The Front Street Tea Room: Free Thinking to Tea Drinking

            Comfort, Texas is one of the many small towns just a short drive outside of San Antonio.  Nestled in the hill country, it boasts the most well preserved business district in Texas with buildings dating back to the 1800’s. What’s most interesting is that Comfort was founded by German immigrants and Freethinkers. In case you’re a touch rusty on your philosophy, Freethinkers thought that opinions and ideas should be based on logic and reason, not tradition. Although the funky and offbeat is enthralling to explore, I always take comfort (pun intended) in the things that have stuck to the script. Comfort’s spotlighted teahouse, The Front Street Tea Room exemplifies tradition.

            It’s always a joy to stumble upon an establishment that operates a teahouse in its customary form. No overwhelming menus, no ordering counter, no funky spin on tea, and no gimmicks. Just a small teahouse that serves a concise, well thought out lunch and afternoon tea to guests in a comfortable setting. I can’t help but applaud those that have managed to keep a teahouse or tearoom both modest and professional while staying true to the original purpose of such a restaurant. When it really comes down to it, a true tea enthusiast ought to appreciate the fundamentals of the original teahouse: decent china, a few lunch options, a variety of fresh tea sweets or cookies, and a selection of high quality tea. Customers should feel like guests in their friend’s living room.  

When one finds such a place off the main street of a small hill country town (it’s bright green, you can’t miss it) you just can’t help but be drawn in. And what better way to be welcomed as a guest than to be asked to join in singing “Happy Birthday” to an ongoing party while the pastry chef brings out a surprise cake? I had only just walked in the door and I already felt like I was amongst friends. But that’s really no surprise given Front Street’s quaint setting and three-woman crew. Doreen Tavera owns Front Street and has an exceptional chef working to create wonderful menu options that are first tested by the local storeowners of Comfort. Only when the people of Comfort approve of a dish can it be placed on the menu.

I can’t help but give bonus points to a teahouse that really is a house, especially if the shower is still intact in the bathroom. The Front Street house is a one-story home complete with a gravel drive way, three main rooms, old wood floors, pale blue walls, and a spacious backyard. Walk around and the creak of the floors might transport you to your grandmother’s house. The back yard is green and contains an ivy-covered arch entrance and well-shaded bench. Flowers line the edges of the yard with color. The theme of the house is cats and vintage hats wrapped up in antiques and antique furniture. I believe I counted just five or six tables in both rooms. Talk about making yourself at home. If it had been a cold day I would have parked myself by the fireplace one can only hope would be aglow for afternoon tea.

Hat covered fire place mantle

Vintage card table 

The backyard and garden

 From the menu, a turkey and Swiss Panini, chicken grape walnut salad, chocolate chunk scones, pot of Vanilla Crème tea, and a pot of Cherry Rose tea were ordered. As a bonus, a piece of chocolate cake from the party was added for lending a voice in the celebration. None of these items disappointed. The salad was delicious and the daily special of the chocolate scone was fresh and dense with chocolate goodness. I would imagine that it helps to have an extensive herb garden in the back yard to directly supplement the kitchen. I was especially impressed by the sand timers that came out with the teapots to assure guests when the tea is fully brewed. Without it I wouldn’t have known to let the Cherry Rose sit for seven minutes in order to bring out the completed rose taste. By the end of the dining experience my sweet tooth was fully satisfied with both dessert and tea.

Lizzie's ready to dive into that salad

"I prefer for my tea pots to match the dress I'm wearing each day. It would be common not to!"-Lizzie

Other than experiencing a more traditional teahouse that has perfected the art of keeping things simple, I found the most satisfaction in being able to get to know Doreen. Being that Front Street is a small operation, she was able to give us the scoop on the house, furniture, garden and of course, her cats. That seems to be the way it should be done. Not only should teahouses be for friends who enjoy chatting over afternoon tea, but also chatting with the owners and other tea enthusiasts that have come to the table for the same reasons you have. Maybe you just swap a couple comments about the weather. Maybe you exchange a few “freethinking” ideas. Maybe you help sing “Happy Birthday” and congratulate another year lived. Either way, to find a teahouse that provides the environment to do so is refreshing and made oh so sweeter by the selection of the tangible refreshments. The Darjeeling Darlings give the Front Street Tea Room 9/10 stars for their lovely house, welcoming staff, and simple but sweet food/tea selection.

~Pippa

Madhatters Tea House and Cafe

     I’m proud to call San Antonio my home town. It’s a large and ever-expanding city with a laid-back attitude on just about everything. The people are friendly and we’re all bonded together through our love of the Spurs. There are so many wonderful places to eat and there really is quite a bit to do in town if you look. Despite these things, it is no secret that San Antonio is overshadowed by the hippie haven that is Austin. In fact, it was not long ago that I ran into an Austinite attending college in Virginia like myself. I was delighted to meet a fellow Texan who wasn’t from Dallas thinking it gave us an easy common ground. However that feeling was quickly squashed when I told him I was from San Antonio and he replied, “I’m sorry.” Time heals all wounds I suppose! I will concede that Austin is a pretty neat little town. A “vibrance” of sorts can be felt everywhere, from the Drag downtown all the way to the sleepy neighborhoods tucked away from MoPac highway. It is a metropolis independent from the others through its Texas spirit. 

     I say all this because Austin is full of restaurants, cafes, and bars that have more atmosphere than the moon. That’s how all of Austin is-off beat yet progressive. San Antonio is more conservative, heavily influenced with the Hispanic culture, and generally lacking in indy whole-in-the-wall, “the place to be seen,” restaurants. There are a few white whales to be found out there though, especially given the restoration of our historical districts downtown over the years. The King William district that neighbors the River Walk encompasses streets of beautiful old homes that are slowly being fixed up by new owners. You might not think to look for a tea house in an old neighborhood comprised of colonial homes lined with bright crape myrtles.  

Madhatter's Tea House

Beauregard Street of the King William district

     But that’s exactly where Madhatters Tea House and Cafe is located. In the heart of downtown lies said tea house that boasts the funky characteristics of an Austin cafe with a flare for tea. Conveniently located for college students, River Walk tourists, and the few that actually live in the downtown area, Mads sprawling multi-room house is a welcoming hideout. The walls are painted a warm yellow and covered with awards and articles by critics praising the establishment. The worn wood floors and collection of mismatched tables speaks for the longevity of Madhatters relaxed attitude over time. The main and largest room holds the ordering counter, glass dessert cooler, and tea cup shelf. It welcomes the hungry and Sunday brunchers. Two smaller rooms sit opposite the main room on the other side of the building. Their scattered coffee tables and club chairs are occupied by readers and students who work over the company of a pot of tea. Unlike the eclectic design of the main room, these two rooms are better channeled towards the theme of Alice in Wonderland.

                            

Award Wall

Shelf o' tea cups

Madhatter mascot...he could use some sprucing up

     Madhatters cannot be fully experienced in one visit. The menu is so extensive with options for breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner, and dessert that I had to bring help for entree tasting while I focused on tea. A Darjeeling Darling mustn’t forget the objective to accomplish all because of overwhelming food menu options. An overwhelming tea menu though? I welcome it. Mads offers a wide array of black, green, red, herbal, and oolong teas accompanied by traditional and non-traditional tea sandwiches, scones, and  petit feures. As I studied the menu, I wondered what tea would pair with smoked jalapeño tuna salad sandwiches. Perhaps only a cup of cream to put out the fire. 

Entire tea selection

     It’s such a disappointment to plan to try an item off the menu and find that the restaurant is out of it for the day. This is especially true if it’s still within the lunch hour. I like to think this was because my selection was especially popular and not sold out due to poor planning. Regardless the final order of a turkey-bacon club, cinnamon rolls, chocolate, peach, and raspberry petit feures, a blackberry scone, a pot of blackberry sage tea, and a pot of raspberry quince tea proved to suffice as a sample of what Madhatters had to offer. The sandwich was tasty and both tea selections paired nicely with the desserts that were just enough to satisfy a sweet tooth. Which is to say that the menu alone is not necessarily the reason to visit here. It’s Mads funky atmosphere, mis-matched style, and consistent tea/food basics that make it the recherché place for repose that it is. Why struggle to fit your books, papers, laptop, and tea on a parlor-sized table at Starbucks when you could spread out on library-sized study tables at a place like Madhatters? Free wifi included! 

Tea, blackberry scone, petit feures, and cinnamon rolls

Turkey bacon club sandwich

Welcoming the readers, studiers, and tea drinkers

     Needless to say, Madhatters Tea House and Cafe is a noteworthy hideaway due to the comforts it offers as well as eats and drinks. Like many “tea houses” today, Mads shies away from the traditional English tea room by putting their own spin on menu staples, sweets, and treats. The Darjeeling Darlings give Madhatters two thumbs up and the promise to return for further menu exploration as a Regular.  

~Pippa

River House Tea Room: Texas Tea

Earlier this week I made a solo trip to a tea room not too far from where I live. When I say solo I mean sans Jules, although I did twist my mother's arm into joining with promises of near-by antique stores. I've actually been to the Rive House Tea Room before, but was not able to try their afternoon tea. This time I went armed with the attitude of an experienced tea house critic (ya, right!) and an appetite for great food.

That's the interesting thing about the River House- it's a restaurant before a tea room and yet its name implies just the opposite. Chef Carol Hill has won many awards over the years (like Texas Chef of the Year) and rightly so! The food is scrumptious...so much so that it seems a little unfair that this restaurant is located in tiny Gruene, Texas and not some place larger like Austin. If you take a gander at the online menu you'll see that there's so much to choose from. From my own experience, the salads are great and I love the top round beef sandwich with horseradish. For this seating I chose the newly added fresh fruit and chicken spinach salad with blueberry vinaigrette dressing. I mention this really only because I wanted to post this picture.

Looks good enough to eat, right?

Let's talk about the other thing that makes this little gem of an eatery even more sparkly and that's the atmosphere. You see, Gruene encompasses two of the things that people love most about South Texas and that is river floating and the Texas country music scene. River House is right down the road from historic Gruene Hall and an entrance to our beloved Guadalupe River. Therefore, the people and visitors of Gruene are pretty casual (which is why I say this town is lucky to have such a great dining option). Consequently all the stores and restaurants remain informal in order to accommodate the river rats who wander out of the water looking for some lunch! This is very much true of the River House. Although the food is fanciful the setting is quaint. 

River House Tea Room houses itself in a small one-story, three room "home" with a covered porch and attached deck. The largest room that is filled with about twelve tables accommodates most of the guests while a smaller back room is held for overflow and private parties. The taupe walls tie in well with the green floral table cloth and plaid skirts while the dark oak chairs darken the room. It's the wall nik-naks and deer antler mounts that give the place a real Americana feel.

So now onto the good stuff~

River House offers a special afternoon tea menu consisting of the traditional pot of tea, assorted tea sandwiches, a variety of sweet goodies (chocolate covered strawberries!), and fresh scones with jam, clotted cream, and lemon curd. However don't expect to bite into an authentic English scone here. Although I wouldn't place them in the biscuit category these scones are not of a tried and true English recipe. This "tea room" offers both loose leaf and silk tea bag selections from Paris's Harney & Sons and England's Harrisons & Crosfield. I chose the loose leaf blueberry tea because I knew it would tie in well with my salad much like a Cabernet Sauvignon pairs with a filet. Of course, as with any decent tea room there are plenty of flavor options and River House is no different. I'm always tempted to order my favorite tea, but am most rewarded by branching out to the unknowns. Earl Grey? A welcomed friend any day. White Vanilla Grapefruit? Sure. Mango Green Tea? Ehhh...why not? Although tasting and educating myself in as many different tea flavors and types as possible is my job!

All in all the River House Tea Room offers a unique combination of dining and tea. The atmosphere is friendly and laid-back while the food speaks strongly for itself. However those are the only two things to visit this restaurant for. The afternoon tea offerings are pleasant but really not worth the price. Instead opt for a single pot of tea to accompany a warm dessert such as the Apple Cranberry Bread Pudding, a delightful end to wrap up a tasty lunch.

~Pippa

P.S.

Please excuse Lizzie's absence from this tea tasting. She found the 100 degree temperatures unsuitable for stepping out in.