Pat’s Pick
Café San Miguel
Café San Miguel
Funny thing about Mexican restaurants in Texas. The newer they are, the more authentic they are. Case in point: Bright and cheery Café San Miguel, which recently opened on the east end of Dallas’s frantically hip Henderson Avenue strip, would pass muster in Oaxaca or Cuernavaca. Chef Fernando Marrufo’s codorniz en pipián is the meatiest quail I’ve had in a long time, its plump little breast bathed in an earthy sauce of ground pumpkin seeds and ancho chile. A south-of-the-border surf and turf—big, perfectly cooked shrimp and flavorful beef medallions—comes with a sauce of roasted garlic and lime juice fired up with habaneros. Of several scrumptious desserts, the headiest is tres leches, the milk-and-cream-drenched white cake that is sweeping dessert menus across the state. That’s a modern tradition I definitely approve of.
Enfrijoladas de Cangrejo (Stack Crab Enfrijoladas)
From Café San Miguel, Dallas.
O Christmas Tea
Season’s Eatings | Timely treats for your culinary calendar.
You’ve already inaugurated Phase I of your Kids’ Christmas Culture Course—you took the little darlings to see The Nutcracker. Now it’s time for Phase II: Introduce them to afternoon tea. True, a taste for Earl Grey and bone-china teapots may take a while to develop, but petits fours, finger sandwiches, and buttery scones with blackberry jam have instant appeal. Or hire a sitter for the wiggle worms and enjoy your tea party solo. Nothing wrong with that. Patricia Sharpe
Austin
Tea Embassy, in a quaint Victorian house, is filled with fine loose teas, tea accessories, and gifts for sale. Tea will be served, along with holiday treats catered by Amuse Bouche. December 9, 10, & 11, 1 p.m. & 3:30 p.m. 900 Rio Grande, 512-330-9991; teaembassy.com. Reservations required ($35). At the Four Seasons Hotel, a full tea will feature carols around the piano and Santa reading stories. Bring a teddy bear to donate to the Austin Children’s Shelter. December 3, 10, & 17, 2 p.m.–4 p.m. 98 San Jacinto Boulevard, 512-685-8300; fourseasons.com/austin. Reservations required (adults $35, children $20).
Dallas
The Hotel Adolphus’ special holiday three-course tea—modeled after the English royal service—offers precious little sandwiches, scones with Devonshire cream, tea cookies, chocolate truffles, and more. The lobby will be decorated, and a pianist will play. November 27– December 31, Tuesday–Sunday, 2 p.m.–4:45 p.m. 1321 Commerce, 214-742-8200, ext. 3186; hoteladolphus.com. Reservations required ($38).
Fort Worth
Guests at the Ashton Hotel’s holiday teas will dine on petite sandwiches, vegetable crudités with olive-walnut dipping sauce, herbed ricotta flan, scones with lemon curd, eggnog petits fours, candy-cane gingerbread cookies, fine teas, and a flute of champagne. November 9–December 31, Wednesday–Sunday, 2 p.m.– 4 p.m. 610 Main, 817-332-0100; theashtonhotel.com. Reservations required (adults $30, children under eight $16).
Houston
The St. Regis Hotel’s Remington Restaurant is serving a Teddy Bear Tea with menus for adults and children including assorted sandwiches, scones with Devonshire cream, and pastries. An “ice princess” will attend, and cookie decorating will be offered. Bring a teddy bear to donate to the Blue Santa program. December 3–18, Saturday & Sunday, and December 21 & 22, 2 p.m.–4 p.m. 1919 Briar Oaks Lane, 713-403-2754; theremingtonrestaurant.com. Reservations required ($48).
My Library
