Best restaurants: New afternoon tea, served with a French twist
Good news for afternoon-tea aficionados: A grand, new tea service debuted Thursday at Café Boulud in Palm Beach. With French flair, of course.
What might afternoon tea with a French twist look and taste like? Savory jambon beurre finger sandwiches. Daniel Boulud’s favorite mini Madeleine cookies on the tiered tea stand. Opera cake and other French pastries. Teas from the famous Parisian brand Palais des Thés. And in your Champagne flute, the sparkle of Crémant de Bordeaux wine.
Amid the lovely porcelain teapots, sugar bowls and other fine accoutrements, there are more classic British touches as well, such as scones with rich Devonshire cream and cucumber finger sandwiches, finessed by the café’s talented executive pastry chef, Julie Franceschini.
The new tea service, priced at $48 per person, is offered daily from 3 to 5 p.m. in Café Boulud’s chic dining room as well as in the leafy courtyard.
Reservations for the afternoon tea are accepted at 561-655-6060.
Café Boulud is at The Brazilian Court Hotel, 301 Australian Ave., Palm Beach.
Food events to put on your radar
A home-cooked Ukrainian dinner
When Victoria Shparber opened her breakfast-lunch café, Tequesta Table, in May 2022, she sprinkled the menu with dishes from her native Ukraine. She offered Ukrainian pierogies, haluski (cabbage and noodles), beet “vinegret” salad and other delicacies.
Later, Victoria planned monthly, multi-course Ukrainian dinners at Tequesta Table. She says they are her way “to showcase the Ukrainian people and our culture”.
Her next dinner, planned for Friday, Sept. 22, is a six-course affair. It begins with a sauerkraut-stuffed bun, continues with cool borscht, then on to sprats with chicken paté crostini, followed by blini with caviar. Main course is stuffed cabbage with chicken paprikash. Dessert offerings are homemade honey cake, crepes with homemade farmer cheese and fresh fruit.
The dinner, which starts at 6 p.m., costs $90 per person. Feel free to bring your own wine, says Victoria, as the café does not offer wine and beer.
Victoria’s efforts to celebrate Ukrainian food and culture have been boosted by the arrival of her mom Milana Shparber, who owned a Ukrainian deli (Black Forest Deli) in West Bethlehem, PA, for nearly two decades. She sold the business and moved south, where she now cooks alongside her daughter.
They have now been joined by three new employees, who also hail from Ukraine, says Victoria. “They came to escape the war,” she says of the women who are part of a refugee resettlement program.
To reserve a seat, you can email Victoria at [email protected]. Information about Tequesta Table’s future Ukrainian dinners will be posted on the café’s Facebook page and Instagram page.
Tequesta Table is at 233 U.S. Hwy 1, Tequesta, 561-747-7637, TequestaTable.com.
Soup for the soul
The annual Empty Bowls soup lunch returns to the Downtown Palm Beach Gardens plaza on Saturday, Sept. 30 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event not only raises funds for a worthy cause — the Palm Beach County Food Bank — it also serves up a variety of tasty soups in souvenir ceramic bowls.
This year’s participating restaurants include Café Chardonnay, Avocado Cantina, The Jupiter Grill, Brick & Barrel pub, Carmine’s La Trattoria and others. Soups are served with freshly baked bread from Old School Bakery. Each soup meal includes bottled water.
The modest lunch, which is part of a national, grassroots effort, underscores the Empty Bowls theme, which is to “eat simply so others can simply eat.”
General admission tickets are $35 per person. VIP tickets, which grant access to an area with appetizers and cocktails by Laura Ashley Catering, are $60. Tickets are sold online via the Palm Beach County Food Bank website.
The Downtown Palm Beach Gardens plaza is at 11701 Victoria Gardens Ave.
Marlin Bar’s September deals
Dining deal month continues. Last week, I wrote about September’s Flavor Palm Beach dining discounts. Thursday, I wrote about the return of downtown Delray’s Restaurant Month specials.
Here’s a restaurant special to add to those: the September tacos-and-tequila special menu at the new Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar inside The Gardens Mall.
The shareable specials include Baja shrimp tacos stuffed with crispy shrimp and topped with slaw and tomato relish ($14), pollo al pastor tacos topped with pineapple-papaya salsa, queso fresco and a spicy jalape?o-avocado salsa ($12) and a mushroom queso fundido that’s served with warm flour tortillas on the side ($13).
To pair with those bites, the bar is serving four special tequila drinks. They include the spicy “Sun and Spice” cocktail, a Patrón Silver-based sip that gets its heat from serrano syrup.
The special menu is offered through Sept. 30.
Tommy Bahama Marlin Bar is in The Gardens Mall, 3101 PGA Blvd., space J205, Palm Beach Gardens, 561-909-1886.
Have a delicious weekend!
Liz Balmaseda
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Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and on Threads @Silkpalm and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Café Boulud Palm Beach starts afternoon tea service with French twist
