Best Middle Eastern Restaurant - 2011
Everything on the menu, from the giant beans laced with dill and olive oil to the sweet and savory chicken bisteeya in flaky phyllo dough, is carefully prepared and faithful to the ingredients' flavors.
Read more April 2011. link
So what good fortune that one of our top local chefs, Sameh Wadi of Saffron, has been recognized by the Pear Bureau Northwest for his creativity with pears. His recipe for Alaskan king crab with pear "tabbouleh" salad is among those featured at www.pearpanache.com
Read more December 2010. link
From the "Amazing small plates" to the "interesting entrees" and beyond, "everything on the menu works" at this value-minded Warehouse District Mediterranean-Middle Eastern.
Read more December 2010. pdf
What i can't live without?
Noting the lack of upscale Middle Eastern restaurants in the Midwest, Wadi know there was a gap to fill. "Saffron truly came from the heart," he says.
Read more November 2010. link
Mad about Saffron
Not only was he the first Minnesotan to appear on “Iron Chef America.” He was also the youngest competitor ever; last summer, at age 25, he stepped into New York City’s Kitchen Stadium to butt chef hats with the world renowned Masaharu Morimoto, chef/owner of three Morimoto restaurants in the United States as well as restaurants in India and Japan.
Read more November 2010. html - link
Revisiting the Mediterranean - Shelling Out
In the region's melding of cultural influences, there lies cuisine of beautiful collision; cuisine that borrows a little from one culture, and a little from another, and finding that, on the palate, this is a fusion that proves strangely singular, and certainly symbiotic.
Read more July/August 2010. html - pdf
Summer dining in the Twin Cities
It's one of the city's unsung delights, in part because chef/co-owner Sameh Wadi's imaginative and nuanced roster of small- and medium-sized plates makes for great impromptu grazing.
Read more July 2010. html - link
Best Chef - 2010
The Twin Cities is fortunate to have a deep talent pool of mid-career chefs, but this year the spotlight shone brightest on one of the most impressive up-and-comers, Sameh Wadi, who has been running his own restaurant, Saffron, since he
was 23.
Read more April 2010. html - link
Read more Febraury 2010. html - link
Recipes: "Dried Fruits & Almond Wrapped in Phyllo (Bisteeya)" |
Recipes: "Whole Fried Mackerel with Traditional Middle Eastern Accompaniments" |
Minnesota Iron Chef |
Mackerel Spanakopita by Chef Sameh Wadi
featured on Iron Chef America
Watch Video January 2010. link
Chef Sameh Wadi of Saffron Restaurant & Lounge.
Highlights the early life of Chef Sameh Wadi of Saffron Restaurant & Lounge in Minneapolis
Watch Video January 2010. link
Iron Chef’s Mackerel
Local chef and owner of Minneapolis’ Saffron Restaurant, Sameh Wadi, appeared on Sunday’s episode of Iron Chef America. Challenging Iron Chef Morimoto using the secret ingredient, mackerel, he came up with some pretty tasty recipes.
Watch Video January 2010. link
Local chef competes on Iron Chef program |
A Twin Cities chef is going for gold in a tough, national competition: "Iron Chef America."
Watch Video January 2010. html - link
Sameh Wadi: The next 'Iron Chef'?
The word is finally out, and it's huge: Sameh Wadi, chef/co-owner of Saffron Restaurant & Lounge is making his "Iron Chef America" debut this month, going up against Masaharu Morimoto, the Iron Chef's Iron Chef. The episode first airs Jan. 24 at 8 p.m. on the Food Network.
Read more June 2009.link - pdf
| Saffron chef launches line of spice blends. The topic is his newly launched line of house-blended spice mixes, called Spice Trail. The question is this: Is the land of lefse and cheese-stuffed hamburgers ready for a premium-priced line of complex spice blends predicated on a love of deep, intoxicatingly rich flavor? Read more December 2009. link |
"Sameh Wadi of Saffron: On the Spice Trail"
Some might say that trying to launch an independent spice blend line in a tough economic climate is a risk, but to the Wadis, it’s a sane reaction to trying times.
Read more November 2009. html - link
This barnlike Warehouse space rounds up herds of foodies who laud its sizzling contemporary Med–Middle Eastern menu offered at moderate prices.
Read more November 2009. pdf
Read more October 2009. link
Recipes: "Asparagus Salad in a Greek Preparation" |
MIEN STREETS |
| The Saffron at Saffron. A golden thread ties the menu together. The Wadi brothers use it in roughly half the items on their monthly-changing menu, a fusion of North Africa, Spanish, and Middle Eastern cuisine. Read more July 2009. html - link - pdf |
The Art of Food "CuisineArt 2009: From Palette to Palate"
"Wadi won the Duchamp Award for best interpretation and Wolfgang Puck overall favorite"
Read more June 2009. html - link
"Summer Fare"
Saffron's Sameh Wadi shares one of his favorite dishes
"Goat-Cheese Croquettes".
Read more July 2009. html - link - pdf
The Taste 50
Raise your glass to 50 people, products and places that emphasize why Minnesota is the place for those who love to eat.
Read more June 2009. link
Roasted Lemonade with Mint & Arak
Chef Sameh Wadi from Saffron Restaurant and Lounge stops
by to talk about the 24th annual Street and Savory event in
New York City June 8th 2009.
Watch Video May 2009. link
Read more April 2009. html - link
"2009 JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION AWARDS
RESTAURANT AND CHEF SEMIFINALIST NOMINEES"
Chef Sameh Wadi was nominated for "Rising Star: A chef age 30 or younger who displays an impressive talent and who is likely to have a significant impact on the industry in years to come".
Read more February 2009. pdf - link
Lamb Bacon BLT
Read more April 2009. html - link - pdf
Since we first tried dessert at Saffron, we’ve had a hard time venturing out from the crème brulee tart
Read more April 2009. pdf
Well, more than a few local foodies, who welcome the turnaround of a former nightclub in the Warehouse District into one of the most innovative kitchens in the metro. (Metro? No, let's think bigger; if the Beardies have spotlighted it after just two years in business, let's make that "in the country.")
Read more March 2009. html - link - pdf
"2009 Readers' Choice Awards: Middle Eastern"
Read more March 2009. html
Saffron's Sameh Wadi serves up a simple, elegant first course
Read more March 2009. html - link - pdf
In a part of the country that doesn't get enough culinary attention, Sameh Wadi is making eyes look north.
Read more December 2008. pdf - html
Read more December 2008. html
Read more December 2008. pdf - html
"Fine Mediterranean"
The flavors at Saffron may have their roots in the region, but the preparations offer the sophistication of haute cuisine.
Read more December 2008. html -pdf
....it’s rounding up herds of foodies, which laud its sizzling contemporary Med–Middle Eastern menu offered at moderate prices.
Read more November 2008. pdf - link
"Best Restaurant for: Date Night"
Saffron is without question the most ambitious Middle Eastern restaurant in the Twin Cities.
Read more November 2008. pdf
"Get a taste of the best for less"
...(love the lamb bacon BLT)..
Read more October 2008. html - link
The kitchen does wonderful work here with a menu full of intriguing flavors and combinations, and happy hour is a great time to check it out. Read more October 2008. html - link
Dig into 11 of the Twin Cities's most diverse cuisines as local experts guide us through the best, most authentic restaurants and markets in town. Read more September 2008. pdf - link
Best Restaurants for All-American Food
Get thee to Saffron's happy hour for Sameh Wadi's mini BLT.It's a little out there-house-cured lamb bacon......
Read more August 2008. pdf - html
10 chefs walking into a bar .....
The cities' top chefs and the bar food they love.
Read more August 2008. pdf
You prefer several courses of small plates that the entire table can enjoy and share, blending the flavors in succession so that along with a few bottles of Manmousseau Sancerre and Montes Alpha Syrah, the evening refreshing and satisfying..
Read more August 2008. pdf
If your cravings lend more toward the exotic spices of the Mediterranean, look no further- your taste buds will thank us. A one-of-a-kind Bloody Mary that blends Harissa chili paste, Turkish green olive juice and organic vegetables and spices is calling your name. Read more August 2008. pdf
Where to eat in Minneapolis. Read more May 2008. pdf
Read more April 2008. link
chef/owner Sameh Wadi's unique interpretation of Middle Eastern and North African cuisine instantly placed Saffron among the city's top restaurants. Read more April/May 2008. pdf
"2008 JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION AWARDS
RESTAURANT AND CHEF SEMIFINALIST NOMINEES"
Chef Sameh Wadi was nominated for "Rising Star"
Read more March 2008. pdf - link
Critics' Picks 50 Top Restaurants |
The Meal: High end meals are investment, so any time you can enjoy happy-hour prices at fine dining restaurant like Saffron, it's a win-win. Read more March 2008 pdf - link
In a world of overhyped restaurants, this cozy Middle Eastern/Moroccan spot is a sleeper. Chef/owner Sameh Wadi quietly turns out food that's full of flavor and pretty on the plate.
Read more March 2008. html - link
...from a humble rotisserie chicken ... CHICKEN BISTEEYA Reciepe.
Read more March 2008. html - link
Watch Video March 2008. link
Saffron is a refuge of wormth in downtown Minneapolis. From its dark, luxurios colors to playful entrees, this combination of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine make every evening feel like summer.
Read more January 2008. pdf
Take Saffron, the Warehouse District belle of the Minneapolis dining scene. Critics — mostly — love it, and other chefs in town have been heard to sing its praises.
Read more January 2008. html - link
... the youthful chef-owner, who hails from Palestine, has devised a fusion menu that’s a far cry from the sorry pack of amateur blenders. He starts with traditional Middle Eastern dishes; then he softens or sparks them with Modern American techniques.
Read more January 2008. link
Salmon & Clam "Tagine" Receipe |
Best of the Twin Cities |
| Diner's Yearbook …I think of Saffron as the most interesting restaurant opening of this year. Heck, I've already come clean: I've got a cruch on this place. Read more December 2007. pdf - link |
2007 Restaurants of the year: A brave new world |
| Watch video December 2007. link |
| Best Restaurants: Setting the Scene Saffron’s décor combines rich earth tones with the subdued gleam of fretted silver lamps to create the effect of, say, the lounge in a palace belonging to minor Persian royalty. Read more November 2007. html - link |
| 2007 Best New Restaurants: Fine dining ...delicately plated cross-cultural combinations unlike anything else in town: beef carpaccio with truffled brown butter and crispy chickpeas, blue- crab salad with curry, avocado, and citrus. Wadi’s flavor palette is as refreshing as it is complex... Read more November 2007. pdf - link |
| Saffron, the most buzzed-about Middle Eastern restaurant in the history of Minnesota I think the house-made merguez sausages ($9.50) are fabulous, even a dish of the year. Each supremely tender, extravagantly spiced, two-bite-sized link practically vibrates off the plate with exuberant flavor. Another gem? The happy-hour-only lamb-bacon mini-BLT ($3.50), a funky, surprising little wonder. Read more November 2007. link |
| Great Stuff Cheap Foodies Happy Hour: You might find it odd that Saffron, one of the food world's most expensive ingredients by weight, is also the name of an underappreciated local restaurant with one of the cheapest gourmet bar menus around. Read more November 2007. pdf |
Read more November 2007. link
| Pro-Fusion Wadi’s cuisine draws inspiration from all over the Mediterranean and Middle East: tagines and bisteeyas from North Africa; an eggplant dish from Turkey; a seasonal appetizer of white cheese and watermelon, popular in Egypt. Read more October 2007. link |
| Minneapolis's Best New Sandwich, Lamb BLT Read More October 2007. link |
Starting from Scratch |
| East Meets West Chef and owner Sameh Wadi, who has taken beloved staples of the Middle East and finetuned them for the Minnesota palates. Read more Fall 2007. pdf |
| Video of Braised Lamb Dish. Watch Video Augest 2007. link |
| The places we're talking about and making reservation at this month chef-owner Sameh Wadi, a Palestinian who was born in Kuwait, is on top of his game with his contemporary dishes inspired by the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Read more June 2007. pdf |
| Ethnic Goes Upscale Brothers Sameh and Saed Wadi ..... are challenging that notion with Saffron, which presents Middle Eastern flavors in a formal, fusion cuisine as hip as its Warehouse District digs. Read more June 2007. pdf - link |
| Culinary adventure of the first order Saffron’s compact menu of small plates, a smattering of Middle Eastern hors d’oeuvres called meze, and a handful of entrées is competitively priced and every bit as inspirational as that of its neighbor. Read more June 2007. pdf - link |
| A savory, successful melange. Young chef offers flavors to remember at Saffron. There's enough familiarity to keep cautious Minnesota diners within their collective comfort zone. Read more May 2007. link |
| Saffron chef has bold offerings Every dinner at Saffron should begin the following two ways. First, go with the fabulous house-made merguez sausages, slow-burn spicy things made with lamb, tomato paste and harissat. Read more May 2007. link |
Chef Sameh tells me he chose the name Saffron due to the deep, rich colors of this exotic spice, which he uses in many of his Middle East and Mediterranean recipes for lunch and dinner. They even have a tasty Saffrontini with a saffron syrup, vodka and blood orange.
Read more May 2007. link
Other highlights included a small plate of three large pan-seared scallops, served with morsels of deep-fried artichoke and clams atop a saffron cream sauce. I have become reluctant to order scallops, because they are so often either bitter or flavorless, but these had the signature sweetness of the very best. Read more April 2007. link