The SconeLady Goes To Santa Barbara

I don't know if it will be the best scone in Cali, but I mean to find out.

Frustrating it is, attempting to find a great scone here in this great land. The SconeLady has had to resort to baking her own, and sometimes her sister bakes one for her. Those are divine. But the experience of roaming about, searching for a luscious morsel from the Motherland? That is noticeably rare. So I am going on the hunt! And Santa Barbara should be, could be the home of one sensationally superb scone. We shall see.

Genuine tea shops are not plentiful anywhere near here. But Santa Barbara is a beautiful, upscale, and possibly moneyed town that may just live up. My first search for a tea place brought up The Andersen's Danish Restaurant and Bakery. It looked nice. It sounded sweet. But I became concerned that it appeared to be a Danish establishment - and don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with THAT. It just isn't - British. So I do not think we will try it. Somebody had mentioned that their scones tasted like pound cake, or maybe even sugar cookies from a grocery store (pound cake and sugar cookies are dreamy, of course, but they are not meant to be scones. Hello).

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32008328@N08/8371828332

Santa Barbara, California

Next, I looked into the Belmond Hotel in Santa Barbara. Admittedly it is not a British Tea Shop, but it does serve a mean Afternoon Tea, along the lines of the Savoy or the Dorchester in London. I do not say they will live up to the Savoy or Dorchester, but they are meant to. 

And I am drawn to their menu: 

• 2 English Scones with clotted cream+berry jam+orange marmalade; 
• 3 savory finger sandwiches (egg salad, cucumber/cream cheese, and salmon); 
• French pastries: macaroon, chocolate opera cake, almond berry tarte, chocolate torte, and citrus madeline). 
• Plus, of course, numerous teas to choose from! And they serve the Afternoon Tea out of doors overlooking Santa Barbara and the ocean! And they say it is delightful!

Best English Scone: The Digey, St Ives

2015

So it looks like it will be the Belmond Hotel for Afternoon Tea. I shall get there via a variety of modes of transportation, tomorrow - car, railway, bus, car. It should be interesting. And busy. And the rather stunning son + two special guests will accompany me and enjoy (I hope!) the search.

So if by any chance we do discover the best scone in California (and even if we don't), YOU, my dear Readers, will be the first to hear of it. Right here. Because everybody needs a little SconeTherapy now and then.


See you along the way!
the SconeLady