Hello Houston: Té House of Tea

First in a series on cool stuff to see and do in Houston. Got a lead for me? Let a sistah know.

I went to Té House of Tea on Sunday afternoon. I don’t know what it is about that place, but it’s perfection. Mm, and their veggie panini kills! It’s veggie heaven between two slices of focaccia, grilled hot to melty perfection. Can you tell it’s a favorite? The veggie panini is the only thing I must get every single time. The first time I had it, in fact, it was the first time I had ever been to Té at all, was after yoga class with my friend Tiphanie.

The teas at Té are phenomenal. Imagine any flavor: Lapsang Souchong, Mara Mieh, Oothu, Ceylon, Thai… their tea list is really impressive. I got Darjeeling the last time I was there because I got flustered and picked the first thing I recognized. But I do my best to get something new with every visit. And it’s true, I haven’t had Darjeeling from Té, so I’m in the clear.

And I can visit Té at least 70 more times without ever having the same thing twice.

Fair warning for people who don’t want an exercise in patience on a lazy Sunday afternoon: Don’t bother! Té is definitely going to make your sandwiches in their own good time. The tea? You will have to wait at least 5 minutes while it steeps on your table and yeah, okay, it might take half an hour for them to bring it out to you. But I promise, it’s not ‘cuz they’re rude intentionally. I believe that the owners and workers just go at a different pace than we do.

For me, when I sit down at Té with a book or a friend I want time to slow down. So, I expect my service to be what it is for one woman cooking in the kitchen and one college guy working the register to be… a little bit slower. I have nothing planned except to spend the next hour or two just soaking up atmosphere.

Who cares about fast, right? With credentials like these (best veggie panini, generous list of teas, zen setting) who needs to rush to leave?

Té House of Tea
1927 Fairview St.
Houston, TX 77019

Pictures courtesy of The Eyrie.

Now hear this: Radiohead ‘In Rainbows’

I quite literally have no money (I spent my last fiver this morning on a soy toffee latte from Diedrich Coffee). But that didn’t stop me from buying 3 albums from the record store on Sunday (and apparently, it also didn’t stop me from buying that soy latte this morning either, sigh!).

“In Rainbows” has been available for a few months now. You might have been able to pay/not pay and download it from the original In Rainbows site. I tried like mad, but it wouldn’t take my credit card. So, I was S.O.L. That’s okay. I’m still sort of old fashion. I like my music in tangible form, too.

Anywho! I love the latest installation from Radiohead. It’s been on repeat in my various players for the past 24 hours. It’s quite impressive and I got on to thinking about how they’ve evolved from their first record to this one. It’s MAJAH! The thing that stands out the most for me is how they’ve seemed to evolve with their audience.

Is that the only reason you should pick it up? Probably not. If you’re into ambient guitar riffs, strings and piano laid over a ‘pop’py bass line, then you’re probably into this.

If you’re unsure, check out the tracks:

Jigsaw Falling Into Place
15 Step
Bodysnatchers

What, that’s $3 on iTunes or something? You can’t be as broke as me, right?