In Search of Tea . . .

We LOVE afternoon tea! Whenever we travel, scoping out a place to grab tea and people watch is always high on our list. So, we were MAD excited to find out that the Mad Hatter Bistro in Birmingham, MI offers afternoon tea daily, for the masses. 

First of all this space is AMAZING. As you can imagine by the name, the Mad Hatter Bistro is working with a Alice in Wonderland theme and it makes us all kinds of happy on the inside.

Upon arrival we were quickly led to a cute little table that was already outfitted with a tea cup, saucer, and small plate! We were given a menu to choose our tea for the day; and opted to go with vanilla.

What was really nice is that Chef Derrick Rassam brought out our three tiered tea tray, that had an abundance of food on it and explained each offering to us! The first tier had a lovely assortment of sandwiches; such as the traditional cucumber, but with minted cream and roasted red pepper and hummus. The second tier offered blueberry scones with freshly made clotted cream! We were feeling WAY British! And the third tier had an assortment of fruit and house-baked pastries like baklava, carrot cake, and a tasty chocolatey treat! 

The afternoon tea at Mad Hatter Bistro was awesome! The atmosphere gives it that extra special accouterment that can make any occasion, even the celebration of a sunny winter day that much more special. We also enjoyed the music of the afternoon, as you can never go wrong with a little Motown. An afternoon tea with Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get it On" playing in the background??? You could possibly NEVER go wrong with that! We'll definitely be back! Check out more about Mad Hatter Bistro here. 

We Miss You Old Friend!

While people may enjoy the new wave artisanal bun, we yearn for a tasty Aunt Millie’s bun, one with sesame seeds if you get a Supreme with cheese. We miss the taste of extra Hellman’s Mayonnaise, with extra mustard; just the right amount to dip your crispy fries in. Or even your onion rings, because at Phashion Phish we always ordered a Supreme Combo, with cheese, extra mayonnaise and mustard, a Pepsi for the drink, with onion rings on the side, AND a small Boston Cooler. But alas, those days are gone.

Everyone who grew up in the Flint area cut their food eating chops at Halo Burger. It is a staple, along with Angelo’s and Big John. And while Big John’s has never changed ownership and after years of suffering the old owner of Angelo’s returned; the ownership of Halo Burger changed, and along with it the tasty deliciousness that we were accustomed to. Gone are the cream ale’s and breakfast. Instead, we get a new logo, coupons, and a Halapeno Burger! There are rumors that the patties are no longer the freshest of meats, hand formed into not quite round patties of deliciousness.

Now we don’t knock businesses for making cost cutting measures, we know how the real world works. But as the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. In Flint, we have had many a hard time and there are things you knew you could always count on; a good Koegel's Coney from Angelo’s, a steak sandwich with just the right amount of grease from Big John’s, and a perfect patty you couldn’t get outside of this area from Halo Burger, but for some reason the new owners wanted to change that. What used to be a treat for out of town guests is now something you’ll willingly pass up, and well with all these new locations you don’t even have to come here to experience what was once hamburger greatness!

We’re hoping that the new owners will realize that maybe some things aren’t worth changing and in some places you just don’t mess with people’s food!