Une Grenouille Dans La Théière (A Frog in the Teapot)

Our Friday in Montreal consisted of "getting lost" and getting food, which I think is a wonderful way to explore a city, as experienced a couple of weekends ago with Mike and Saela. Another way I like to see a new city (with public transportation), is to pick a stop on a transit map, go there and look around. It worked quite well in Vienna and I got a really good sense of 'Wein' in the day and a half I was there.

So in Montreal, Stephen, Bobby and I rode the Metro and chose Jean-Talon, a random spot north of where we were. It was also a station where you could transfer to another line, which made me think it might be a busy part of town, albeit less-touristy. Where we ended up was more like Steinway St in Queens, and less like Atlantic Ave in Brooklyn. However, there was a silver lining:

Une Grenouille dans la Théière (or Salon de Thé, if you will) is a calm albeit adorable little shop, that is serious about tea. The menu book is about 8 pages long (not one word in English) that list various types of tea (astray from the usual Earl Grey or Oolong, but they are included as well).

menu book, actually bound like a book

Stephen, Bobby and I were thankful for this little shop on rue Saint-Hubert because we had just walked down blocks and blocks of clothing stores- the kind you may find in Chelsea, or the garment district of NY, but with no way out. If we were looking for wedding dresses or cheap bags, then this may have been a goldmine, however neither of us are brides-to-be. Nevertheless, the Salon de Thé was quiet and cozy. We had a very pretty server/cashier who spoke some English. I ordered a Chai, though I wish I ordered a thé blanc (white tea) because then I would've gotten a little teapot of my own (which they sold in dozens of colors, and I was tempted to get.) They also sold tea leaves/blooms, jam, books and gorgeous ceramics.



We also got scones. I ordered un scone de fromage (cheese scone, which was like a rich man's version of Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits), Steph- a scone de canneberge (cranberry) and Bobby- a scone aux épices (Spice). Luckily for us, we went at the right time because there is apparently a tea & scone special for $6.50 from 4-6:30pm -which we only found out when we paid our l'additions (checks).

scone de fromage

Then Steph broke the bathroom sink and we jetted out of that place faster than you can say Bon Appétit.