The London Tea Room
By Stefanie Ellis
Special to the Post-Dispatch
08/09/2007
In London, a sandwich costs about $18. Granted, this is in the tonier parts of the city, but if you care to take your lunch in a cute little cafe in a funky neighborhood, that’s about the going rate.
I’ve been doing a lot of research lately, as I’m headed there in September for pastry school. The thought of living in one of the world’s most expensive cities is a little nerve-racking so, for now, I am happy living the high life in St. Louis, where a good sandwich won’t set me back more than $7.
Still, I find myself desiring a bit of practice for the Euro lifestyle. Where in St. Louis would I be able to eat like a St. Louisan but feel like a Londoner? The answer seems as obvious as the dimples on Prince William’s face: the London Tea Room on Washington Avenue.
The cafe, in one of St. Louis’ hippest neighborhoods, screams London. At the entrance, a table holding a display of English items ushers you gently into the culture. Behind a glass counter, which contains an impressive array of homemade pastries, I spotted eccles — tiny pastry pockets filled with raisins and dusted with sugar — and several types of scones and a vast tea selection.
When you order, instead of being given a number, you receive a card representing a different stop on the Tube, London’s subway system. A couple at the table next to me was drinking bottles of ginger beer, a lemon, ginger and sugar concoction that originated in England in the 1700s. Today, it’s often produced as an alcohol-free soft drink.
Croque monsieur ($7), a hot-pressed sandwich made of münster and Gruyère cheese, smoked ham and Dijon mustard, was served on a plate, with the initials LTR written on the side in mustard. It was perfect in its simplicity, and every element fused harmoniously into one slightly gooey whole.
Less enjoyable was a French Cheese salad ($7): organic lettuces, pears, toasted almonds, Gruyère and what was described as roasted figs but appeared to be dried, mixed with a balsamic vinaigrette. It was OK, but nothing special. Still, it was a steal at less than half the price of some of the salads I’ve been looking at on menus in West London cafes.
Shrimp and rice soup had a spicy edge to it, perhaps from some cayenne, and the rice was tender and plentiful.
Of course, the best part was the dessert.
Some of my companions didn’t like the white chocolate pistachio cake because it wasn’t sweet enough, but I prefer less cloying desserts. The white chocolate cream that sandwiched the dense layers of biscuit cake was subtle in its sweetness, as it should have been, and I liked that white chocolate didn’t dominate throughout the dessert. The addition of pistachios in the biscuit layers, as well as crumbled on top with slivers of white chocolate, pulled everything together. This was a lovely example of true European pastry.
Though my quest to find an inexpensive sandwich ends in St. Louis, I have to wonder: What new adventures will I find? I hope the UK will afford me experiences as tasty as those I’ve found here in my hometown. I hope, too, they will be just as sweet.