On a raining afternoon in July my friend, Linda, and I chanced upon a most wonderful and charming restaurant that was serving afternoon tea. We had been told there were good antique shops in the small town of Holly, Michigan, and we had taken a detour to investigate. It certainly was a great place for antiquing—more on that in another post—and by late afternoon our pocketbooks were almost empty and we were ready to rest.
On a side street, Battle Alley, just off the Holly’s historic downtown area we spotted this view and decided to investigate. There we found the Historic Holly Hotel that is now a restaurant only with a sign announcing a Victorian Afternoon Tea. It was the perfect opportunity to rest our feet and get out of the rain. Stepping inside we knew that we had just found a treasure.
We ordered their three course afternoon tea and waited to see what came. We were not disappointed.
Our first course consisted of a Cinnamon Scone, a Cranberry Muffin, Dessert Cream and Herbed Nuts. It was all delicious. The Herbed Nuts were especially interesting with a coating that combined the flavors of cinnamon, sugar, and cumin (yes–cumin). They were surprisingly good.
Next, our main course consisted of Herbed Chicken with Peach/Mango Chutney, an open-faced Cucumber Sandwich with Diced Red Pepper, and a Lawash (rollup) made from a spinach tortilla spread with a cream cheese and pimento and generously topped with crispy onions, bacon and leaf lettuce. How could it get any better we wondered? And then it did….
Our dessert course was served on a flat metal tray that held a Shortbread Cookie topped with Mango/Pineapple Salsa, a decadent deep dark Chocolate Truffle, and Kafir (sweet lemon variety) Lemon Cheesecake. Oh my!
Diana, our server, was friendly, eagar to answer any request, and most generous with her time and explanations about the Hotel and it’s history. It was a perfect visit. Long will memories of a delightful day of antiquing in Holly Michigan and afternoon tea at the Historic Holly Hotel stay with me.
