Restaurant review: Alice’s Tea cup, New York City

 Even as I type this note, a part of my brain wonders what I’m doing trying to write a restaurant review… So, rather than treat this with such an objective eye, Let me just rephrase this as a blog entry on an almost perfect brunch session with a friend, on a cold rainy December Morning.
 Coming to think of it, sampling one entry on a menu does not even remotely qualify as a review, but Kudos to Jyoti Ananth, for her awesome selection of venue & menu..
 Alice’s Tea Cup has 3 locations in NYC, & we picked the one on E 64th St or Chapter 2 as they refer to it on the website.  There was a wait of about 30 minutes ( a sure fire way of determining the popularity of the restaurant) & they were prompt in calling us on our phone to let us know that our table was ready.
The restaurant itself is housed in one of those cute quaint brownstones so characteristic of NYC. The furniture so adorable in their cobbled English country cottage style. The adjacent table was  constructed out of the wrought iron frame of an antique sewing machine, while ours was a display case with Alice in Wonderland knick knacks.
While the Menu is pretty extensive, we settled on the Mad Hatter, a generous lunch offering that was served with our choice of tea, scones, sandwiches, Cake & cookies (or should I call them Biscuits?)

Our Picks:
 Scones: Pumpkin, Black berry coconut & blueberry chocolate chip:
  The Pumpkin scone was a trifle ‘doughey’ but its hard picking a favorite from the other two although, the coconut blackberry did have an edge purely on the novelty factor.. It isn’t everyday that you see coconut incorporated in scones, but the pleasant berry flavor & the crunch of the coconut definitely makes it a must try!

Sandwiches:

We picked the classic English Cucumber sandwich with watercress, slathered well with a lemon chive butter on whole wheat bread. as perfect as a sandwich could get.. or so we thought until the other sandwich was sampled…
 I could go on raving about this one, but let me restrict myself to an objective description.
The filling was roasted carrots flavored with cumin. The bread itself is worth a mention, It was a semolina bread embedded with a generous amount of black sesame seeds (which had a lovely toasted flavor) that complemented the cumin fabulously. A whiff of an Indian influence without the ubiquitious ‘curry’ flavor butting in & taking over. The carrots were roasted to an optimal soft yet crunchy texture. Something I haven’t come across previously in a sandwich, but then I really have never tried slapping carrots between 2 slices of bread either!. The Olive Tapenade & goat cheese  complemented the sweetness of the carrots.

The teas: We selected an Apricot Brandy tea & an seasonal Christmas tea. Both herbal teas that did not require milk or cream.

The desserts:

  Sorry… We were so stuffed by this time that we packed up the cookies & cake to take home to our kids…

Very reasonably priced.  Lunch for 2 for under 40$ makes for a great deal!
I’d definitely return here with my husbands & kids in tow!

 you can check out this restaurant online @ http://alicesteacup.com/ (the one being referred to here is Chapter 2)