Tiny Sandwiches

When I met friends at the Corner Cupboard Tea Room  a few weeks ago, I enjoyed eating the tiny sandwiches and wanted my granddaughter to experience the quaint ritual of High Tea or Afternoon Tea. My granddaughter liked the idea of tiny sandwiches and her only concern was, "Will I be full when we are through eating?"

On Saturday we stopped by the Tea Room but were told that in order to have the tiny sandwiches on the three tiered tray, I would have to make a reservation. We drank a glass of ice tea (Raspberry and Honey) and left. I called and made a reservation for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

Today, we arrived and were seated at a table for two. The waitress began by placing a menu in front of us. I asked why we needed a menu since we were there for the tiny sandwiches on a three tiered tray. The waitress said, "Oh, we cannot serve you the Afternoon Tea because you need a reservation." I explained I had made a reservation for 1:30 p.m. The waitress looked at the owner and the owner said, "I do not have a reservation for you."

I told her my name and that I had spoken to someone for an Afternoon Tea and the owner said, "You did not say you wanted an Afternoon Tea. You told me it was a lunch reservation."  I was sure I had said Afternoon Tea but did not argue with the owner.  I looked at my granddaughter and said, "It just isn't meant to happen.  I guess you will never see those tiny sandwiches." We stood up to leave and the owner said, "We had a cancellation this morning and maybe we can still prepare an Afternoon Tea for you." She asked us to wait and went to the back to speak to the lady that prepares the food. The owner came back and said, "My worker will make you a tray if you care to wait about fifteen minutes." We decided to wait.

A pot of hot tea (Raspberry and Honey) came out first. Then, a small dish with a delicious chicken salad came out next. While we were finishing the salad, out came the three-tiered tray with the tiny crust-less sandwiches. Ham and cheese, egg salad, cucumber with cream cheese and fruit on the bottom tray. Quiche and scones on second tray. Cheese cake, a rich brownie, and lemon tarts on the top tray. Each tier was decorated with orange slices and strawberries.  I kept looking at my granddaughter to see if she liked what she was eating and she said more than once, "This is good."

The waitress was friendly and took our picture. She and my granddaughter discussed their dogs. The waitress has a St. Bernard and my granddaughter has a Collie-German Shepherd mix. At one point I mentioned how I wanted my granddaughter to enjoy the Afternoon Tea and the waitress said,  "Yes, we had a cancellation this morning and...." Before she could finish her sentence, the owner interrupted by saying, "No, the tray was prepared fresh and we did not use the cancelled one from this morning." I do not know who was telling us the truth and it didn't matter because everything was very tasty.

Aside from the food, it was such a pleasure to sit and chat with my thirteen year granddaughter, as we sipped our tea in fancy cups!