May's Theme Tea at O'Mara's Restaurant

On Tuesday, May 14th, I returned to O'Mara's Restaurant in Berkley, MI for their May theme, "Tea Showers Bring May Flowers."  It was my third consecutive month to visit the restaurant for their lovely theme teas.  I blogged about the two previous teas here and here.

Each month the attendance has increased, proving ladies definitely enjoy going to Afternoon Tea, and the demand is growing.  In my area it's rare to find Afternoon Tea offered outside of a tea room or hotel.   Kudos to O'Mara's restaurant for side-stepping the norm, and going above and beyond to establish a top-notch tea program!

Flowery, cheerful place settings carried out their theme perfectly.  Beautiful mismatched teacups are used for their tablescapes.

Below is the group of attendees [not all tables are visible in the photo].  I didn't count them, but it was more than the previous month, and this time a gentleman attended with his significant other.  A brave and very secure man!  ;-)  Men are tea drinkers too, and they will come if it's not too frou-frou and girly.

L-R:  Me, my tea buddy, Lori, and friend, Linda.  There were three of us who wore a hat to the tea, but several ladies said they are planning on wearing one next month.  Management said they might even offer a prize for the best hat. 

There were two loose-leaf tea selections [Harney & Sons], and one tisane:  Earl Grey and Citron Green teas, and Cranberry-Orange tisane.  I chose Citron Green with a delicate citrus flavor. Isn't it served in a pretty teacup?

Two soups were offered for the first course: O'Mara's Irish Cream of Potato and Chicken Lemon Rice with Chiffonade of Spinach.  Since I chose O'Mara's delicious Irish Cream of Potato soup at the two previous teas, I opted to try their Chicken Lemon Rice soup this time.  It was delicious as well.

Chef Anita Kern, who has been with O'Mara's five months, did a presentation before the Savory Course, featuring a spread in one the tea sandwiches in this month's menu - Spinach Spread. She didn't give specific amounts for most of the ingredients, but this is what she shared:

1 cup cream cheese

O'Mara's all-purpose seasoning

Mustard [Dijon, Honey Mustard, or Dry Mustard]

Worcestershire Sauce

Lots of fresh spinach [she had a pitcher full as seen in the photo below]

Blend all together and chill overnight.

Spread on buttered pumpernickel bread.  Top with thin slices or poached or broasted chicken. Roll edges in chopped parsley.   Delicious and healthy!

Beautiful tiered server with five tea sandwiches per person.

They are as follows:  Center - Chocolate Raspberry Nutella wedges; Left 9:00 o'clock position: Tomato Basil wedges on white bread; moving clockwise - Blue Cheese & Mango Chicken wedges on brown bread; Salmon Salad squares on wheat bread; and a finger sandwich of Spinach Spread with Poached Chicken on Pumpernickel.

The savories were followed by Baked Brie topped with Florida Orange Marmalade and toasted Walnuts wrapped in Puff Pastry, served with fresh fruit and oat crackers.

Main Entree was a Spinach & Gruyere Cheese Crepe topped with Hollandaise Sauce.

Dessert was a Meringue cookie, fresh Berry Cobbler, and a Cream Scone served with house-made Strawberry Jam and Chia seed, and Devonshire Cream.   [Scones at O'Mara's are served with dessert.]

It was a delightful tea, and I look forward to returning in June when the theme will be "Here Comes the Sun!"

Wearin' o' the Green for Afternoon Tea at O'Mara's!

Last October I blogged about visiting the nearby city of Berkley, Michigan [see post here].  A lady in one of the shops told me about a nearby restaurant,  O'Mara's, that serves Afternoon Tea every Tuesday, by reservation only.  It's been on my list of places to go for five months now, and my girlfriend and I finally went yesterday - just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

Hummm... what to wear?  This?

Or this?

I opted for outfit #1 and will save outfit #2 for Sunday!  ;-)

 O'Mara's.

The room where Afternoon Tea was served was the perfect setting for an Irish themed tea.  Their theme for March is "A Taste of Ireland." [The themes change every month.]

There were fifteen ladies in attendance.

Our table

The menu

My place setting.  I love the white dishes that go with any theme.

Our attentive server, Diane.

Our freshly brewed loose-leaf tea was placed in tea-sacs to steep.  A dish and tongs were provided to decant the pot for those who wished to do so.   Diane kept the teapots filled with hot water throughout the tea.  Each guest had their own individual teapot, and choice from four tea offerings.  I chose Irish Breakfast.

The tea meal began with a bowl of soup.  There were two offerings:  O'Mara's Irish Cream of Potato and Salmon Chowder.  I chose the potato soup.  It was delicious.

Next came the tiered server with Orange Scones and four Savories - a Sausage Roll, Goat Cheese sandwich with Watercress, Shamrock Corned Beef sandwich, and a Walnut Tea sandwich.

My dear friend and tea buddy, Lori.

Orange Scone and Devonshire Cream

Four Savories

Fresh Fruit [Watermelon Honeydew, fresh Pineapple, and Strawberries], with Baked Brie and Crackers.

Slice of Irish Cheese/Chicken/Tarragon and Pea Quiche        

Dessert Course:  Rye Shortbread Cookie, Anita's Hundreds & Thousands [an Australian dessert of white bread, unsalted butter and sprinkles], and a square of Pound Cake with Vanilla Frosting rolled in crushed peanuts.

What a fabulous tea!  I'm glad they told me when I made our reservation to come hungry, because there would be a lot of food.  All this for $20 plus tax and gratuity, which figured out to approximately $25.  It was worth every penny!

They normally feature a cooking demonstration at the teas by their chef, Anita Kern, but she couldn't be at yesterday's tea.

Lori and I concluded we will definitely be at their April Tea, which has a Spring theme.  I can't believe I've been missing out on O'Mara's fabulous teas, and I will definitely be spreading the word!

When we left O'Mara's, we went to KrisTea's - the shop who told me about O'Mara's - and browsed around.  Lori and I both bought something to remember our day.  This is the teacup I purchased - an  Elizabethan Fine Bone China, made in England.

We browsed through another antique store in Berkley before heading home.  It was a perfect afternoon!

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Today I'm linking to Bernideen's Tea Time Blog for "Friends Sharing Tea."