Branston Pickle

We thought we’d take a little break from our weekly guide of British chocolate bars, and bring you something a little more savory. Branston Pickle, named after the small village it was first produced Branston in 1922, is a vegetable relish, commonly partnered with cheddar cheese, or a ploughman’s lunch. The most important thing – it’s utterly delicious!

Always made using the same recipe, the specifics are kept under lock and key. However, it is known to contain swede, carrots, onions, cauliflower and gherkins, pickled in a sauce of vinegar, tomato, apple, dates, mustard, coriander, garlic, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Its tangy, vinegary flavor, balanced by the hum of spices, has won it millions of fans, including Catherine Zeta-Jones and Naomi Campbell – apparently!

This delicious example of traditional British flavors and cooking methods, almost had its day back in 2004, in what became known as the ‘Pickle Crisis’. A fire destroyed the Branston factory, cutting stocks in half and pushing prices up as devoted fans panic-bought. Now back at full production… Naomi will be happy!

We sell Branston Pickle in-store, and also serve it with our welsh rarebit, and cheese & pickle sandwich, both of which we serve in the restaurant and deliver. If you’re thinking about lunch, why not go for a crusty white sandwich, and see for yourself… it works a treat for a hangover!

Our cheese & pickle sandwiches are served sans salad as standard. If you'd like lettuce and tomato, just ask and we'll happily add it!

Tea & Sympathy Cupcake Competition

Morning all, happy Monday, give us a smile, the weekend’s over but it’s not that bad – especially as we are announcing a brand new create-a-cupcake competition! It’s pretty straightforward – we want you to suggest traditional British flavors for us to turn into bitesized baked yummies. We put our heads together at T&S HQ over the weekend and came up with a few ideas of our own: Guiness, Rhubarb & Custard and Maltesers got us excited, while Shepherd’s Pie and Branston Pickle  got a firm thumbs down…

We need to confirm the prize, but most likely it’ll be a pot of tea and a couple of your little creations at Tea & Sympathy! As well as getting the honor to help name the beauty.

So please let us know by commenting below, or tweeting us @TeaAndSympathy, or on facebook.

Really looking forward to your suggestions!

One day, all this could be yours... Just give it a great British flavor!

Whatever happened to the British invasion?

The British are Coming!... Delta Airlines new transatlantic offering.

Here’s a nice article from way back when in 1999 from The New York Times. Jesse McKinley outlines how: “British culture has of late been flooding these shores with almost colonial aplomb.” She gives a pretty exhaustive write-up of the British expat scene in NY at the time, and is very kind indeed about Tea & Sympathy:

“I chose the unofficial embassy of all British expatriates: Tea and Sympathy. This tiny restaurant in the Village is the city’s best-known outpost for complexities of British cuisine, from bangers and mash (sausage and potatoes) to shepherd’s pie (meat and potatoes).

With only about 10 tables, the restaurant is almost always packed. But at 6 P.M. I found a spot for myself and two friends, near a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.

We started with a delicious Stilton rarebit (melted cheese on toast). My friends had shandy (ginger ale and beer), while I chose Ribena (black-currant concentrate and water). Bangers, lamb and chicken followed, all with a deep mushroom gravy and assisted by products like Branston Original Pickle and Colman’s Classic Mint Sauce.

As the meal settled, I felt a wash of satisfaction. The weekend had left me feeling full. I had only sampled the local British fare, but it was a loverly taste.

And as I pushed away from the table and into the night, I realized the best part of enjoying England in New York: being able to walk back home.

That Scepter’d Isle . . . Manhattan.”

Well, as the ‘unofficial British embassy of all British expatriates’, may we take this opportunity to thank all you lovely New Yorkers for being so welcoming. We bloody love it here. Please don’t make us go back…