Ladies who love to lunch love to eat at The T Room at 4510 McKinney Ave., but do they come for the food or the fashion at Forty Five Ten, the luxury clothing and home boutique that shares the address?
The shop offers Victoria Beckham and Thakoon labeled clothing, while the The T Room serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The T Room has a separate entrance from the store, but you can get there just as well from the main entrance on McKinney after you've walked amongst the displays of beautiful garments and accessories. (The shop's semiannual sale is going on now and that you could snag items for 75 percent off their original prices.)
Whether you lunch and linger to take in the view of the fountain centered in the courtyard, or just lunch, the T Room has a solid menu. The tuna melt panini with albacore tuna salad, cheddar cheese and avocado for $10 wasn't too salty or too greasy like some other lunch spots' paninis. Who knew a lunch spot tucked away in a high-end store would serve perfect paninis? Crisp, but not too crunchy or too cheesy. Nothing was overwhelming. You could taste the avocado and even see it peeking out from between the slices of toast. It's just a sandwich on a plate, no chips or salad.
Our server said many lunch eaters order the signature panini, with fresh mozzarella, Roma tomatoes and avocado. "It's like an adult grilled cheese," she said. Customers also "love, love, love the lemon pistachio tart."
The T Room seems more crowded on a Saturday than during the week, and we saw more male diners on the weekend.
Eating lunch at the T Room can be a quick one-stop deal. Or you could savor the food and the pleasure of your company by taking as long to eat your lunch as it took you to get ready to come to such fancy digs. Your choice. (Forty Five Ten's next sale isn't until after Christmas.)
