17 April 2006

Gata Spend More Time in Brooklyn, or A Tea Lounge Grows in Brooklyn


Apparently there are two Tea Lounge(s) in Brooklyn. I went to the one in Park Slope, 7th Avenue, with my sister Pam.

Why don't they have places like this in Astoria? I mean, the setup was kind of like Cafe Bar, all random couches thrown about. There was a backgammon table and maybe chess as well. It was real casual, with the token pretentious people conversing nearby - but who can avoid being pretentious once in a while?

Anyway, about the tea. I picked from their adequately varied list two different types of tea. A single pot (which would have been enough for Pam and I) was $2.75, and I had one Persian Peach, which had black tea, and Northern Lights, which was a Chamomile Citrus Blend. There is a counter where you make your order. The staff was friendly in an efficient manner, and prepared to explain what was in each tea. That's always a big bonus. The tea and cup was placed on a block to carry to your seat, which looked unwieldy but turned out to be just fine.

Though we'd already eaten at the Indian restaurant across the street, I ordered a maple scone to split between the two of us. It costed about the same as the pot of tea, but it was good. It would have been better if we were hungrier, I suppose, but good nevertheless.

Otherwise, there are different types of pastries and soup which would have been good on a rainy Friday. There were many different coffees to chose from, and beer - it is after all a lounge - among other beverages. I would certainly recommend this place over Alice's to my male friends.

We were there in the afternoon. At night they have music performances, but I'll have to leave that to another time.

I'm really beginning to appreciate Brooklyn, besides just the Heights. There were so many shops and restaurants on 7th Avenue that I would have loved to explore, if I had more time, as well as 5th Avenue. The buildings around there were so much prettier than Astoria, it was almost a disappointment to return home. Not almost, it was.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Part of me wanted to laugh out loud at some of the "pretentious" people there. but hey, it's not stuffy, like that place we went to on the upper east side last year. you'd think the queen of ENgland was taking tea there.
oh, and by the way, gata, the earth shoes i bought on seventh ave are simply fabulous! worth every penny ;)

Marie said...

BK is awesome. I had a sandwich and salad for $5 bucks, you can't beat that. It was so good, Cat, you remember that right?

Catherine said...

I was such a sandwich diva with that guy at the counter! But did I, or did I not, specifically say "no tomatoes"?!