Five years ago, Denise Washington purchased an old antiques shop on auction and used it to open the Thir-Tea First Street Caf8e and Tea Room, which has grown into a quaint, charming spot frequented by many residents of the Charles Village neighborhood. Although Washington, the owner and manager of the restaurant, has until now served breakfast and lunch in addition to cream, afternoon, and high tea, she expects to convert it to simply a tearoom within approximately a month.
The Thir-Tea First Street Caf8e and Tea Room is located close to Hopkins -- as might be guessed from its name, it is located on 31st Street, approximately a 10 minute walk from campus. Contained in a distinctively bright yellow, red and green Victorian house, the restaurant stands out even on a block full of vibrantly colored dwellings and shops. A large sign in the shape of a teapot attracts passersby and advertises the homey caf8e.
Washington originally conceived of the idea of the restaurant as a place to accommodate a neighborhood full of students, "looking for a quiet place to read where they could also enjoy food that is fresh made." She mentioned that many students bring visiting parents to the Caf8e and Tea Room for lunch or dinner. Hopkins J-cards are conveniently accepted at the restaurant as a form of payment.
The tea room offers three varieties of tea service: cream tea ($20) which includes tea and scones, afternoon tea ($25) which includes tea, scones, biscuits, sandwiches and dessert, and high tea ($30), which includes tea, scones biscuits, soup, salad, sandwiches and dessert. Tea is served in private rooms, enhancing the restaurants already intimate atmosphere. Each tea room offers diners hats, gloves and costume jewelry to dress up with during the tea service if one feels so inclined, a whimsical touch that patrons undoubtedly find amusing and unusual.
The range of tea is impressive, its 30 choices include such adventurous flavors as cranberry apple, lemon spice, peach leaf, and chocolate, but also trusty favorites such as Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Prince of Wales and peppermint. My companion and I chose the jasmine green and raspberry. The jasmine green was satisfying, containing pleasantly subtle jasmine flavor while maintaining a distinctive aroma. The raspberry was refreshingly fruity, but too strongly flavored to enjoy the greater part of the pot provided. For their part, the scones and biscuits were for the most part pleasing -- we were provided with lemon and raisin scones and sweet potato, cinnamon, and buttermilk cheese biscuits. This course stood out as one of the best -- the scones and biscuits both light and fluffy, served with a wide array of fruit preserves as well as pear butter, Devon cream, and cr8fme fraiche.
The soup du jour, chicken alfredo, was surely the highlight of the service; creamy and satisfying, containing strong thyme and rosemary flavors and large chunks of chicken in addition to penne pasta. However it was somewhat of an untraditional
