Friday, January 13, 2017.
Saffron Nola Before It Crosses The River.
I am a keeper of lists. Some are for publication, which is what I do for a living. Some are for me to keep track of the lists in the first bunch. It's almost a certainty that I have more of the latter.
Among them is the list of restaurants that I need to visit for the purpose of dining, then to make another list about the writing. Such lists actually scare me, because I'm so far behind am I in the research.
A longtime resident on the visit-and-write-about list is Saffron Nola. It's almost certainly the best Indian restaurant in the New Orleans area. But the challenge of reviewing it is compounded by the fact that the place is open for only one meal per week. Owners Arvinder and Pardeep Vilkhu--who are married to each another--are primarily in the catering business. Arvinder is also the general manager of the Pickwick Club. They're both articulate, knowledgeable, and fun to talk to.
They have been on my mind lately, because they've announced that the one-dinner-a-week version of Saffron Nola will shortly grow into a full-time restaurant on Magazine Street Uptown. Good choice of locations. The young crowd that fills the eighty-seven restaurants on Magazine Street has shown itself to be eager diners in ethnic restaurants. Indian food will fit right in.
For the past few years Richard Hughes and his wife Jeanne have joined Mary Ann and me for dinners here and there--especially if the restaurant we attend is offbeat. His easygoing personality makes him fun to hang with. I don't dine with many restaurateurs, because the conversation usually devolves into shop talk. Such matters don't come up often with Richard.
Lately, the topic has been the diets that our respective wives have been laying on us. Both of them have dense concepts in this regard, based on the latest diet books. I think both Richard and I appreciate having the girls outline their programs to each other.
We have cocktails, soon to be followed by Indian beer. A round of appetizers includes paneer--the house-made, light cheese served to tomato curry and cashews. We have lentil pancakes (you can make a dough out of lentils, you know) with crabmeat. Potato pancakes with pea pâté.
Jeanne is intrigued by the vegetarian "thali." (The word denotes the stainless-steel tray that carries about a dozen different vegetarian items. It's an Indian tradition that any thali must have only enough for a bite of everything for one person. But diners go for it anyway.
In the entree department, Richard and I have curried goat with basmati rice. It's light and delicious. The ladies are hesitant to try it. Although my entree is the best plate of food in this dinner, I think I may have been more amused by its name: Khyber Pass lamb chops, soaked in rum before being grilled. This is seriously good. Now look up the definition of Khyber Pass. Talk about exotic!
Saffron Nola. Gretna: 505 Gretna Blvd. 504-363-2174.
