Secluded Celebrations, a destination worthy of the journey: Afternoon tea in Hartland, Michigan

Secluded Celebrations tearoom is enchanting inside and out.

Secluded Celebrations is a most aptly named tearoom: it's out in the "country" and it's got everything one needs for a party, specifically a tea party.  I was part of a secluded celebration here last weekend and am already looking forward to my next visit.

On Sunday, I was a guest of great tea friend, Barb T., and ultimately, the party's organizer, Sue, for an afternoon tea at Secluded Celebrations in Hartland, Michigan.  This charming, out-of-the way venue (located, appropriately, on "Old Country Way Drive"), is an extension of the home and passion of owners, Grit and Richard Francis. Landscapers with over 1,500 varieties of hostas, featured prominently on the grounds, they added a room off their home's kitchen with the purpose of serving afternoon tea to small groups. 

"Barb's at Tea." Thrilled to be a guest of Barb T.'s  at this afternoon tea."

Grit has been providing afternoon tea at Secluded Celebrations for seventeen years and, while winding down on the landscaping and farmers' markets, she plans to spend even more time in the tea business.  Good news for loyal customers and those of us who have just recenlty been introduced.

Grit pours tearoom's own blend of tea as Sue, our party's organizer, looks on.

The tearoom's decor is whimsical and enchanting, filled with fresh flowers, pretty china and colorful tablecloths with coordinating napkins. Windows, topped with grapevine garland strewn with fairy lights and dangling teacups, overlook the gardens and hummingbird feeders. The latter provides the setting for numerous hummingbird visits which stop most conversations for a few moments throughout the tea.

Strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Delicious old pear soup.

The menu is just as impressive as the ambiance. We were treated to a delicious cold pear soup along with a garden salad, fruit salad and an entree plate consisting of quiche, potato salad, spinach pie and a small caprese salad. Desert was a scrumptious strawberry shortcake served in an elegant crystal glass.

Fruit salad in compote dish.

Entree plate filled with tasty tea fare.

To accompany all the courses, three different teas are served - a variety of Secluded Celebration's own teas blends which complemented the food and can be purchased at the tearoom.

Barb T.  enjoying tea with friend, Linda.

Service was outstanding and Grit is a lovely, spirited host, welcoming old and new friends with warmth and humor. 

Our organizer, Sue, filled two tables of five guests each. Secluded Celebrations can accommodate up to twelve comfortably.  Seating is by reservation only and served throughout the year. 

Secluded Celebrations entryway with beautiful gardens throughout the estate.

We plan to drive to out to the country again for more celebrating. It truly is the destination worth the journey (about an hour's drive from our home in north Oakland County) which takes us through highways, byways and a few dirt roads. It is indeed secluded, but perfect for a party!

Helpful signs at end of the driveway, alert guests: "you made it"!

To contact, see Secluded Celebrations on Facebook. 

One of two tables of five. Tearoom can accommodate up to twelve.

The Whistling Kettle: A gold medal Afternoon Tea and Scone-wich in Troy, NY

The Whistling Kettle:  A Gold Medal Afternoon Tea in Troy, New York

On the day of the Opening Ceremonies at the Paris Olympics, and in town for a Gilded Age city tour, we struck afternoon tea gold at The Whistling Kettle in Troy, New York.

Troy is part of the Hudson Valley area of New York, about ten miles north of Albany and with its well-maintained 19th century architecture, it's a perfect filming location for HBO's Gilded Age. That, along with visiting family in the area, was the reason for our stop in this charming city. Finding a lovely tearoom in town was an added bonus and we felt we medaled at The Whistling Kettle.

Seated at the front window, a great view of the street and outdoor patio.

The Whistling Kettle is on Broadway, just down the road from an antiques store that serves as "Bloomingdales" in the Gilded Age series and a short walk to "Mrs. Astor's townhouse", where she, initially, would not receive the "new money" Mrs. Russell. But, at The Whistling Kettle all are welcome and there's a variety of menu offerings to appeal to those who visit.

Mrs. Astor refused entry to some, unlike The Whistling Kettle!

We -  my husband, Chris, our favorite NY couple, Matt and Jenna and myself - stopped at The Whistling Kettle after our Gilded Age tour. The tearoom is housed in a vintage building with contemporary decor, anchored by wood floors and paneling,  There's ample room, with large dining areas in both front and back as well as a large bar and retail space that runs along the middle of the tearoom. We scored a table nestled in the front window space, a bright spot with a view of the street and front patio.

The Tower, served all day, offers an afternoon tea experience without reservations.

But, it's the menu that secured our high rating. Along with various soups, crepes and traditional sandwiches, they offer a build-your-own afternoon tea, referred to as "the tower". Here you can select your own savory, salad or soup, and scone, which comes to you on a three-tiered tray and served all day. An excellent variation of the afternoon tea fare, that usually requires, at least, a 24-hour reservation. The Whistling Kettle makes the experience easy and casual - and most importantly, delicious.

The "scone-wich". A delicious hybrid. 

No shame eating scone-wich like a burger. 

Another menu twist for the Whistling Kettle is the "scone-wich", a savory scone filled with standard lunch fillers like bacon, lettuce and tomato or ham and cheese. Unlike the customary scone served with jam and cream, which proper tea etiquette states should not be eaten like a sandwich, the scone-wich defies protocol. No need to worry about taking the scone-wich firmly in hand and enjoying it like a cheeseburger!

The Whistling Kettle sells its own tea blends to take home. 

We so enjoyed our visit to The Whistling Kettle that we made sure to stop by the tea counter and purchase some of their custom blends to take home.

After our day in Troy, we concluded our evening at a lovely vacation home in Old Chatham, where we streamed the Opening Ceremonies from the Paris Olympics. Gold medals were on their way to Team U.S.A. but, if afternoon tea was a registered event, the Whistling Kettle would surely find a place on the podium.

Watching Opening Ceremonies, Paris, Olympics.

 Whistling Kettle's tea at Hudson Valley home.

Gilded Age is back filming in Troy for Season Three and, like the HBO production company, we'll be back to Troy soon and, no doubt, we'll be back at The Whistling Kettle for more towers and scone-wiches! 

To Poutine or not to Poutine: Comfort food in Montreal (with a little healthy tea for balance)

Poutine: Quebec comfort food extreme - French fries, cheese curds and brown gravy

French fries, brown gravy and cheese curds - would such comfort-food-extreme taste as satisfying by any other name. . . ?  

While visiting Montreal last month, one regional dish we were interested in sampling was poutine. It's not terribly hard to find as its found in fast food restaurants in the province of Quebec, including St-Hubert.  This chain's specialty is chicken, but it not only has poutine on its menu, it has its own very special version which adds barbecue sauce and smoky seasonings to the mix. 

Our first visit to St-Hubert. We had chicken sandwiches, but no poutine here. 

Although we don't doubt that St-Hubert, or even MacDonalds, does poutine justice, we were looking for something more dine-in than drive-through. So, once situated at our hotel, our search began with the aid of my smart phone which sent us on a detour, but not one that wasn't appreciated.

St-Hubert offers traditional and its own version of poutine.

After punching in "poutine nearby", on a very hot, humid afternoon, intensified by several working construction sites in the city, my phone led us to a little cafe -  pretty, but not telegraphing "poutine vibes".  A quick check in with the hostess confirmed our suspicions. It was the antithesis to fried potatoes and gravy:  a health food restaurant! Dommage pour nous.

Not poutine. Wise phone leads us here.

Kombucha tea, refreshing and delicious

But, we discovered our smart phone was also a wise phone. Tired and overheated, we decided to stay and save the poutine search for later.  Here we found the most amazing salads (yogurt dressing was incredible) and we ordered a raspberry Kombucha* (a fermented tea drink) that refreshed and hydrated. We appreciated our modern-day technology for knowing we needed a little good-for-you food and drink during our poutine quest, which we saved for the evening.

This time, we turned to Montreal's Old Town and found what we were looking for. Again, not a difficult search since in plain view, we spotted a restaurant called "Montreal Poutine".  We felt pretty certain we'd find what we were looking for there. And, of course, we did.

We ordered up the traditional poutine, but again, they had variations that filled two pages of the menu. Finally, our wait was over.

But, where did poutine originate? 

According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, there’s some dispute over who created the first poutine dish, but all stand behind that it started in rural Quebec in the 1950’s.  The nearby fromageries supplied the cheese curds and the fries and gravy were fairly standard offerings at local diners and food trucks. Putting them all together was what created the magic.

Don't fear the poutine!

Once it made its way to Montreal, some twenty years later, fancy restaurant chefs began turning poutine into haute cuisine with various iterations including Italian poutine (made with spaghetti sauce or sausage in place of gravy) and veggie poutine (made with mushroom sauce and vegetables). 

(The US even got into the poutine craze in the 1970's with "disco fries" which were popular in New York and New Jersey. Shredded mozzarella replaced cheese curds while, during this same era, my weekend muted, cotton tops were replaced with shiny, satin shirts.)

Enjoying a bit of messy pudding!

In the 1980's poutine came full-circle and became a fast food staple, starting with Burger King. It returned to its roots as an unpretentious, high-calorie, restauration rapide staple.

The etymology of poutine is as uncertain as its original creators, but most believe it came from the English word, "pudding". Poutine is also Quebec slang for "mess".  To answer a question we posited at the start of this blog, we believe whether you call it pudding or a mess or a messy pudding, it does indeed taste the same.

And, how did we find the taste? 

Well, if you are famished, I think it would take the edge off very quickly. It's heavy and salty and greasy. I enjoyed the first few bites, but I think Chris was more in the camp of a former premier of Quebec, Jean Charest. When asked how she liked the dish, she said, "I love poutine so much that I eat it as little as possible". 

On BTS menu for the Fall. Stay tuned!

That being said, I did purchase a poutine recipe card and plan to make some in the future. Like my attempts on sticky toffee pudding and other kitchen disasters, I've already got a handle on the mess . . . stay tuned!

*Kumbucha tea blog coming soon!

Returning to Montreal, Old and New: Expo '67, Poutine, and Family Ties (Part 1)

Back visiting Montreal after numerous years.

Last month we were once again on the road:  a two-week trek that began with crossing the bridge to Canada to visit both Kingston and Montreal, then back to the U.S. via the Vermont border with extended stays in Burlington and the Hudson Valley in New York. We had several reasons that brought us to these destinations - primarily family and exploring our roots -  but, of course, at Barb's Tea Service, other elements were key to our journey including stops at a presidential home, Gilded Age filming sites, and sampling regional cuisine from fudge to poutine. (You know, when in Rome. . .one must sample the mysterious blend of french fries, gravy and cheese curds.)

Chris and Barb on Montreal City tour bus, revisiting Expo sites and learning about rooftop views.

More details on many of our visits will be in upcoming blogs, but today, we're starting with Montreal - a city, like myself, with French roots and one that neither my husband, Chris, nor I had been back to in almost sixty years. 

Expo '67

As young children, both Chris and I went to Montreal with our respective extended Canadian families to see the "International and Universal Exposition", aka, "Expo 67". Chris went with his parents and cousins from Kingston. I also went with my parents as well as my three older brothers, and from Windsor, an aunt, uncle and cousin, who was my age, but ten times more advanced in the "free-spirit" category.

Rooftop views at Auberge du Vieux-Port. Right of the Ferris wheel, US pavilion dome still remains.

I was reminded of this first trip to Montreal when Chris and I took a tour of the city this past July and our guide pointed out what remains of the U.S. pavilion, a silver framed geodesic dome, designed by Buckminster Fuller.  In 1967, it was a mix of pop culture and futuristic technology housing large posters of movie stars neighboring space capsules planned for the first voyage to moon. Imagine what it would have been like to see the future almost six decades ago.

Well, imagine is what we had to do, as we never went into the dome. My aunt had heard it was "too Hollywood" and dissuaded us from entering - although, my brothers recollect that the extremely long line may have also contributed to the "no go".

View from Auberge rooftop, US. dome pavilion right (right of Ferris wheel), Habitat on far left.

Another remnant of Expo '67 is the "Habitat". Originally designed as a revolutionary complex for low-income housing, it stands on Cite du Havre, an island constructed for the Exposition, overlooking Montreal's Old Port. We viewed this unique, concrete structure on the rooftop restaurant of Auberge du Vieux-Port. (Our city tour guide told us that this was the second best rooftop restaurant view in Montreal, but he never disclosed the first. Hmmm? Or, perhaps, we should say, "C’est un mystère").

Ironically, in spite of its origins, the Habitat is now a rather expensive condominium community. 

Habitat, originally developed for low-income housing, now a high end condominium community.

Both the U.S. pavilion (now an agricultural museum) and the Habitat are open for public tours. We're penciling in visits to these places for our return trip in 2027 (the sixtieth anniversary of Expo '67!).

Two of my brothers at Expo 67 (only photo found of the trip, to date)

Since Chris and I were relatively young during our Expo 67 family vacations, there's not a lot of the experience that we remember in detail.  However, while I vaguely recall some of the shows and rides and country pavilions that we encountered, one cafeteria visit vividly stands out as only someone under ten would find remarkable. Our extended families embarked on this wonderous place where, for a fixed price, you could put as much of their tantalizing food offerings that could fill your desires in the confines of your plate. While we were scrutinizing the varied delicacies, my cousin sped through the line, unnoticed by my aunt and uncle, until he reached the check-out, his plate brimming with two heaping piles, one of French fries and the other beans.

French fries and beans at Expo 67 - a precursor of present day poutine?

Although my aunt and uncle were none too happy -  and my brothers and I found it hilarious -  we may have all underestimated such culinary creativity. It does sound an awful lot like a Quebec comfort food that came to Montreal around the time of Expo '67.

Next blog up:  Poutine!