Afternoon Tea in Davis California

Davis is my favorite college town in California. I am there often and always making new discoveries.

Most recently, I was tipped off to a relatively-new place for tea and light meals: Tea List.



After one visit by myself, I realized that Tea List is a true "find" and a very special place.

Owner, Nahid Aram, has scouted the world for the finest of teas. She does her own importing, assuring excellent quality and handling, in much the same way that a fine wine merchant, like Kermit Lynch in Berkeley does with his wines.

Tea is served by the cup or the pot. I've now made two visits to Tea List, the most recent with Jim.



So far I've tasted the Osmanthus Silver Needle White Tea, the Vanilla Black Tea, and the Persian Tea, the owner's personal blend of four different Black teas. I had the Persian Tea iced but it was still served from a glass tea pot and poured into a China cup. As my server said about the service, "Little and big girls like their tea in cups."

Tea List serves Breakfast, Lunch, and freshly-baked pastries and tea cakes all day long. The lunch menu features sandwiches, salads, and a cheese plate. Prices range from $3.95 for a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich to $7.95 for the Chicken Salad or Cheese Plate. Sandwiches are served with a small side salad. A special sandwich, dessert, & tea lunch is also offered each day.




On both of my visits, I've indulged in the complete Afternoon Tea (served from 11:30 a.m.). Priced at $15.95, it includes your choice of any tea, a warm scone with house-made Devonshire cream and fruit preserves, an assortment of tea sandwiches, pastries, and fresh fruit. The four kinds of sandwiches, each on a different bread were smoked turkey with cheese and pesto, chicken salad with grapes and walnuts, seasonal vegetables, and cucumber with mint. The two pastries were bite-sized portions of a napoleon and a chocolate cake.

My single-service Afternoon Tea was presented on a single plate.



The first time I ordered the Afternoon Tea, it was to sample a little bit of all the food that Tea List served. It was so wonderful, i did it again with Jim. Since we both ordered the Afternoon Tea, it was served on a tiered server.




Not only is everything tasty, the service is elegant, even for those choosing to eat on the outdoor patio. While my server apologized for not serving my tea in their best China, which they only use indoors, I was more than content to have Lenox tea service one time



and Ralph Lauren the second time.




The Devonshire Cream and Fruit Preserves are served in tiny ramekins with silver spoons decorated with tea pots at the tops of their handles.



Special glass tea timers are brought with your tea...green sand for green and white teas, brown sand for black teas, and pink sand for herbals.

COMMUTING TO DAVIS

I am not exactly commuting the 50-60 miles to Davis, but recently it has started to feel like it.

Louie is back being a patient at the UC Davis Veterinary Hospital, this time for pain in walking up and down stairs and when he is curled up in his crate at night. While our local doctors have tried to treat it, as soon as he is off meds, his symptoms reappear. Based on our success a few years ago at UCD with his mysterious skin problems, we decided to return in hopes of finding a "cure" rather than a fix.

As of today, we have a diagnosis of Immune Mediated Polyarthritis. He is being check every two weeks for progress and it now seems that either he could go into a remission or he will remain on a maintenance dose of some medication for life...time will tell.

Since I like Davis so much, I am not minding being there often. My special friend, Mort, lives there and even without Mort, I simply love its college town atmosphere.

These are just a few of the places I've been in the past month or so.

This is the Veterinary Hospital.



Louie's first visit was at midday and we were not sure if we would get away to go downtown for lunch. We started our day with freshly-baked pastries from the Village Bakery which has lots of outdoor seating. The Bakery is known for its breads, pastries, and pizzas. A very good meal deal at the Bakery is a slice of pizza with salad for about $5!!! Mort tells me that on the days he "works" at the train station, Village Bakery gives him anything he wants to eat or drink...very nice community gesture, I say.



Back to chattering about lunch that day, I made sandwiches and brought them with me. When we finished with Louie's appointment, we found a shaded terrace with tables and chairs right across from the hospital building. Louie had his water and snacks and we had our sandwiches and fruit.



Then, not related to Louie and his medical condition, Babette was in town visiting her children who live in Sacramento, a few days after out first trip to the Veterinary Hospital. Over the years, Babette and I have decided that Davis is a good place for us to meet, even if Davis is closer to Sacramento than to where I am. This time, we had lunch at the Mustard Seed, on their lovely outdoor back patio.



Babette had a Roast Turkey (really turkey, freshly carved), Bacon, and Avocado Sandwich.



I had the Almond Curry Tuna Salad which was accompanied by slices of Almond Orange Bread.




We then walked around town, stopping at any and all stores that caught our attention, including The Artery and The Naturalist.

Today, I met Mort for lunch at Tucos.



I really think Mort should be the mayor of Davis, or at least its special ambassador. He seems to know all the businesses in town and all the "gossip" and inside information about them. And, when he is not dining or just being the man around town, he volunteers as a host at the Davis railroad station, making sure that any new arrivees are pointed in the right direction.

Tucos is around the corner from the Village Bakery on G street in a spot that I probably never would have found, were it not for Mort. I was later told by Louie's doctor that Tucos has wonderful wines, but this being lunch and me looking at a drive of at least an hour, there was no wine consumed.

Mort's choices were the Vuelve la Vida Venezuelan seafood cocktail- wild shrimp, clams, calamari , followed by Roasted Monterey Sardines with Piri Piri Sauce and greens.




I chose a Latin Combination Plate, with Arepas de Carne Mechada, shredded pasture-raised beef, sweet onion, crème Fraiche, as my main dish. It was garnished with greens, rice, and black beans and served with a glass of iced Mate tea.



It was not hard for Mort to convince me to share two desserts: Panna Cotta and Affogato.



I have since read up on Tucos and see that it has received national press attention. When food writer and healthful eating advocate Michael Pollan came to Davis to speak, it was Tucos where he chose to dine.

A note about the name Tucos; it comes from the owner's daughter, who mispronounced the Portuguese word for juice, "suco," as "tucos" when she was young.

During my recent visits, I've also had meals at Café Bernardo and at Pasta?. And, I found the perfect top to go with a new skirt at The Wardrobe.

Stay tuned, as I eat and shop my way through Davis for the rest of the summer into fall.