When a friend suggested we go to Podunk for our monthly dinner, I laughed. I thought you know, big-city-folk, Podunk is the middle of nowhere, perhaps she was making a commentary on the recent poor quality of our restaurant choices for the past few monthly dinners. But apparently, someone with a great sense of humor (owner Elspeth Treadwell, presumably, whom we spoke with) decided to name this quaint tea shop Podunk.
Podunk, as you can see from the business card (which is an almost exact rendering of the front of the shop), is an unassuming and charming little place to hang out, drink tea, and have a snack. Unfortunately for us, most of us wanted a real dinner and our stomachs felt very ripped off. There is no table service in the shop, so you must go to the back and order from Elspeth (who was a gracious hostess and left us alone for the entire 2.5 hours we spent in her shop- she didn’t rush us to order, she didn’t yell at us for taking so long to order- it was an hour before we did so- and she even gave us the discount price despite us not ordering it as a discount).
I didn’t see a tea list, but I arrived a bit late and didn’t browse the menu as thoroughly as I could. I chose to order Earl Grey, but when I asked if Ms. Treadwell had a decaf version (I’m sensitive to caffeine) she suggested Earl Green, which was a blend of green tea flavored with Bergamot (which is what gives Earl Grey its distinctive taste) and had much less caffeine than Earl Grey. She also said that if I didn’t like it, I could switch it as many times as I liked until I found one I liked. (Sure, the shop was empty save one lone customer reading at another table, and a few people who came in and took whatever it is they got to go, but not all shop owners would be so accomodating.) (FYI- not sure how much less caffeine was in it, because shortly after drinking a few small teacups of the stuff, I was off my rocker and hyper as hell.)
SpB opted for the savory tray, which included scones, cookies, salad, cheeses, mini-tea pies… as you can see, this looks like enough to fill hungry tummies. I’m sure it was, and I almost got this one except the two cheeses I saw mentioned on the menu were goat cheese and roquefort, which are lovely cheeses but extremely pungent, something I wasn’t keen on that night (actually I never like goat cheese). SpB seemed to enjoy her selection the most out of us all.
HB opted for the ladies’ luncheon, which included cucumber sandwiches, salad, and a cardamom cake (her choice). I know for certain she was still hungry after eating this, and she remarked how expensive it was considering it was only a salad and a few finger sandwiches (I believe she paid just under $20 for this, including the pot of tea).
StB didn’t fare much better, having ordered the same except with a blueberry type of cake. She was also hungry afterwards, but we stayed and chatted for quite a while afterwards until we were no longer inclined to go to another restaurant after to eat. (She did say she felt full after taking a scone off our platter, because those things are really incredibly dense. And delicious with clotted cream. Mm, clotted cream.)
ShB, BB and I all opted for the old friends’ tea set, and so Ms. Treadwell kindly put all of our orders on the same plates to save space (the tea shop was extremely cozy with us 6 in the front area). Cucumber sandwiches, scones (one strawberry, one plain), fresh berries, cookies (including really yummy toffee-ish chocolate chip cookies), two slices of cake (one cardamom, one blueberry)… this came out to just over $25/person with the discounted price. I felt okay as I ate- I mean, I’d been avoiding carbs of late, so I got an awful headache later that night, but the food was good. The cucumber sandwiches were standard, although I noted with delight that one side was white bread and the other whole grain, which sat well with me. They were a touch bland, so I added cream to each one to sweeten them, which I’m sure couldn’t have been too healthy. The cardamom cake was heavenly – I really enjoyed this particular cake; it was airy, light, moist and gently scented with cardamom. The scones were yummy as well… a down point to note was as I reached for another scone, I noticed a hair on the plate. I looked more closely- it’s my bad luck!- and noticed it was in the scone. I picked it up gently and brought it to the back, where Elspeth looked absolutely horrified and apologized profusely and offered to replace it with anything I wanted. I shrugged and just took another scone. She was truly apologetic, I tried to wave it off and she was like “No, that’s disgusting!” when I first brought it to her, and she threw it on the counter. The thing is, I understand that she makes everything herself, and she seemed to be the only employee in the shop, so I can’t imagine it being easy, and I didn’t blame her. I’m sure sometimes while I bake a stray hair makes its way into my cookies. It happens. She was nice enough about it that I didn’t feel bad and we all continued to eat.
Also to note is that there is no table service- we bussed our own trays. Along with this is a policy of no gratuities accepted (some reviews have suggested they are built into the price), which makes it seem all that much more cozy- perhaps like visiting a bakery that allows you to sit and enjoy as long as you like.
As I mentioned earlier, we spoke with Ms. Treadwell as we left- at closing time, around 9:30 or 10- and asked her why she named the place Podunk. “Because I thought it sounded funny,” she laughed. She even looks very grandmotherly, someone whose house you’d go to and always find smelling of something wonderful coming from the oven… someone who would always have a jar of freshly baked cookies for you to nibble on, not caring if it spoils your dinner.
We also found a sign on the wall defining Podunk exactly.
Yvo says: A cute place and worth a try if tea and light snacks/meals are your thing. A bit on the pricy side, but cozy and comforting. I’d say…
semi-recommended (don’t go out of your way for it… but pop in if the skies turn grey and it starts raining, you just want a cup of tea and a light snack)
Patricia says
I had visited the place and thought it was quite charming as well. But, one thing I absolutely did not like is that there was no bathroom!!!