Day 12: Sweet treats from Saffron. 

The other night we went out with friends to the Minneapolis restaurant Saffron. I love Saffron because it’s not too fancy, but not too casual. It has great food, really interesting food — not just twists or a chef’s take on a traditional dish, but new and inventive cuisine dotted with French influence and Middle Eastern flavors. I *love* that they offer “little sips” or smaller versions of some of their cocktails. My “little sip” featured garam masala spices and it was deep and mysterious.

My intention was to take photos of our delectable dinner — K had the Parisian gnocchi and I made a dinner out of small plates of deep fried cauliflower, asparagus with feta flan and chicken bisteeya. But between the lively conversation and a voracious appetite, I plain old forgot until dessert. But what a lovely dessert it was. K and I shared the traditional pastry plate featuring Middle Eastern cookies, baklava, a fig bar, an apricot bar and goat cheese-stuffed apricots. I *adored* the baklava, but I’d order it all again in a second.

While we were there, we caught a glimpse of one of the hardest working teams in the local restaurant biz  — brothers Saed and Sami Wadi — who were coming in from a day in their World Street Kitchen food truck. If you’ve not been to Saffron, get yourself there and be prepared to be delighted by comfortingly exotic food redolent with warmth and spice. If you haven’t been to Saffron for a while, get back soon! They’ve recently retooled their menu and the updates are lip-smacking good.