Last night, my dear friends Dana and  Beth joined me for a special fundraising dinner, held at possibly one of the coolest-named places in the galaxy:

Dr. Bombay’s Underwater Tea Party.

::sigh:: how awesome is that?
Dr. Bombay’s is a little “dive” tearoom way down McLendon on the backside of Little Five Points, on the Southeast side of Atlanta. It’s almost painfully charming, with book-lined walls, cozy nooks, mismatched furnishings and a ceiling hung with a wild assortment of lanterns and umbrellas of every size, shape and color imaginable. They serve high tea (if you pre-order), little sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, quiche and other delicacies.

  Tonight they were hosting a dinner to raise funds for their non-profit, the Learning Tea, an organization whose mission is to provide scholarships to impoverished young women in India; furnishing tuition, living expenses and a safe and stable home so the girls can complete university studies, opening their futures to better opportunities through education. We started the night with delicious samosas drizzled with a Tamarind Herb Sauce.
This was followed by our entree, served on cute little TV dinner-style trays. Jeera Aloo Bhaji (potatoes with cumin and spices), Vegetable Numaish (vegetables and baby corn) with rice and Naan. Dessert was a mango-studded sorbet with fresh whipped cream. The organizers ran a social media contest for the night’s best photo using their hashtag, #webrewscholars. Can I tell you how thrilled I was to have my annoying habit of photographing my food and everything around me not only sanctioned, but encouraged?

One of my photos took second place!
Since “man” (and his dinner dates) cannot live on tea alone, Dana had the forethought to run across the street to the neighborhood wine shop and grab a couple of bottles of bubbly to wash down our spicy repast.
    

Who’d a thunk, but introducing a little bubbly turned it all into a party! We invested in copious amounts of raffle tickets (winning nothing but our joy in giving), drank our champers, posted, giggled, gossiped and enjoyed a truly fabulous meal. Kuddos to our chefs and the tearoom staff.

So wonderful to see my good friends while helping the inspiring folks at at Dr. Bombay’s and the  Learning Tea!

To learn more about the admirable work done by the volunteers at The Learning Tea, visit their site at www.thelearningtea.com

“The proper, wise balancing of one’s whole life may depend upon the feasibility of a cup of tea at an unusual hour.” – Arnold Bennett, How to Live on 24 Hours a Day