All The News That's Fit To Eat

Looking for a quiet place to sit and have a cup of tea? Hadley's Tea opened about a month ago at 7600 Jefferson NE, Suite 9 (near Café Voilà and Hello Deli!). Owner Linda Butler serves both hot and iced teas, and a dozen or so pastries from Le Chantilly. Butler's stock includes over 100 types of teas and though they're all for sale, she rotates a smaller selection through the tea menu so customers choose from a list of around 20 teas on any given day. Hadley's also serves chai from Anapurna chai house and one daily coffee selection. Butler used to own Linda's Antiques and Sweets, a small shop on “antique row” in Nob Hill. At Hadley's, she sells all sorts of tea accessories but not antiques. Stop by and check it out or call 821-4832 to inquire about the tea menu.

Foodies who are also politics junkies will appreciate Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher's recent “Tastings” column in The Wall Street Journal. The Journal's wine columnists pitted wines from Texas against bottles from Massachusetts in an election-year blind tasting battle. In 2000, Gaiter and Brecher held a similar tasting between Texas and Tennessee; Texas won. To be fair, Texas may not be known for its wine but neither is Tennessee or Massachusetts. Texas is a huge state, though, and that's a big advantage. There are 55 wineries in President Bush's home state compared to only 18 in Democratic challenger John Kerry's. Dying to know the results? The Northeast trounced the Southwest four to two. The Kerry camp told The Journal, “Come November 2, we'll stomp Bush like a Texas grape”.

We're heading into lavender season in Albuquerque and the next few weeks will be chock-full of sweet-smelling and sweet-tasting events. This Saturday, Enchanted Lavender is hosting their third annual Lavender Fiesta at the Corrales Recreation Center (on Jones Road, you can't miss it). Sharon Shipley, author of The Lavender Cookbook, will give a lecture on culinary uses of the flowers and sign copies of her book. Shipley will also be at Los Poblanos Inn (4803 Rio Grande NW) on Sunday for their Lavender in the Valley tea and tour. Look for more information on lavender events and some lavender recipes to appear in the food section in the coming weeks. For information on The Corrales Lavender Fiesta call 858-1013. For information on Los Ranchos' Lavender in the Valley, call 344-9297.