British Tea and Pasties: Authentic and Delicious

I visited a small but excellent Tea Room yesterday called Eddison and Melrose in Monterey, which is odd, because I'm not much for tea.

It goes without saying that tea is nearly worshipped in England and all countries it has colonized.  Cousins came all the way from South Africa one year and had to teach us all how to brew a proper pot of tea.  I was grateful to know, but I was not able to understand the passion for it.  It's very bland to me.

But getting back to the visit yesterday, I was curious to try this place.  Several years ago, I met the owner, Karen Anne Murray, a London-trained chef, after she had given a talk about fresh food and healthy eating.  When I chatted with her twin sister, who is a colleague in nursing, the topic of good food came up and her sister's tea room was mentioned.  I'd never heard of it before, but Karen's reputation as an elegant and passionate chef sold me on the idea.

Eddison and Melrose is on Soledad Drive in Monterey.  It's open from 11 to 3 Tuesday through Saturday.  It features bangers, pasties, salads, tortes, pies and cakes.  Ms. Murray is a slim pastry chef, virtually an oxymoron, who practices what she preaches.  That is, she uses high quality local foods, well prepared with a minimum of processed ingredients, always chock full of delicious flavors.  Visually, her foods are artistic and beautiful as is the simple but pretty Tea Room.

I was the first to arrive at the place yesterday.  It smelled clean, fragrant, and appealing.  All foods are prepared from scratch on the premises, and catered meals are assembled in the large certified kitchen, right there on site.  I didn't have a chance to say hello to Karen, but she had been in earlier and prepared the menu items fresh that morning.

I chose a turkey pasty, which would be called a turnover here in the States.  It was piping hot, savory and very satisfying.  Cheese and caramelized onions filled every forkful along with the turkey and buttery crust.  I was treated to a few spoonfuls of Brighton relish, gray poupon mustard and HP sauce, a close cousin to A1 sauce we are familiar with.  I'd like to have had an ale or hearty beer with the pasty, but the tea house doesn't serve alcohol.  Order "take away" as they say across the pond, and you'd have yourself a fine repast to enjoy at the beach or at home with friends.

Yes, I yielded to dessert, an authentic chocolate torte that had excellent crumb and rich chocolate flavor without being too rich or overly sweet.

Eddison and Melrose has been catering for 15 years, specializing in British favorites.  Stop in for authentic and top-drawer British comfort foods and lighter fare.  I have not found better on the entire Peninsula and I'm pretty sure I never will.