Dessert at Phoenix Art Museum

Took the Metro to the Phoenix Art Museum. Met friends for lunch, finished with a warmed chocolate & pecan desert. States to view the French film "Les visiteurs du soir".

The whole idea of taking the Metro Light Rail to downtown Phoenix is new (since December). I talked all three friends into riding. Karl started out on the western end of the line, at 19th Avenue and Bethany home. I met Joan and Doug at the 38th Street and Washington Park and Ride. We purchased our tickets (credit, debt, and to my surprise CASH!) and boarded the train. We had a nice ride through downtown Phoenix and were very excited to talk about all of the places "on the line" that were good candidates for dinner.

The stop closest to the Art Museum was at McDowell and Central so we quickly crossed the two streets and made our way to the entrance on the north side of the building. It was an easy walk. We met at the Arcadia Cafe, a few minutes before they started serving lunch at 11AM. Joan and Doug had the crabcakes, I had the tart, and Karl had the Albacore sandwich. The yummy chocolate and pecan treat was brought to the table nicely arranged in four pieces, and we enjoyed with the locally roasted coffee.

After the movie, we headed to the train stop for an enjoyable and easy ride home.

Samovar Tea Lounge

Samovar Tea Lounge is on the second floor of the building, and faces a nice open plaza. The outside seating looked interesting, but full.

Russian Chay Platter & Bottomless Samovar House-Blend Black Tea.

Tarragon-Marinated beets, Smoked Whitefish & Horseradish, paprika Devilled Egg with Caviar (wild for lunch?), wheat Crackers, and fresh fruit. The menu states that "They say that Tolstoy fueled his creativity by drinking Russian tea from the samovar. See what it does for you."

So, I received instructions from the waiter on the use of the savarka from the samovar, diluted with some hot water, and some additional sugar and milk.

The tea was "bottomless" but I had a table that was behind two other tables. I needed to wind my way through the other tables to get to the samovar. But it was quite fun, and I liked the tea. The taste of the caviar was overshadowed by the devilled eggs, which tasted more like curried eggs than paprika. Maybe the curry on the table next to me was overwhelming? I bought two types of loose teas for home: Samovar Russian Blend and Blood Orange Puerh. The woman warned me about the Puerh...I know about this tea and that is why I bought it!

There was a lot of "tea action" going on in the restaurant. Lisa sat next to me and she ordered "Blood Orange Puehr". It had a delightful orange smell to it. The water pot did not contain the tea. She had a little tea pot to use to infuse a cup of tea at a time. The tea did not become too strong, and she always had a refill.

Other tea services used different combinations of cups, teapots, and infusers.