I’ve been going to Chester for about twenty years now, and it sits alongside Nyack and Cold Spring as one of my top three NYC day trips. It’s tough to get to if you don’t have a car (I drove up yesterday with Mom and Dad – Kendrick was recording with this guy)…but it’s worth shelling out for a rental, trust me.
So. There are many reasons why I adore Chester, including a beautiful drive, awesome antiquing, and general quaintness, but I mostly love it for Sally Lunn’s Tea Rooms. High tea, which includes a variety of finger sandwiches, a scone with clotted cream, and a pot of tea, is a not-too-bad $17.95 (it’s a few dollars more if you also want a selection of desserts).
It was at Sally Lunn’s that I first discovered the wonders of tea sandwiches, and my favorite is still cucumber and cream cheese, pictured above.
Sally Lunn’s also has a ton of fun stuff for sale, so half my meal is generally spent wandering around the store cooing over teapots (yeah, yeah). There are the expected things like jams, kitchen tchotchkes, and teas, but there are also unusual finds like obscure chocolates, Roast Chicken potato chips (!), and kitschy seasonings. Mom and I share a love of Shepherd’s Pie, and toyed with the idea of picking up one of these Colman seasoning packets before we realized that all that’s in them is…seasoning.Which you don’t really need a packet for.
Sigh. I didn’t buy one of these teacups, but I wanted to.
One more thing about Chester: If apple & pumpkin picking, hay rides, and corn mazes are your thing, I recommend figuring out a way to get to Stony Hill Farm Market ASAP; it’s pretty awesome. Buy a cherry pie while you’re there.
