Bite club: Experiment with some imaginative and delicious pastries

I don't make my way to Tempe much these days, but on a friend's recommendation I headed out to try Experiment Coffee and Pastry. And, boy, am I glad I made the trek.

State of play: Located near Southern Avenue and Hardy Drive, Experiment has daily lunch specials, and the shrimp po' boy sounded pretty tasty. But I was there for the baked goods — after all, when you go for the first time to a place that specializes in fancy pastries, how can you order anything else?

What I ordered: I grabbed a couple pastries for myself and one for my wife so I could try as much of the menu as possible.

• For myself, I got a lemon meringue croissant and a jalapeño popper croissant. And for my wife, I brought home a kouign-amann, which features croissant-like layered dough with butter and caramelized sugar.

The verdict: Incredible. The lemon meringue pastry was like a slice of pie converted into a croissant, and it's as good as it sounds.

• The jalapeño popper croissant was full of cream-cheesy, spicy goodness, and the green coloring gave it an aesthetic to match the taste.
• I'd never heard of kouign-amann, but, wow, it was outstanding.

What's next: It was tough choosing just a few, so I may have to make a trip back to Tempe soon to sample more of their wares.