Orange Table Cafe

I'll be brief. This place is delightful. The only bad things I can say about Orange Table are that we had to wait for 5 minutes for an orange table, and our server forgot to bring my fruit. But by the time we realized it was missing, I was so high on pancakes that I didn't care at all about the fruit, which was probably just melons and grapes anyway. Orange Table has, by far, the best, fluffiest, most beautiful and delicious pancakes I've ever encountered in my 22 years. I wish I could tell you how much they cost, but I forgot to write it down and they don't have a website. They should really get a website. I remember thinking that the prices were very reasonable.

Because Cerrin got a new job, we changed our dinner to brunch, from Monday to Saturday. It worked out quite perfectly because we'd been talking about visiting Orange Table, but it's closed Monday nights. It's a small place, with cozy orange walls and a mini living room waiting area. The art on the wall is colorful and graphic-y and they've got an outdoor patio with several tables and room for dogs as well. It's an absolutely, well, delightful place to spend a Saturday morning with a couple of great friends.

Cerrin ordered some sophistimicated bagel sandwich with brie and fruit, which she seemed to enjoy. Lauren and I split those pancakes I mentioned earlier (Buttermilk with maple syrup) and the Two Egg Meal, which comes complete with two eggs your style, tasty home fries, 4 pieces of really great and hearty toast and (allegedly) a bowl of fresh fruit (or your choice of breakfast meat if you prefer flesh to fruit.) Everything was delicious and just the right size. And by just the right size, I mean we ate everything but couldn't exactly stand up completely afterward.

I highly recommend that you pay a visit, it's a great value, and I'm not even one of those breakfast food people. It's a little hard to find: park in the lot to the west of the Scottsdale Museum for Contemporary Art and wander eastward, it's hiding there somewhere between a wig store and Indian food.



Orange Table Cafe
7373 E. Scottsdale Mall Suite 6
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 424-6819

Mandala Tearoom

The quaint teahouse/restaurant's website starts by saying "Welcome to the mandala tearoom experience," and an experience it definitely was.

Tucked away in the windy side roads of Old Town Scottsdale, the Mandala Tearoom is like that amazing store you window shop at constantly but never buy anything from because even though you love its combination of style and personality, you feel you could never make it work.

Except at the Tearoom, an all vegan, contemporary decorated shop, you can make it work and you should; all you have to do is sit at the fabulously arranged tables, eat the great food, drink tea from its famed selection and absorb the chic scenery.

This week we had a few special guests: Brandon, his visiting friend Vince and Jimmy.

We were all disappointed to hear that they were out of the Creamsicle herbal tea, but I know Cerrin enjoyed her hibiscus tea, and Vince was enlightened by his Zen Awareness Elixir. Teta and Jimmy opted for imported beers.

Cerrin's nacho appetizer-turned-entree, Totopos de casa mandala, looked amazing and tasted pretty darn good as well.

I was left confused with the Creamy Tahini dressing on my side salad which, beware, comes full of beet chunks, but the Ziti al forno Jocie and I split was honestly one of the best ziti dishes I've ever had, full of flavor, spices and not dry at all, which can be common in these baked veggie pasta dishes.

Teta and Jimmy were ordering twins again with the South sandwich, a black bean, corn and rice patty with lettuce and tomato and a side of house slaw (looking like a bread pudding type situation). It was left on touched on both of their plates.

Our skepticism of vegan desserts from past experiences with a rather strange flan deterred us from choosing a dessert, but Cerrin did snatch up a slice of carrot cake to go; the second week in a row she's satisfied her sweet tooth without us.

With an adjacent apothecary, a book shelved wall lined with decorations and teas, walls covered in Indian paintings and a perfect depth of lighting, the restaurant experience was as rich and enjoyable as the food and the service.


Mandala Tearoom
7027 East 5th Avenue
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
480-423-3411