Saffron Restaurant & Lounge

Rating:

Sameh Wadi is definitely a chef to watch.

The 23-year-old's confident, generous cooking is a potent hybrid of influences: countless hours logged in his Palestinian mother's kitchen, a voracious reading habit, travel, a culinary school stint at the Art Institutes International Minnesota and hands-on experience at several local restaurants, including Solera and Cafe Europa. The result is one savory stew.

At Saffron, his appealing new downtown Minneapolis restaurant, Wadi manages to borrow from -- and respect -- the culinary traditions of North Africa and the Middle East without getting bogged down by the pesky burdens often associated with authenticity. There's enough familiarity to keep cautious Minnesota diners within their collective comfort zone, but his elegant, intricately seasoned travelogues-on-a-plate also manage to transport his customers to enchanting new places.

According to this bossy critic, every dinner at Saffron should begin the following two ways. First, go with the fabulous house-made merguez sausages, teasingly spicy things made with lamb, tomato paste and harissa and appropriately paired with a zesty roasted red pepper confit. Second, take a $12 spin -- a steal -- through an ever-changing assortment of four or five small plates. Each are just two or three intensely memorable bites, maybe fiery lamb meatballs splashed with a smoked tomato sauce, sweet roasted beets drizzled with tahini or a fresh chickpea-feta salad. All are delicious.

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