Do tea rooms need to steep?
When I first discovered Kathleen's Tea Room in a small shopping center just off Hendersonville Road in Fletcher, I couldn't believe the quality of the food. There really wasn't anything else in the Fletcher area that compared.
I've been to Kathleen's quite a few times since - with girlfriends, my sisters, my husband and even by myself. Getting ready to do this review, I asked myself, "What do I really think about Kathleen's, from their opening to now?" That's when it came to me - they had been "steeping" in their first location on their way to becoming the well developed, full bodied place they are today.
Kathleen's original location gave owners Tami and Daniel Halliman brewing time to refine their menu, decor, hours and think about (I'm guessing here) what they'd like to do differently and what events they'd like to have at the tea room if they had a different, larger space.
The delectable answer wasn't far away. In fact, it was just across the street in the form of a wonderful 1920's built house which had been remodeled over the years. The Hallimans made further improvements before they moved the tea room, creating a wonderful space which includes a sigh-inspiring wrap-around porch for dining alfresco.
The interior of Kathleen's is cozy and very geared towards tea and family. They happily resisted the temptation to get cutesy as some tea rooms do. When I first met owner, Tami, I asked if she was Kathleen. She said no, that Kathleen was her Grandmother and told me a bit about her. You can read about this feisty woman on Kathleen's web site.
Their food's always been good, but it seems to me the chef has really been workin' the menu. Their salads alone kept me coming back, but now I'm forced to choose between a list of items that are all ridiculously good.
Do I want Kathleen's Tea Smoked Turkey Croissant - "fresh turkey breast smoked in Souchong tea served on a flaky croissant with Raspberry-Chipotle Aioli, smoked Cheddar cheese, cool-crisp cucumber slices and fresh sprouts" ($9.00), Tami's Tea Barbecued Chicken Salad - "chunks of grilled chicken breast finished with our own Smoky Souchong barbecue sauce, on a bed of spinach and wild greens, red onions, peppers and marinated chick peas, with tea-spiced pumpkin seeds, grated white Cheddar and a spiced buttermilk dressing that's served with our home made crackers" ($10.00) or their Raspberry Chicken Breast- "Brazil Nut and Darjeeling tea spiced crusted Chicken breast stuffed with vibrant Raspberries and Basil, then topped with a Goat Cheese Cream Sauce" (offered sometimes as a lunch special at a reduced price, for dinner this comes with choice of soup or salad and two sides for $16.95)
This time I treated myself to The Anytimer's Tea Tray - a two-tiered tray that comes with two selections from the Tea Sandwich menu, Ginger-lemon tea straws, assorted fresh fruit and cheeses, home made crackers, the scone of the day, Lemon Curd, Almond Mock Devonshire cream and tea (iced or hot) ($14.00).
My choices from the Tea Sandwich menu were: Classic Cucumber - whole wheat toast, fresh cucumber slices and dilled cream cheese and Tea-Smoked Turkey Pita - Chive-Chevre (goat cheese, pronounced "shev-ra") and tea-smoked turkey on Paris (not sure what that means) spiced pita chips.
On the whole, the Tea Tray was very, very good, but....not up to Kathleen's usual amazing standards. It was a little surprising and my hope is they were just having an off day. Really, I have just three small complaints: the "whole wheat toast" was soft and slightly compacted, making the cucumber sandwich seem as if it had been sitting in a fridge waiting for someone to order it, the assorted fresh fruit part of the fruit and cheeses was 5 or 6 thin slices of orange - period, and lastly, they either ran out of or forgot the Ginger-lemon tea straws.
Now, that being said, and I truly am sorry about the negative remarks because I love Kathleen's, here's why I keep going back, will continue to go back and will recommend everyone else do the same.
(sample photo - not "as served" at Kathleen's)
One of the two cheeses was (what I think) a semi-hard Sage Derby (pronounced "darby"). Quite a show stopper and delicious - eaten with the chef's home made crackers, even better. The home made crackers are terrific even by themselves, by the way. Think crisp, flaky, seasoned flat bread that's served in large pieces that have been broken off after baking.Although the orange was the only fruit on the plate, I have to say it was perfectly ripe and sweet, which is not always the case at restaurants.
The Tea Smoked Turkey Pita was extremely tasty and what the menu description leaves out is that (this time at least) it was topped with a wonderful savory salsa type mixture and sprouts, giving the sandwich added layers of texture and both visual and flavor interest.
Now to the scone of the day: Chocolate Almond. Even though the scone was not warm (which was fine - just making a point about the chocolate), the chocolate chips were melty and just numerous enough to compliment and not overwhelm the almond flavor. Add a little mock Devonshire cream and I'm in heaven.
To drink, I had the tea of the day: iced Mango - very tasty and not over sweet.
Diners near me were raving about the desserts, particularly the Coconut Cake. My "before the meal" decision to have a piece of that cake for dessert faded to, "I'll definitely try that next time I'm here" after finishing the Tea.
Speaking of diners near me, there was a lone gentleman who apparently has lunch at Kathleen's by himself frequently, judging by the friendly conversation he carried on with the servers. I asked him if he felt intimidated eating at a tea room surrounded by so many women. He answered, "No, I feel privileged". Great answer!
A few notes about Kathleen's: they cater, have recently included their lunch menu items during dinner hours for lighter appetites, have private rooms available, hold a variety of events at the tea room and publish a Kathleen's newsletter on their website, keeping you up to date on what's happening.
Now that the weather's warming up, think I'll grab a couple of girlfriends and head over to Kathleen's for morning tea and scones on the porch.
Kathleen's Tea Room
188 St John's Road
Fletcher, NC
(828) 651-4763
6 comments:
As a kid, I enjoyed going to tea parties and of late I have been thinking of having a tea party, mostly because I want to try out some baked-goods recipes :)
Unfortunately, my excitement over taking my daughter to tea was dampened when she told me that "she wasn't really into that". Apparently, she'd rather be playing sports than "taking tea".
I have a seemingly stupid question...do they have a good selection of coffee or coffee drinks too? I don't like tea, but love the food aspect of a "tea house/room". Also, I see at least one man eats there, but wondered if my husband would feel a bit out of place there?
And don't feel bad - much to the distress of my grandmother, my mom and I were just like your daughter at her age! Even to this day, I'm still more mud and sticks than shopping and nail polish. :)
Sorry to say Sweet Tooth,
Kathleen's only serves tea (hot and iced). No coffee at all.
I think your husband should feel fine. There have been men at Kathleen's almost every time I've been there and they looked at ease.
My husband has had lunch with me there twice and was fine with it.
One reason might be they resisted getting cutesy with the interior decor. It's more along the "cozy" line.
Love this place! And who would dare want to taint their tastebuds with coffee in a tearoom full of absolutely some of the finest, loose-leaf tea you can get anywhere? I suggest the coffee lover who posted try the Ragamuffin Signature Tea that Kathleen's serves. It is delicious! I always love my time spent at this cozy place. Money well spent!
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