Midtown Tap and Tea Room

I have to confess that I am attracted to the Midtown Tap and Tea Room because of the name. My introduction was a reception for the Upstate Artists Guild show, and I am very happy that the old Avenue A space on New Scotland Ave. is being put to such good use. The art looks good and new artists will be showing on a regular basis.



The menu consists mostly of small plates, which I like very much, and the wine list looks like one could take a long time to taste the offerings. I asked for a hard cider, but settled for a ginger ale.



I ordered the beans, greens and shrimp plate because I was curious about almost all the plates and decided to just take it from the top and go back many times. Having foresworn wheat temporarily, the beans sounded like and excellent and substantive basis for a dish. While I sipped my ginger ale and looked at the warm decor, this basket of corn chips and salsa arrived as the complementary snack. It was wonderful! The salsa was hearty and a wonderful blend of savory and bright flavors. The chips were perfect for scooping, although the staff should be a little more discerning about how many broken scoops are going out to the table.



The plate was just wonderful. The rich bean starchy goodness and the seasoned greens were an unfamiliar and interesting complement to the shrimp. I must say that after all the years of thinking that restaurants simply want to kill customers with too much food, I'm extremely happy to see small plate choices. The snack and the small plate made a filling and perfectly sized meal.

So I ordered dessert!!

I chose the creme brulee and was so fascinated by all the flavors in the sugar topping that I forgot to take a photo. It looked like a regular creme brulee, but the sugar was superbly finished. It was like a taste rainbow.

I'll be going back to check out both wine and more small plates on a regular basis.

LorreBob sez: check it out.