There's always time for tea

As we walked into the Avalon Tearoom & Pastry Shoppe, my friend surveyed the room and gave me an insincere smile. You know, all teeth, no eyes. "You didn't tell me there would be women wearing hats," he stage-whispered. I'll admit that I was a little unnerved by the alarming Barbie-on-steroids dolls taking their tea with a table of adorable little girls. The high lace-and-doily quotient was almost as discombobulating as Pierce Brosnan's singing in "Mamma Mia!" Every table was taken, yet there was just one other man in residence, part of a large, multi-generational (and yes, hat-wearing) party. We surmised that his role was to pick up the check.

Yeah, every estrogen-dipped cliche concerning the afternoon tea ritual was clicking through my Neanderthal's brain. But you know what? I got over my preconceived notions, fast, because it's awfully easy to fall for the Avalon, not to mention the idea of a relaxing afternoon tea vs. my all-too-usual eat-and-run lunch. Once again, my friend said it best: "It's a meal of hors d'oeuvres, which I dearly love." Same here.

Miss Manners correctness

Co-owners Becky Radel and Jan Boe make it look easy. First and foremost, they put out a splendid tea service. The china, the silver, the linens, the sugar cubes and milk, the fine selection of loose-leaf teas, the cozy tented over the teapot, the attentive service; they're all there, done with Miss Manners correctness minus so much as a whiff of Maiden Aunt fussiness or pretension.

The food is even lovelier. Our four-course spread ($23) started with a sprightly greens-and-strawberries salad before moving on to tender-crusted bacon quiches and a pleasing array of sandwiches, including a simple cucumber-butter combo and a mellow horseradish jam spread over thinly sliced beef. Then the real fun began. Out came Boe's silver dollar-sized scones, each one a study in baking perfection, which we broke apart and slathered with thick clotted cream and a teasingly tart lemon curd.

Baker Kathy Malek then took her turn to impress, and boy, did she ever. First up: a wedge of deliriously delicious lemon-berry cake crowned with a divine buttercream frosting. Soon enough there were dainty chocolate-iced cream puffs, followed by a pair of exquisite cookies. If it sounds like overkill, it was. In the most delightful way.

The cramped, wood-paneled setting is more of a 1970s rec-room hangover than a set from "Pride & Prejudice," but somehow this important bit of anti-Britannia works in the Avalon's favor. So does the eight-year-old shop's flexibility. Diners can choose from informal tea-and-sweets options ($7.50), a build-your-own luncheon tea ($10) or the more formal, reservations-required spreads ($15 to $23). Count me the No. 1 fan of the counter laden with Malek's small-batch treats. On my way out I spied sour cream and chocolate variations on iced cake cookies and bought them for the road. Each bite took me right back to my Grandma Hedvig's kitchen. In other words, they could not have been more delicious.

The Avalon isn't the only afternoon tea game in town, but it sits squarely at the top of my list. Not that I wasn't charmed by the historic setting at the Cedarhurst Mansion -- the main parlor was being painted, so we were seated in temporary quarters, a sheltered veranda overlooking a picturebook formal garden. It was one of those perfect summer afternoons that are payback for enduring a Minnesota winter, and we were treated with polite accord, but the food ($20) leaned toward perfunctory. Another downside: Service is limited to just a few weekdays. That's a shame, because this century-old country estate deserves to be seen.

The lunch and afternoon programs at Lady Elegant's Tea Room & Gift Shoppe are similar to the Avalon's, but my four-course tea ($25) wasn't embellished with the same tender loving care that seems part and parcel to the Avalon experience. Paper-dry lettuce, overbaked scones, flavorless lemon curd, clunky 9- by 13-inch pan bars, near-absent service; I'd like to think that I stopped by on a bad day.

The more rugged afternoon tea ($17) at Brit's Pub & Eating Establishment was more impressive. The fun-loving room smells of stale beer, there's a portrait of Queen Elizabeth hanging over the mantel and from my window-side perch I watched the world stroll by on Nicollet Mall. A stacked trio of plates were piled high with a predictable selection of fruits and cheeses, a decent (and warm) scone with honey and two jams, a few crustless sandwiches (loved the tuna salad peppered with kernels of sweet corn) and a pair of well-made bars. If only it were available on a spontaneous walk-in basis; having to call 24 hours in advance deflates the prospect of a mid-day getaway.

Three other variations on formal afternoon tea are available at Aprille's Showers Tea Room, Mad Hatter Tea Room and McHattie's Victorian Times.

Finally, Cafe Latte puts up a daily counter-service afternoon tea, served in its quiet wine bar section, far from the restaurant's always-mobbed cafeteria line. Fancy, it's not, but it's satisfying: a cream cheese sandwich stuffed with thinly sliced cucumbers, a wedge-shaped currant scone with a bland lemon curd and runny raspberry jam, a narrow slice of one of the bakery's tortes, a shortbread cookie and a few chocolates. That's a lot of sugar, but service is fast, it requires no prearranging and it's available for just $12.

Rick Nelson • 612-673-4757