Fargo Phantom Restaurant Reviews: Saffron...Indian Delight

Restaurant: Saffron revisited. The other day I was in south Fargo around early dinner time and was in the mood for Indian food, so I thought I give Saffron a try. The sign in the door said they were open under new ownership, so I thought I'd have a good chance to review a new restaurant. Wrong! The same people are managing the place, having just purchased the business from the Meritcare Doctors Mistry. All involved are Indians. However, they have some new twists worth mentioning and give me an excuse to write about Indian restaurants.

Historically, Indian restaurants have a tough time of it in this part of the country. Our bland Scandanavian tastes and meat and potatoes style of meals make it tough on food that in its natural form is scorching spicy hot and not eaten with a knife and fork. There is not a large Indian community here, and what there is is heavily laden with NDSU graduate students who can't afford the full menu and so are stuck with the noon buffet, which is way. way, too bland for them.

There are some good Indian restaurants in Minneapolis and Chicago, but those cities have rather large Indian populations. I'm not saying Saffron isn't good, just that they have a difficult task.

I am fortunate enough to have learned about Indian food from Indian students at the University of Minnesota in the 60's, upon whose fare I often dined. I am of the firm opinion that very few Americans should ever order Indian food "hot." After one bite, your face is numb and you are drenched in sweat. When asked by a waitress "how hot," I say "medium for an Indian, hot for an American." Unfortunately, the cook in the visit under discussion didn't believe me, and the food was too bland.

The way the food is meant to be eaten is with meat or some protein rich vegetable in a sauce served on top of one of many Indian flavorful rices. One also served a quantity of round pieces of bread baked in a clay oven called a Tandoori oven. Typically, the bread is Nan, but I prefer Rotti , which is made of whole wheat. One takes a slice of bread places it on a flat surface(probably a plate), and pinning the bread to the surface with thumb and middle finger separate by pushing outward with the index finger a piece of the bread, Then, using the bread like a glove, pick up some of the food and pop it in the mouth.

The only problem is that Americans don't eat that way and expect a much larger meal than can be eaten that way without eating so much bread that one is literally stuffed to the gills. I usually compromise and eat some the "traditional way" and some with fork and spoon.

Now about the food itself. The sauces as described above are made with many spices and vegetables and are very tasty. There are also Tandoori dishes, that is, dishes baked in the above described oven. For the record, I had Kadai Lamb, and I enjoyed it very much. Typically, one can also order an appetizer, usually a garbanzo bean flour encasing some meat, potatoes and the like. When eating in a group, it is traditional to order several dishes and appetizers and share.

In this visit, I tried a new appetizer just introduced by the new owners, Peanut Masala which consists of peanuts sauteed in tomatoes, onions and ginger. I had a half order and took half of it home. It was delicious.

One thing that is important to Indians is that the ingredients of their food be fresh. I imagine this stems from the hot, humid climate in most of India where probably not much stays fresh. The "new" Saffron has a fresh vegetable bar. No, not a salad bar, but a bar of fresh vegetables. I didn't try it, but it looked delicious.

This restaurant should be very attractive to those willing to try something new or are already Indian food fans. I think it would help those that haven't tried Indian food before to realize that this is not just some version of American food: it's prepared differently and meant to be eaten differently.

Beer and wine are available. Expect to pay a little more than $20 for a single person without drinks.