My dear friend Sylvia and I decided to kickoff the weekend with the Dallas Arboretum’s Holiday Tea. The Arboretum hosts several different seated teas throughout the year. The holiday tea is served November 8 – December 31. Tea is served at DeGolyer Restaurant inside the Dallas Arboretum across from the Christmas village so be prepared to walk through the garden a bit to get to your reservation.
The first course was a delicious pumpkin soup and cheddar cracker served with roasted chestnut tea. I loved this tea, and I’m not even much of a tea drinker! The soup was chunky and rich and fabulous and I always love a good cheesy cracker.
The second course was a three-tiered offering of sandwiches: herbed cream cheese on Belgian endive, smoked salmon mousse, cucumber sandwiches, tarragon egg salad sandwiches, and smoked chicken salad in phyllo cups. The latter was my favorite bite along with the egg salad and smoked salmon mousse. Accompanying the main course was spiced cranberry tea, which I worried would be overpowering but was pretty subtle and went well with the dishes.
Last but not least was dessert. First we ate the cranberry scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Delicious! The next tier (we went in order from top to bottom!) had chocolate colored strawberries, coconut tartlets, and mini pecan tarts. We literally ate every bite. Finally we enjoyed some rich indulgences: buttery Christmas cookies, chocolate espresso truffles, and brownies.
We were stuffed after tea but luckily we were able to stretch our legs with a light stroll through the garden. Besides all of the Christmas fun, November is a wonderful time to visit the Dallas Arboretum. It’s one of the best months for roses!
Holiday tea reservations are available for 11 am and 2 pm. The price is $53, which includes tea service as well as tax, gratuity, parking, and garden admission. Reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance so plan accordingly. For more information, click here. If you haven’t read my article about Holiday at the Arboretum, you can read all about it here.
