Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
L
$$
Arden House Hotel,
69-71 Frank-
lin Rd. (
&
44/1423/509224;
www.arden
househotel.co.uk). $$
Applewood House,
55 St Georges Rd. (
&
44/1423/544549;
www.applewoodhouse.co.uk).
1 Parliament St. (
&
44/1423/502746;
www.bettys.co.uk).
(
Leeds-Bradford International (19km/12
miles)
0
Harrogate (15km/9
2
⁄
3
miles).
Tea
454
San Francisco's World of Tearooms
Golden Gate Tea Fest
San Francisco, California
San Francisco has always been such a cul-
tural melting pot, it's only natural it should
be all over the globe when it comes to tea.
A natural place to start is in Chinatown,
at the
Imperial Tea Court
(1411 Powell
St.;
&
800/567-5898
or 415/ 788-6080).
Book ahead for a tea tasting in this wood-
paneled salon, which is like taking a semi-
nar. They may offer a few light foods, but
the focus is undisputedly on what's in your
cup. Their extensive tea list includes greens,
oolongs, blacks, and a few whites and herb-
als. (The owners, Roy and Grace Fong, also
have an Internet tea business, at www.
imperialtea.com.) Each tea you taste will be
precisely brewed at the table, either in a
lidded cup (or
gaiwan
) or in a small pot (or
gongfu
), according to the method that best
suits the particular tea. You may learn the
difference between a floral Keemun Mao
Feng and a smoky Lapsang Soulong, but
more than that, you'll realize how vast the
realm of tea lore can be.
In the South of Market neighborhood,
the
Samovar Tea Lounge
(730 Howard
St.;
&
415/626-4700;
www.samovartea.
com) is the sort of tea-fetishist joint that
could only exist in food-centric San Fran-
cisco. On the upper terrace of Yerba Buena
Gardens, the bazaarlike decor is a cozy
mélange of colorful cushions and rattan
chairs. (A second branch is in the Castro,
at 498 Sanchez St.) The tea list is stupen-
dously huge and exotic, including several
exclusive blends and single-estate teas,
with an emphasis on artisanal organic and
fair-trade varieties. But the coolest thing
about the Samovar is the global variety of
high tea menus they've assembled: stir-fry
and dumplings for China (paired with a
nice oolong); a curry-and-chai pairing rep-
resenting India; beets, whitefish, and rye
bread to go with a Russian samovar of
black tea; and so on. (Poor America, repre-
sented by a paltry egg-salad sandwich and
potato chips with iced tea.)
If you're jonesing for a traditional Eng-
lish high tea, you can get that too, at
Love-
joy's
in Noe Valley (1351 Church St.;
&
415/648-5895;
www.lovejoysrearoom.
com), a warm little spot with mismatched
antique furniture and shelves lined with
vintage china teapots. Taylor's of Harro-
gate teas are featured on the 20-tea menu.
You can also order with scones, crumpets,
cucumber sandwiches, shepherd's pie,
sausage rolls, pear-and-Stilton salad, or
pasties with baked beans. It's an Anglo-
phile's dream.
(
San Francisco International (23km/14
miles)
L
$$$
Hotel Adagio,
550 Geary St.
(
&
800/228-8830
or 415/775-5000; www.
thehoteladagion.com). $
Hotel des Arts,
447 Bush St. (
&
800/956-4322
or 415/956-
3232; www.sfhoteldesarts.com).
