Afternoon tea is perfect for the holidays

We can’t think of a better way to celebrate the holidays and take a rest from shopping till dropping than a relaxing afternoon tea with sandwiches, scones and clotted cream – the whole nine yards.

There are several tea establishments in the area. Last year, we visited AntiquiTeas in Londonderry – a traditional British-style tearoom with antique china pots and cups, lacy tablecloths, flowered curtains and attached shops.

This time, we felt like something a little more contemporary and elegantly simple, so a friend and Mrs. T for T headed for afternoon tea at Stonehedge Inn and Spa, just minutes from a hectic holiday shopping trip at the Pheasant Lane Mall.

Tea is served at The Left Bank, the inn’s restaurant, on Saturday and Sunday afternoons only. The rest of the time, the restaurant is a wine-themed gourmet eatery.

We were seated in the atrium area, where we had a panoramic view of the pastoral and idyllic grounds as the sun slowly set on a late fall day. From the first moment, we had excellent service. We loved the fact that our waiter explained to us he’d only been working there several days before we ate, in case we found his performance lacking, which we did not in any way. We felt totally pampered.

Our table had crisp white linens, real silverware and white china. We were presented with the tea menu, which offered several options: Spot of Tea ($8.50), which includes a pot of tea with currant-raisin scones, Devonshire cream and fruit preserves; Country Tea ($15) tea, scones, Devonshire cream and preserves, petite pastries and tea cookies; Traditional High Tea ($23 or $30, with a Champagne cocktail) with all the above, plus a choice of three types of tea sandwich.

Since both of us have had high and cream teas in England and loved them, we went for the full-out tea meal, minus the alcohol, since we were both driving. We decided in advance were going to be very picky about the Devonshire cream, which we feel is a key ingredient in the whole tea gestalt.

While picking out our sandwiches, we picked out our tea. Mrs. T for T loves a strong black tea and selected English Breakfast. Her friend first selected the Ginger Lemon herbal tea, but they were out, and she went for the Crimson Berry instead. She had no regrets about her second choice and drank nearly two pots.

Left Bank uses loose tea bundled in their own large tea bags – big enough for a small individual pot. At first, we thought we might miss the British tradition of loose tea, which is strained over the cup, usually with tiny silver strainers. But in the end, we felt the bags were less cumbersome without sacrificing flavor. In fact, we really enjoyed that Left Bank reinterprets the traditional tea with some nice modern touches that are refreshing without straying too far from the tried and true.

OK, Mrs. T for T was a little put off by packaged sugars as opposed to the more traditional sugar cubes, but her companion was happy to see a choice of several sugar substitutes. And our only tiny complaint of the day was when our friend wanted to switch teas after her first pot, she was told she could only get more hot water for the pot she had. We feel for $23, another tea bag could have been inserted, but that was a very minor blip in our enjoyable meal.

Now, to pick out our choice of sandwich. With much deliberation, Mrs. T for T selected the Smoked Salmon on rye bread with herb creme fraiche, White Wine Poached Shrimp with garlic mayonnaise and arugula on white bread, and Cucumber and Herb Cheese on multi-grain bread.

Her friend picked the Maine Lobster BLT on brioche, Grilled Asparagus with boursin and proscuitto on white bread, and the Roast Beef and Dijon aioli on rye bread with cornichons.

Now, before you think we were wolfing down six sandwiches between us during our delicate tea, you need to know that these “sandwiches” – again an updated take on traditional, crustless, white bread cucumber and watercress – were more like hefty little amuses bouche.

The size of a Ritz cracker in circumference, they were assembled in rather beautiful vertical tapas-like bites.

They were all terrific, but we voted the grilled asparagus, with its crisp bits of ham, and the rosette-shaped smoked salmon, with its peppery watercress cap, to be our favorites.

But our high tea continued with a large, crispy homemade chocolate chip cookie and a dried berry cookie each and a pastry plate with petit four-sized pieces of cheesecake with tiny Maine blueberries, apple cake, a Napoleon with a nice little raspberry layer and a feather-light chocolate cake with mousse filling.

But we saved the best for last – the currant-raisin scones. Again, like everything else, they were baked fresh and macaroon-sized. That’s a good thing. For some weird reason, Americans make scones the size of boomerangs when they’re supposed to be small, but substantial enough to balance butter and jam, or in our case, the long-awaited Devonshire cream and jam.

When asked, our servers were honest that the cream was perhaps the only part of our meal that wasn’t made on site. But whatever brand they bought is spot on and, more importantly, it was served at the perfect temperature – still cool, but soft enough for easy spreading.

We were two very happy women and agreed that would bring someone special in our lives – moms, sisters, friends – back soon for a holiday treat.

OK, this is not something you’d do every day, although that would be heaven. But it is wonderful way to celebrate, well, anything.