Organ-icky

Tea for none

Comments (0) By Stephen Lemons Thursday, Jul 6 2006

...continued from page 1

Jackie Mercandetti

The meat-averse Mandala crew: Did someone slip Zoloft in their tea? The food's not that good.

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Mandala Tearoom

7027 E. 5th Ave.
Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Category: Bars/Clubs

Region: Central Scottsdale

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Details

Tea crumpets: $8

Teriyaki lettuce wraps: $8

Zucchini linguini: $13

Vegan BLT: $9

480-423-3411, »web link. Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

7027 East Fifth Avenue, Scottsdale

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The vegan BLT with fake bacon had a vaguely porcine taste to it, but it only made me long for the real thing. For dessert, I sampled the chocolate cake and the blueberry Bundt cake. Each lacked that richness that comes with the inclusion of milk and eggs. Some of the weird witches' brews of oils and herbs referred to as elixirs and tonics in-house did occasionally have a kick to them, like the "long life elixir" with its overriding flavor of damiana. But others are just gross, like the "just chillin' elixir," which, as stated above, was too similar to Scope for my enjoyment. Some of the teas, too, I couldn't get with, like the "coconut crème." Smelled like Hawaiian Tropic, and tasted like an Ivory soap bar, only melted. Blech!

Mandala's an attractive enough spot, with colorful paintings of mandalas on the walls and the relaxing aura of Santa Monica circa 1978. Sadly, the food's not worthy of a recommendation. If you're curious, this'll be the last veggie restaurant I'll review for a longwhile. Mandala's menu was so pathetic, the place put me right back on animal flesh — indefinitely!