Village Squire, 1980-05, Page 26SQUIRE'S TABLE
Picture this. A Targe plush room, dotted
with comfortable chairs and low tables.
Ladies of a certain age in smart black and
white uniforms bringing tea in silver tea
services.
Plates full of dainty sandwiches and
cakes, scones, muffins and Devon cream.
It's tea time, the most popular hour of the
day at the famous Empress Hotel in
Victoria, British Columbia.
Now it's not possible for most of us to go
to tea at the Empress. But it was against
that high standard that Squire's Table
measured the tea that's offered by two
local establishments recently. (Enjoy the
tea -time ritual without the expense of
airfare to Victoria, was the idea).
And so we headed on one of the early
sunny and warm days of spring to
Benmiller Inn, well known for its dinners
and luxurious accommodation in a country
setting.
The setting is lovely. Tea is served in the
lounge, in front of an open fire. That's
great on a stormy day but the dark room
was a bit oppressive and it would have
been nice to sit and have tea in the Inn's
sunroom on the other side of the building.
That room was set up for dinner though,
and perhaps it's unwieldy to serve tea there as well.
The tea, Earl Grey, was excellent. Benmiller's tea is
advertised as toast and jam, scones, cake and Devon cream.
Thus we were a bit disconcerted when the waitress brought
toast, and a tray with several jars of jam and a dish of Devon
cream and then left.
"Your scones and cake are coming", from her would have
saved us wondering "is that all there is?"
Scones did arrive, and they were plump, Tight and warm. But
four scones and two pieces of Christmas cake made a rather large
platter look somewhat empty, and lost the Inn some marks for
presentation.
The room was quiet, the setting cosy and our waitress came
back more than once to make sure everything was fine. On a
gloomier day we would have been quite comfortable. There was
no rush, and we could have whiled away the afternoon with tea
and conversation.
The Devon cream was just great, and the jams, Graves, were
fine. We did quibble a bit though at them being served from the
jars. Jam dishes in the Inn's lovely china would have been
a better choice when customers are paying $5 per person for tea.
Benmiller Inn serves tea seven days a week, from 2:30 until
4:40, and reservations aren't required. Perhaps you could ask for
your tea outside or in a sunny room, if you go in warm weather.
The Little Inn, in Bayfield, also serves tea, but it's an a la carte
affair, with several choices.
We were offered tea in the parlour on a recent visit. The day
was sunny and we enjoyed the Tight, bright, antique -filled room.
The tea menu, posted outside the parlour door, lists muffins,
English muffins, pie, cake and a cheese plate, among other
things.
We chose a cheeseplate and a slice of chocdlrate cake.
The cheese plate was great, with several
pieces of three different kinds of cheese,
accompanied by two of the Little Inn's own
delicious home made rolls and two bunches
of cool, fresh grapes. Top marks in the tea
department go to this offering, attractively
presented on a small serving plate.
The chocolate cake too was excellent. It
was a huge slice, moist and light WW1 a
creamy filling and fluffy frosting. The tea
was adequate, though undistinguished and
it came with slices of lemon, a nice touch
that we'd missed at Benmiller Inn. Our
only criticism was the fact that the spout on
our tea pot leaked a bit.
Service at the Little Inn was fine and
attentive and best of all, the bill came to $4
for the two of us. Now that's value for
money.
We've heard that excellent teas are
served elsewhere in Village Squire's
coverage area. Harry Ten Shilling in
Shakespeare and Stratford's Banbury Tea-
room are just two places we've heard
mentioned.
But they, and others, will have to wait
for future Squire's Table columns.
For we're still searching, you see, for the
perfect tea ...the one that matches the
Empress' high standards.
PG. 24 VILLAGE SQUIRE/MAY 1980
yl
GIFTS AND
HANDICRAFTS
Clinto9 n Rattenbury St.482-3730
(just east of Albert St.)
Mon -Sat. 10-5:30 Friday till 9:00
CLINTON'S NEWEST GIFT SHOP
IN
CLINTON'S OLDEST HOUSE
A NEW UNIQUE GIFT
HOUSE FEATURING:
Kitchen gitt items
calico for quilts
handmade items
teak etc.
Over 50 spices and
seasonings at great
savings
Smith and Jamieson
teas.
At the Board and Batten
Personal Service is Our Pleasure