Tea & Toast

"No," Arthur said, "look, it's very, very simple.... All I want... is a cup of tea. You are going to make one for me. Now keep quiet and listen."

And he sat. He told the Nutro-Matic about India, he told it about China, he told it about Ceylon. He told it about broad leaves drying in the sun. He told it about silver teapots. He told it about summer afternoons on the lawn. He told it about putting the milk in before the tea so it wouldn't get scalded. He even told it (briefly) about the East India Trading Company.

"So that's it, is it?" said the Nutro-Matic when he had finished.

"Yes," said Arthur. "That is what I want."

"You want the taste of dried leaves boiled in water?"

"Er, yes. With milk."

"Squirted out of a cow?"

"Well in a manner of speaking, I suppose..."

"I'm going to need some help with this one."
--Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

I do love me some dried leaves boiled in water (Cow fluids optional). We were walking around and wandered into DeSoto Market to discover this lovely little tea shop. They were all out of pastries by the time we were here but I was more interested in their teas anyways. It was a hot day so I glanced over at their shaken teas. The gunpowder green mango tea sounded really good, and I was able to request the addition of a little milk to it. It was really refreshing! The mango flavors with the green tea were perfectly balanced, and the bit of milk provided some richness to the drink. The lovely tea barista added some fresh mint too which imparted more of an aesthetic component in my drink rather than impacting any additional taste to it.

Service was very friendly and nice (Not staffed by a Nutro-Matic fyi). If I'm at DeSoto Market again I'd definitely try out more teas from here.

Fab place for a light bite and cuppa.

The avo toast is very good. A thick slice of crusty bread topped with a generous amount of creamy avo, sliced hard-boiled egg, and a sprinkly of salt. I gave up on the worthless plastic utensils- can we get some real silverware??

The tea selections were limited for a place with this name- two hot options- an early gray or a decaf. Lucky for me, I'm an EG fan. My london fog w/ sugar free vanilla was perfect.

Would def return.

The first leg on my flight was delayed which meant I would've missed my connection. Delta (no relations) gave me a red eye flight which meant 2 things:

1) more time with my baby - check
2) opportunity to try a new place for dinner - check

With a quick search on Yelp, I found The Larder + The Delta. They had a very unique menu including fried Pig Ears with Cheetos flavoring, Seafood Perlou, Nashville Fried Chicken and many more. The Low Country Perlou was what really intrigued me and excited to try it. I'm a sucker for any type of seafood medley.

The Larder + The Delta is located in the DeSoto Central Market which is an upscale and trendy food court. It was our first time at DeSoto's so it was kinda cool to be able to check out a few different places at the same time.

We walked to the back to the L+D and ordered the Low Country Perlou ($23) and the Cauliflower ($8). It's definitely more than you would expect for a food court dinner. With tip and taxes, we were out about $38. Ouch!

I have to admit that they were quite generous with the seafood items in the perlou. The seafood items included head on shrimp, clams, mussels and Andouille sausage. Unfortunately, the rice in the dish was over salted - inedibly salty. We ate all of the seafood out of it and left the rice.

The cauliflower was tasty but $8 is a little bit too steep.

With all of that said, I'd probably wouldn't come back as there are so many restaurants I have yet to ventured out to try.

OH... $2 off apps during happy hour which is M-F 3-6pm.

Inside the Desoto Central Market this hidden gem is an awesome stop before, after or heck who am I kidding during work. I love their homemade pop tarts, and the coffee is so tasty! Service is wonderful and I enjoy the all around vibe. There's inside and outdoor seating, art, and if you're hungry plenty of places inside to catch a bite. The coffee options are pretty good with it being such a small set up, but worth every second. With so many coffee spots in downtown it's hard for some to stand out. Tea and Toast holds it own and I'm in love!

Love the concept that Tea & Toast Co. has with its use of tea in place of coffee in coffee drinks. Absolutely genius for tea and coffee drinkers!

Tea & Toast Co. is located in the DeSoto Market building which has large open space, huge windows providing tons of natural light, exposed ceiling and distressed walls. Very industrial and warehouse vibes indeed.

Decided to try a tea drink, after all, tea is indeed in their name. I decided on the Black Rose Tea Latte, iced. Decent price, typical of any tea or coffee based drink. The drink was made in a timely fashion. Utterly delicious! The rose tea was floral, slightly sweet and refreshing. Boba shops who use powder, move aside, this is true flavored milk tea. Truly a perfect drink for Arizona's warm, summer weather. Good amount of caffeine from the black tea, nowhere near as much as a cup of joe but totally worth it. You can really taste the quality of the tea here and the ambiance of DeSoto is relaxing. A coffee drinker? No worries, they have coffee here as well!

Definitely coming back to try their London Fog as well as their toast in the near future.

There is Wi-Fi available in the building, which makes it fit for working.

Short Story- Disappointed because I wasn't expecting a Brunch Menu on Saturday. I don't like brunch Cuisine and nothing online indicates they do brunch on weekends at the time of this review. (5-29-16) Got Cauliflower, It was awesome but I had to find lunch elsewhere.

Long Story-

The Larder and the Delta is a small Food Counter located in the Desoto Central Market Building. The Chef/Owner is well known for preparing innovative Masterful Foods. Locally from The Boulder's Resort and from the hotel restaurant called The Blue Hound. I was very excited to finely try lunch from The Larder + Delta. This is far from me and I don't get to the Phoenix Market often.

I checked their Facebook Page before my trip and noticed a new salad they offer that looks delicious! I also saw some previous menus for this restaurant and planned on enjoying many things.

I found out on Saturday I made the trip for only the Cauliflower Dish. To my surprise they do a weekend brunch menu that is different than what I was expecting. There is no mention of weekend brunch from their Facebook Page.

The brunch menu had a hotdog, a fried chicken skin sandwich and mostly all breakfast foods.

The only thing I got to try was the cauliflower. It was delicious. Tasted like the best light chicken wings you ever had. Like the kind of chicken wings that angels would eat in heaven. They were delicious! But then I just moved next door to share something else with my husband.

Long trip. Disappointed because I was expecting the regular menu. I know the chef prepares 5 star food but I would never travel across town for brunch foods.

The Larder and Delta serve WEEKEND BRUNCH

Expect BRUNCH on the Weekends

Three stars is a positive review. I just have reservations about this information not on the Facebook page.

First off- great concept! Desoto Market is practically a food court with plenty of parking. Based on Yelp reviews, hubby and I decided to visit. We got a parking spot on Saturday night pretty easily and there weren't many people around.

Larder + Delta was our first choice and decided on the pig ears and perlou. Initially, hubby tried to order a beer and they were all out. They also ran out of the spicy ingredient for the pig ears or "Cheetos" but told us they would give us hot sauce to make up for it.

The pig ears were hot and crunchy. I liked them, but they weren't to die for and I'd probably skip ordering them next time. A woman next to us ordered the perlou first and it looked delicious so we got that. It was a generous portion of rice, mussels, shrimp, oysters and sausage but it was so salty that I could barely eat the rice. The seafood I was able to get down with, but they probably need to lay off on the salt and spices next time.

Overall, it was my first time and the two gentlemen working there seemed nice and at least the hubby enjoyed the food more than I did.

So I came in to try some of the food during happy hour and did not realize that it was a collection of small restaurants sharing a space. I got the fried pork ears with (a very generous portion of) Cheetos dust. For five dollars I have to say it was a really filling portion for one person. In fact I'd say it should never be something you order for yourself-it's incredibly heavy and decadent. I tried a few other dishes from the other shops in the area and the food was just as good. The large selection actually makes it pretty hard to decide what you want.

I would liken my experience to a fancy food court for hipsters. Definitely a place to check out when you're in the area and looking for an "artisian" meal of sorts.

LOVED:
- black rose tea latte
- london fog (earl grey and lavender)

I got both iced and loved the flavor of roses and lavender in my latte!!!

This chefs ability to meld flavors is unmatched in the Phx market
For me, it was like coming home to mama's cookin! Great atmosphere-service-FOOD!!!! Creative menu and wonderfully sophisticated cocktails - I'm a southerner by The Grace of God - Chef Jones collects vintage china and uses them as part of the dining experience! Nothing better than a well appointed table. I cannot wait for lunch tomorrow!