches and desserts! 

I hope you all found this blog post helpful in finding a place for afternoon tea and as always, please call in advance for reservations and dine in updates due to the pandemic. Some of these places also offer takeout as an option if you are not comfortable dining in. Till next time, stay safe and well everyone! 💛

Home For The Holidays Partnership with Washingtonian Magazine

 

Hello everyone! I have partnered with Washingtonian Magazine for Home For The Holidays campaign with Stella Artois and created a simple pasta dish with a festive salad video. It was so much fun working with the professionals from Washingtonian Magazine and I hope you find these recipes convenient and useful, especially when you want to drop off a hot meal to a family member or neighbor.

Please click here for the full video and recipes!

Photo credit: Kris Tripplaar

Some photos from the shoot!

Recipes:

SHRIMP PASTA WITH VODKA SAUCE

1. Bring water to a boil in a 4 quart pot, add a pinch of salt or drop of oil to keep from the pasta from sticking. Add half a box (12 oz) of bow tie and half a box (16 oz) of big macaroni elbow pasta. Let the pasta boil for 10-12 minutes or less if you prefer al dente. Pasta can be any brand of your choice, for the portions I use 12 ounces for 4 servings. 

2.  Boil 16-20 medium size uncooked deveined frozen shrimp in a pot for 5-7 mins. I use 4-5 shrimp per serving, you can adjust this to your liking.   

3. Pour 1/2  bottle of vodka sauce into a sauce pan and bring to a low simmer. My favorite brand is by Delallo from Wegmans and I use ½ a jar for four servings.

Ingredients list: 

One 16 ounce box Bow Tie pasta 

One 16 ounce box Big Elbow macaroni 

One Jar Delallo Foods Vodka Sauce 

One Bag Medium Frozen deveined Shrimp 24 count

For 4 servings you will use ½ of each box of pasta, ½ jar of Vodka Sauce and most of the shrimp

MIXED GREENS SALAD

 1. Purchase any brand of mixed greens salad.

2. Take 1 serving of the mixed greens salad and stir in a handful of Ocean Spray dried cranberries, blueberries and a mini pint of Briannas salad dressing in Rich Poppy Seed. Mix well.

Ingredients list: 

One 16 ounce springs mixed salad

One 5 ounce Ocean Spray dried cranberries

One 11 ounce blueberries fruit

One 12 ounce bottle of Briannas Rich Poppy Seed dressing

Thank you all much for reading and Happy New Year!

Richmond Food / Travel Guide

 

Hello everyone! Hope you are all doing well. 😊 I took two trips to Richmond recently for work in the past week, but did manage to check out a few places while I was there and wanted to share with you in case anyone is planning a visit sometime soon! 

Since I live locally and not too far from Richmond, I took daily trips and did not have to stay at a hotel. However, if you are out-of-town and looking for hotel recommendations, I did stop by the Jefferson Hotel and the inside was just as gorgeous as the outside, especially with all the holiday decor! Their iconic Christmas tree was up and I was lucky enough to snag some pictures for my blog. Please keep in mind that due to COVID, they are not allowing just anyone to walk into their hotel this year, you must have a dining reservation or staying at the hotel. 

    

The front of the hotel

 

The decorations

Decorations leading up to the entrance

The beautiful tree from a distance

The tree from a full angle

The beautiful Christmas tree

 Me posing in front of the tree!

Since I was there, I made reservations at the Lemaire restaurant located inside of the hotel and tried a few dishes that were pretty good!

Creste De Gallo Pasta

Braised Chicken Salad

Crab Cake Sandwich

Enjoying my ice tea! 😊

Another place that I also highly recommend for lunch in Richmond is called Perch, which is known for their Pacific-inspired flavored dishes. I ordered the following dishes and it was some of the best I ever had! 

Mongolian Beef Udon

Chicken Banh Mi  

If you want some breakfast-to-go foods or have a sweet tooth, I suggest whiskrva! They have lattes, coffees, croissants, macarons, muffins, tartlets, gourmet sandwiches, cookies, and much much more! I went and ordered the Salted Caramel Blondie & Pecan Tartlets as well as the Chocolate Croissant. They were so delicious! Whisk does offer online ordering for pick up, which is so convenient and they are currently taking holiday orders as well.

The front of the bakery

The inside of the bakery    

                  

 Pecan Seasonal Tartlets, Caramel Blondie, and Chocolate Croissant 

Iced drinks are also available in these flavors

Other spots I went to while there is the coffee bar and specialty milkshake shop called Coco + Hazel, located inside the Tuckahoe Shopping Center. I've always looked at their delicious, yummy looking drinks on Instagram and that was on my list to visit when I got to Richmond!

Located in middle of the Tuckahoe Shopping Center

The front of the shop 

The Blended Peppermint Mocha

Now, if you are in the mood for bubble tea drinks, then I recommend Kokee Tea in Carytown. Carytown is one of my absolute favorite spots to go back to over and over whenever I am in Richmond because they have the coolest stores, restaurants, and businesses. I love finding unique finds while shopping there, and the food isn't bad either! 😋 More on those delicious restaurants whenever I go back next time!

 The front of Kokee Tea

The inside of the shop

I love their adorable wall background to take a picture in front of!

Mango and Watermelon Slushies!

Now, for places to visit while there, I only got a chance to visit three spots. One is the ever so colorful LOVE sign, which also happens to be the front of the Reservoir Distillery!

The Love Sign and front of Reservoir Distillery

Posing in front!

                                                

The second place that I got to visit was the Historic Shockoe Valley. I drove to the top of the hill and got to see the beautiful view of Richmond for a quick minute!

The top where I can see rows of buildings in Richmond!

The last place I got to go see was the Virginia War Memorial. This memorial is dedicated to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation and when I got there, I was taken back with emotion.

Torch of Liberty

                                                                                

And there you have it folks! I hope my food and travel guide was helpful to you all and that you get a chance to visit Richmond and all the places I recommended while there. If you do visit, please tag me on my suefooditinerary instagram so I can see how your experiences were! Thanks so much for reading, until next time, please stay safe and well! 😊