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| Mommy and Me Tea at Trés |
I had never been to a tea in my life, until recently, but within the past couple of months I’ve been to three. Each was at a different location, but they all had their charms.
The first was at the Getty Villa in Malibu and it was hard to decide what was better, the food or the scenery. The afternoon Tea by the Sea included a tour of the grounds and a delicious selection of food made with ingredients from the Villa’s gardens.
The second was at Trés in the lobby of the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills. Swank is the first word that comes to mind. And over the top.
I went to the SLS tea as the guest of Sarah Auerswald and we were accompanied by Elise of Elise’s Ramblings and Alexandra, of Beverly Hills Mom. It was the last week before my family and I left for the holidays and I was a little stressed.
But once I sat down with the ladies there was nothing to do but relax. The lounge where we had the tea was dimly lit and very comfortable. I sat on a couch with Elise and sipped my Yerba Matte tea and dreamed of a life where I go to tea once a week.
Elmer, our waiter was as delightful as the beet macaroons with goat cheese, my favorite of all of the selections we were offered. The desserts were good, however, I thought they were trying a bit too hard with the chocolate with Poprocks until I remembered that we were enjoying the Mommy and Me Tea and I thought of how happy my kids would be if they were served chocolate Poprocks.
In thinking about the SLS hotel another word comes to mind: fascinating. The lounge area was sort of like Alice in Wonderland. The restaurant The Bazaar, which features world-renowned chef and PBS star José Andrés, is in the hotel. I’ve never been to The Bazaar to eat, but now I want to go back at night. There was so much to look at I don’t know how you could concentrate on your food. Hopefully, some day I’ll go back for dinner and let you know how I did.
Finally, the third tea I went to was a amazing homespun affair. It was in Tucson with my oldest, dearest friends and their mothers, the week before Christmas. Looking back now, after the shootings that killed a 9-year-old girl and injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the memory is bittersweet, but at the time it was very special.
The SLS tea was over the top, but it had nothing on my friend’s mom’s fabulous spread in Tucson.
The house and table were beautiful and the food was fantastic. My friends’ kids, who are between 5 and 9 did the serving and they make me hopeful about the future of America’s youth, with their excellent manners and work ethic.
Everyone went home from the tea with a Christmas ornament, all of which had been specially selected and hung on a tree at the front of the house. It was a truly lovely day.
