Lux Central
Cold-brew Coffee
Lux Friand
Strawberries and Cream Scone
White Chocolate Raspberry Muffin
Blueberry Corn Muffin
Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Pecan Banana Nut Bread
Dutch Pancake with House-whipped Cream and Berries
Recommended by a well-traveled Las Vegas Chef, the hip vibe and Coffee program cited in addition to a substantial number of house-baked goods, it was just past nine on a rainy New Year’s Day that three visitors settled into a couch of pink leather at Lux Central, the house already more than 3/4 full with a growing line as a middle-age DJ spun shoegaze intermixed with other mid-tempo tunes.
Generally open 6am to Midnight, the late night leading to 2017 allowing staff to sleep in a bit, those arriving at 4400 North Central Avenue on 01/01/17 consisted of all ages and genders with a lean towards Millennials, a hirsuit young Barista taking orders from the line and passing them on to a colleague in order to expedite traffic while a team of clerks gathered pastries and generated tickets for orders requiring preparation from a postage stamp-size kitchen in the back.
Focusing mostly on Quick Breads and American classics, glamour-shots of David Bowie and Chewbacca contributing to the décor, it was after slow perusal approaching the counter that a sizable order was formulated, a total of six pastries presented on five plates with twenty-minutes quoted as the wait time for a $9 Dutch Pancake.
Not in any rush, the leisurely morning a welcome change of pace from days prior, it was with self-gathered silverware that a tasting got underway, first bites of the Strawberry Scone trending sweeter and softer than the British staple while the Raspberry Muffin was minimally different in texture, the small chunks of White Chocolate simply replacing pockets of melted Butter in the former.
Smiling at the $1 Friand with a cursive “L,” essentially a Hostess Cupcake made dense with better Cocoa, Lux Central’s Coffee Cake as well as the Banana Bread do an admirable job of negating Phoenix’s dry-air by dialing up the wet ingredients, the Blueberry Corn Muffin also showing well with what seems to be a 1/3 each ratio of Butter, Berries and Cornmeal.
A bit compromised by crowding, a lack of table service requiring diners to be attentive to their name being called out from a kitchen nearly 30-yards away from the door, it was precisely nineteen minutes after ordering that the high-walled Pancake was collected, a crisp rim surrounding no less than four types of fresh Fruit plus a sizeable dollop of hand-whipped Cream that made any thoughts of Syrup unnecessary.
www.luxcoffee.com/
