In Wonderland at Alice's Tea Cup
Feb 24 '02
The Bottom Line An absolute gem of a tea cafe, serving over 100 different varieties of teas with delectable food to match. Enchanting in an offbeat, irreverent sort of way.
Seduction by tea. With every sip, I was falling in love....falling in love with the most divinely sensual, romantic, heady tea that I had ever had - at least as far I could remember, and I have tea fairly often. Adjectives ranging from adequate to delightful can be applied to the majority of the teas that I have tried. But none of those fit the Rooibos Bourbon, which pervaded my senses like a drug.
Rooibos Bourbon is a rich, herbal, red tea from South Africa. The herbs are so fine that you cannot use an ordinary metal tea strainer to steep the tea. (Alice’s employs a cotton tea strainer). The color of the tea is clear garnet. The aroma of the tea is pure bourbon vanilla with a hint of tobacco. The tobacco scent is much stronger when you smell the tea in its cannister. Rooibos Bourbon is one of over 100 teas being offered at Alice’s Tea Cup, an absolutely enchanting tea café/tea emporium on the Upper West Side. The last time I encountered such a treasure trove of teas was at Mariage Freres in Paris.
Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland seems to have been the inspiration for this funky, offbeat tea café. Along the sunny yellow walls right where the wall meets the ceiling, excerpts from Carroll’s book create a fanciful script border. A couple of the tables in the café are designed like shadow boxes, displaying various versions derived from Carroll’s famous work. The double swinging doors leading to the kitchen have portholes in the shape of keyholes, and colorful photographs from a slightly bohemian tea party hang in the two rooms of the tea café. We later discovered that the models in photographs include the proprietors and staff members of Alice’s - a very cool idea indeed. Overall, I found the Alice in Wonderland theme to be wonderfully befitting of this tea café, which has all the whimsical playfulness of a children’s story in its decor and ambiance yet all the sophistication and subtlety of a restaurant aimed toward adults in its food and tea.
I have only been to Alice’s a few times, yet I already know that I will be a regular. For one thing, I have to try more teas. The teas that I have sampled were all superb. Other than the Rooibos Bourbon, I also highly recommend the Casablanca, a captivating, bergamot flavored green tea with a faint mint aftertaste and the Linden Blossom Herb, a very light, almost clear, herbal tea which has little flavor but marvelous texture. The Linden Blossom simply glides down your throat in a very soothing manner. All of the teas are listed on a stand-alone tea menu, which includes descriptions of each tea. If you are interested in “talking tea,” you should definitely stop by the tea emporium/gift shop. On all three occasions that I have been by the shop, Lauren Fox, one of the proprietors of the tea café, was present. She is incredibly friendly and passionate about tea. Make sure you ask her about the first blended tea she created for Alice’s. The fact that Alice’s is a labor of love is obvious. The fact that Alice’s is the proprietors’ first business venture is amazing.
The food menu as well as the tea menu is immensely appealing. You can order dishes ŕ la carte or as part of a full afternoon tea. With regard to the afternoon teas, you can choose from the nibble ($20.00) (a pot of tea, choice of scone with preserves and cream, choice of sandwich and a selection of cookies), the mad hatter ($25.00) (same as the nibble except you get two sandwiches instead of one and a choice of mocha chocolate chip cake, seasonal fruit tart or creme brulee in addition to the selection of cookies), and the jabberwocky ($30.00) (same as the mad hatter except you get unlimited sandwiches, the mocha chocolate chip cake and the creme brulee). All of the above items can be ordered separately as well.
I adore Alice’s scones ($5.00 for 2). They are positively scrumptious - a little crunchy on the outside and pillow-soft inside. Mr. Epicure and I have ordered the ginger scone and the raisin scone and loved them both. All scones are served with delicious raspberry preserves and chantilly cream.
Of Alice’s sandwiches, I’ve tried the croque madame ($7.00) and the chopped tea-egg salad ($7.00), and based upon those two, I can’t wait to sample the rest. Alice’s version of the croque madame consists of gruyere cheese and grainy mustard on two slices of grilled raisin-fennel bread. The raisin-fennel bread and the gruyere are the perfect combination. Alice’s chopped tea-egg salad sandwich is both tastier and healthier than your average egg salad sandwich. It is made entirely of chopped egg whites and watercress with a light spread of homemade mayonnaise, which happens to be infused with mate carnival tea.
When it comes to the desserts, I am already an ardent fan of Jean’s ‘not-yet-but-soon-to-be-famous’ mocha chocolate chip cake ($6.00), an old-fashioned, fluffy yellow cake that has a hint of mocha, accented with chocolate chips and surrounded by heavenly mocha buttercream. It reminds me of the traditional layer cakes that are the trademark of the Magnolia Bakery in West Village. The queen of hearts French Vervain tea-infused lemon fruit tart ($6.00) has potential, but the crust needs a little work. It was so hard that when I finally exerted enough pressure to break off a piece, that piece flew across my plate and on to the table. The silky lemon filling with the refreshing Vervain tinge was lovely though as were the fresh raspberries and blackberries on top.
There is a separate section on Alice's menu entitled -"Alice’s menu for the small." Now even though technically it is meant for kids, I would advise adults to take a moment and peruse it as well. At Alice's, the children’s menu does not mean lesser quality; rather it refers to simpler treats, the type of things you might remember growing up with. I sampled their version of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich ($6.00). The genius of Alice’s PB & J lies in the bread - fragrant banana bread, instead of plain white or wheat bread. And the homemade peanut butter and fruit preserves are extremely fresh-tasting. The granny smith apple slices with Nutella (a chocolate-hazelnut spread) on white bread ($5.00) sounded equally enticing. It’s always a good sign when one is sitting at a restaurant, planning his or her next meal at the same restaurant.
Depending on what time of day you go, you will encounter different crowds at Alice’s. Mr. Epicure and I enjoy stopping by on weekday evenings when the tea café is probably at its most empty. Regardless of when you visit, you will always find the staff to be most welcoming and the noise level to be quite civilized. The first time I dined at Alice’s, I was impressed by how well-spaced and large its wooden tables are. It’s nice not to have to juggle plates around to fit all your dishes on the table. Everything about Alice’s is conducive to relaxation and quiet conversation. We’ve never been rushed even when closing time was near. The staff is very pleasant and sincere, and they all seem to be having such a good time.
I consider Alice's Tea Cup a Godsend to the neighborhood. Other than the touristy cafes serving mediocre fare around Lincoln Center, there are very few places to partake in a leisurely mid-day or evening snack in the 60s and 70s on the West Side. Lauren and her sister Haley have succeeded in creating the perfect atmosphere - sweet but not cloying, old-fashioned but not outdated, vibrant but not overwhelming. From what I observed, they already have a devoted neighborhood following - couples, friends, women throwing showers, single diners with magazines and books.
One last thing I want to mention. Many guys I know cringe at the idea of having tea because they picture a tea room that is throwback to their grandmothers’ Victorian-style parlor - a frilly, feminine space overrun with floral prints and dainty figurines. Alice's is definitely not that type of place, I promise. No lace tablecloths or paper doilies. Its charm lies in its simplicity, its tempting menu, its friendly staff and those sweetly mismatched tea cups on each table.
All of the teas served in the café are available for purchase in the tea emporium/gift shop. In addition to teas, the shop also carries an array of tea-related products (tea cozies, tea sets, tea books, tea scented soaps, etc.), versions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and gift items, like Alice’s own line of provocative underwear, which sports phrases like "nibble" and "off with his head." No, this tea party is definitely not just for kids.
Address: 102 West 73rd Street (73rd and Columbus), New York
Telephone: 212-799-3006
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Reservations: None taken. On weekend afternoons, the wait can be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. The best time to go is on a weekday evening, maybe before a performance at Lincoln Center.
Child Friendly: Yes. They even have a children’s section on the menu.
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Epinions.com ID:
Epicure
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: New York, NY
Reviews written: 88
Trusted by: 100 members
About Me:
I generally avoid temptation....unless I can't resist it.
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