DarTEAling Lounge

Tea Time likes to make time to get around and revisit old favorites. Sometimes that's a challenge considering how many new restaurants open in SF every month, but we finally made time to get back to Dartealing Lounge. Our first visit was shortly after they had opened. Over time they've been getting settled in and more comfortable with their Restaurant Persona and when you walk in you see the delightful classy comfort they want to share with all their tea partakers.
DarTEAling continues the tearoom tradition of mis-matched china.

  

The menus can be seen online here, so double check before visiting to see if anything is seasonal or updated.

An assortment of utensils is on the table, 

so you don't have to look for a  server if you drop one

The outside is plain, but don't let that discourage you. The inside is charming.

 

 There are regular tables to sit at.

And there are cosy nooks for a more intimate experience.

 

And most important, the tea and the food.

J.K. usually orders tea without caffeine, but as we were going out that night, she was planning to stay awake for the entertainment anyway, so we ordered two caffeinated choices.

My Brown-Eyed Girl on the left,
Checkmate Mycroft! (with milk added) on the right

We ordered one Covent Garden Afternoon Tea and one Knightsbridge High Tea, so we could experience everything. It all came on one three-tier tray, so here are pictures from both sides. The tray is all one piece, so we couldn't remove each tier to take a picture from the top.

There is a small shop area with tea and china to take home.

After our tea, we went to Help Is On The Way XXIII. at the Herbst Theater. As usual, it was a great show. This year's beneficiaries were Meals on Wheels San Francisco and Positive Resource Center. If you missed the show and want to contribute to a good cause, you can still donate here.

Afternoon Tea With SST@3

Second Sunday Tea at 3 is a group that meets once a month for afternoon tea, usually on the second Sunday.

In November, we went to Crown & Crumpet's Tea Stop Cafe on Post Street, in the New People building across from Japan Town. There are more substantial items available, but we all had the afternoon tea.

The full tea tray before we demolished it

Sandwiches served with salad

Scones and Crumpets, of course

An assortment of sweets for dessert

The full menu is available online

The Famous Teapot Clock

A steaming cuppa

Separate Tea Menu

On January 8 we went to Lovejoy's, now under new management, but still the same excellent tea service. The menu is available online.

J.K., Cynthia, Sue, Sierra, Susi, Candice 

Tea for One  

High Tea for four

The Queen's Tea includes everything on the High Tea menu, plus a crumpet and a petit four. Scone and crumpet are too much for some of us, but the petits fours can be ordered separately. When we were almost finished, our waiter brought us a tray of crumpets because they had made too many and didn't want them to go to waste. We somehow managed to polish them off!

Close-up of the Checkerboard Shortbread Tea Biscuit

Top Tier For One

 

Everybody's teapot is different

Lovejoy's is known for
its mis-matched china

Decaf chocolate truffle tea
with milk and sugar

Sandwich and Crumpet

     

The walls are festooned with tea towels and thank-you
notes from children who enjoyed the tea service

Our May outing was to Imperial Tea Court at San Francisco's Ferry Building. Cynthia, Susi and Sierra took the ferry over from the East Bay. It was a nice, sunny day, so I walked from home. Cynthia had arrived early to check out Dandelion Chocolate's new Ferry Building location, but unfortunately they had a water leak and had to close the kiosk. I went by after our tea experience and they were open. I was no longer hungry enough for a Frozen Hot Chocolate, but I did buy some bars to take home.

If you prefer a cold drink with your tea snacks, there are Iced Tea and Ginger Ale sections on the menu.

Hot tea is served in a heavy red teapot, with a white porcelain cup.

The menu includes both Dim Sum and Entrees. The Shrimp Dumplings are served with a bowl of dipping sauce.

Shrimp Dumplings, seasoned with Jasmine Green Tea

There are more substantial entrees for larger appetites.

Teahouse Spicy Noodles

Fresh Steamed Buns and Tea Egg

Close Up of peeled Tea Egg

Vegetarian Steamed Bun

Cross Section of Vegetarian Steamed Bun

Pork Buns

Home-Style Curry

Imperial Tea Court is a delightful experience. You can sit at the outside edge, as we did, and watch the crowds go by, or move inside for a more private tea.

AfternoonTea with a theme at Charles Chocolates 4/16

We arrived early and had time to check out (and sample!) the chocolates before the tea began. Charles Chocolates always features a fun, seasonal "chocolate box." Yes, the box is created out of chocolate too! Delicious. As far as Tea Time can gauge, Chuck designs a new box for whatever holiday is coming up, then the old ones go on a slight discount. When you attend their afternoon tea, you also get a discount on cafe goods including bars and confections. Score!

 

Chocolates In A Chocolate Box

J.K. couldn't resist the Chocolate Covered Matzah. This is so much better than the supermarket brand! Our honorary Tea Time member Emily bought chocolate to take to her Mom that afternoon. It was time for sweet treats for everyone!

After we browsed the cafe and shop we went to sit out on the patio. The heat lamps are helpful, though the sun was out and it wasn't too windy the day we enjoyed our tea. We spent the time before tea chatting and our tummies were rumbling by Twelve. (Our one suggestion is to have water glasses and carafes on the tables–unless they can get the tea out faster. That would be most ideal.) We didn't get an announcement that tea would be starting late, but we started seeing platters arrive in front of hungry guests at about 12:15. Chef Vijitha gave us a verbal description of the menu, so we ate with our eyes before digging in with our forks, knives and hands. We have a bit of description from Chef Vijitha herself with the appropriate pictures.

"Masala Chai is an integral part of every Indian's day. Chai means Tea in Hindi, the most popular language of India. Since it is flavored with spices, it is called Masala Chai." Angela sometimes finds Chai flavored too strongly for her taste, but our group agreed that this tea was smooth and delightful. There are many types of Chai, so keep shopping around until you find one that fits your palate.

Steamy cup of Indian tea flavored with
cardamom, cloves, peppercorns and fennel seeds

Cheers to Chai!

Here's the lovely platter of Afternoon Tea we were served at this Guest Chef event.

"Sundal is nothing but boiled beans/lentils/legumes seasoned with South Indian spices and coconut. Marina beach is the second longest beach in the world and it is situated in Chennai, Vijitha's home city. The beach is popular for its food–the fire roasted corn or spicy green mango slices or sundal or bhaji. For this sundal, the Chef paired boiled green peas with green mango, carrots and cucumber along with South Indian spices, curry leaves and shredded fresh coconut. This dish truly captures the essence of Chennai."

Marina Beach Manga Thengai Sundal 

  

Iyengar Bakery Style Vegetable Puffs
Caramelized onions + potato+ paneer baked over puff pastry 

"Kara Paniyaram with Chutney. Rice dumplings are  seasoned with onions, curry leaves, ginger, cashews and mustard seeds. It will be made in a paniyaram chatti (appe pan)."

"Masala Vadai is a popular tea time snack from South India. It is very similar to falafel. Crunchy and delicious!" We all enjoyed this tasty cracker like treat a lot. It was especially good with the Chai.

"Gulab jamun, a popular Indian dessert, gets a makeover with cream cheese.: We were happy to take a few of these home when the plate of "leftovers" came around to our seats and many of our co-diners mentioned that they would love the recipe." Lentils are the main protein source for vegetarians in India. A lot of Indian dishes are made with lentils, legumes and beans. For the dessert on the bottom, Chef Vijitha made ladoos with paasi paruppu (mung yellow lentils), cardamom, sugar and ghee."

Gulab Jamun Cheesecake (top) and

Paruppu Ladoo (bottom)

Semiya payasam–A dessert with milk and vermicelli

Time to dig in! No more waiting...

Tea Time enjoyed the information provided by Chef Vijitha although it was at times hard to hear over the chewing as we enjoyed her delicious creations. This region of India features well-balanced and flavorful foods. If you'd like to try recreating some dishes, check out spicesandaroma. Don't feel like dirtying up the kitchen? Look for Chef Vijitha at her next pop-up. 

Guest Chef Vijitha. Check out her delicious recipes at her blog.

Chuck Siegel of Charles Chocolates fame in the blue t-shirt on the right.

Emily, J.K. and Angela enjoyed the unconventional afternoon tea and take home chocolate. We left satiated and thinking new thoughts about the array of Indian food on offer in the Bay Area. Keep your eye out for Afternoon Tea events all over the city and let us know if we've missed any! You can find Charles Chocolates Afternoon Tea events on Eventbrite, Sundays at 12 p.m. Of course, you can stop by the Cafe and tasting room during regular business hours to get a chocolate fix.