The Chairs that Weren't Chairs

I'm going to tell you about the best meal I had during my whole year in London. It was simple, as the best things usually are. But I'll start from the beginning. I had been wanting to go to this one particular restaurant in central London, but no one had the time to go. It was also on the pricey side, so I can understand that my friends were hesitant to dole out the dough for trendy food. And my restaurant of choice was, indeed, very trendy. It's one restaurant with several different "rooms" that all have separate menus. There's the main restaurant with semi-fancy options (The Gallery), "The Lecture Room" (a Michelin star-status dive), and two smaller rooms that share an all-day economy-style menu, "The Parlor" and "The Glade".
I had had my eye on the Alice in Wonderland-esque decor of The Glade for months, and by the time my year was ending I realized how disappointed I was that I hadn't gone.
My friend Ruth was with me on my last full day in London and had offered to spend the night at my dorm with me and help me to Heathrow airport with all my bags the following morning. So in exchange for this brave offer of assistance, I told her we should go to lunch, my treat. So off we went to this super trendy, art gallery-restaurant hybrid in our jeans (flute bags in tow, of course).
We found the restaurant, on a street that juts off of Regent Street. For those of you that aren't familiar with London roads, Regent Street is the link between Oxford Street (the most bustling shopping district in the Capitol) to Piccadilly Circus (Times Square of London). So it's busy. And the street that our restaurant was nestled on just so happened to be where all of the super-posh designers were nestled as well. So Ruth and I went in, spoke with the high fashion hostess and waited to see if there was a table for us to lunch.
While we waited, we examined the chairs in the lobby and discussed (in hushed voices) the possibility that they were in fact just art, and not for us to actually sit in. We subtly attempted to seat ourselves in them after some deliberation, and when confronted with a slight crunching noise, quickly retracted our verdict that they were real chairs. They were so not real chairs. Luckily, the model-caliber hostess was away for long enough not to bear witness to our misjudgment.
She walked us back into the magical little room that is The Glade. The only space that hadn't been reserved for afternoon tea was at the bar, which was perfectly fine with Ruth and me. We awkwardly shoved our flute bags against the wall under our feet and hoisted ourselves onto the dainty wicker stools (which were, in fact, real chairs). I ordered an iced tea. The waitress proceeded to mix a blend of loose leaf tea, fresh lemon, fresh mint, and fresh strawberries, and pour it over a clear glass tea pot-full of ice. My mind was blown. I had never before been served a pot of iced tea; but the potted beverages were not the only awe-inspiring thing to be seen. The decor was whimsical, tasteful, and overall enchanting. The walls were all shades of green, a collage creating the effect of a forest. Blue and green curtains here and there provided the illusion of privacy for diners seated at various mis-matched garden furniture.
 I ordered a slice of bacon quiche, which was served on a wooden plank with a dollop of the best field-green salad I've ever had. The quiche itself was heavenly, the perfect blend of eggy base and salty bacon with a buttery crust. I also ordered a side of french fries (because that's what Americans do, right?) which came with a little dish of crazy. And by crazy, I mean ketchup that was made from beet root. It sounds, well, crazy... but it was honestly one of the best things I've ever eaten. The fresh after-taste of beet went perfectly with the stereotypical salty crispness of the fries.
I have contemplated doing a whole other post just to describe the dessert, but I feel that may be slightly excessive. I will try to keep it brief. It was called the Royal Rose; just a tiny stack of sweetness. A shortbread cookie, a dainty glob of rose ganache, a few fresh berries and a raspberry meringue, topped with a single rose petal. Besides being the prettiest little morsel I'd ever seen, it managed to be the most perfect culinary bite I could ever hope to eat. It was lovely. That's all I'll say.

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