I recently saw that a new restaurant called SAFFRAN was
offering a Groupon special and decided to check out their website to see what
kind of a place it was. From what I could tell it seemed like a fusion of
Indian and Middle Eastern Cuisines where everything was made fresh and had a
health-conscience approach (low sugar, no frying, no MSG, no white flour). I
also looked up a couple of videos on Youtube, which explained a little more
about the place and the food, and I decided to go ahead and purchase the
Groupon. My only concern was that it might be a little bland because it was so
“healthy” and many restaurants cannot achieve that without sacrificing flavor.
Today I was out with a friend of mine who is a picky eater
and does not like to try new things, especially any sort of non-American food.
However we were in the area near SAFFRAN (located on the South West corner of
the intersection at Sand Lake and Orange Blossom Trail) and I decided to take
him there even though I knew he probably would not find anything that he liked.
We went in and grabbed a couple of menus and tried to decide what we wanted.
Still unsure, we asked the very friendly lady at the counter to help us out.
With her guidance we selected the Saffran Chicken and Red Onion ($9.95) for me
and the Kebab Burger ($5.95) for him, and with our $24 Groupon we also had
enough for a couple of drinks and 2 desserts (Chocolate Mousse and Wildberry
Skyr Mousse).
When our food arrived we were both pleased with it visually,
but I was still skeptical until I tasted the tender and flavorful chicken
served with rice, red onions, salad and a delicious spiced yogurt sauce. It was
a lot of food. I had a bite of my friend’s Kebab Burger (served on a Naan Bread
made in-house) and really enjoyed it, and was also delighted when he completely
clean his plate, and then told the manager John that it was the best Burger
that he has ever had! John also told us that everything on the menu is less then
700 calories, which amazed me since it was so filling. It just goes to show you
that if you use good ingredients and leave off the “frying” that you can pack a
lot of food and a lot of flavor without the extra calories. As for the Desserts
they are decadent, delicious, and generously portioned, especially for a mere
$1.55 each.
I am looking forward to returning and taking many friends,
and spreading the word about this wonderful-tasting, super-healthy new place in
Orlando!
Those of you who read my blog know that I have slowed down
on writing restaurant reviews and are focusing more on health, however I am
thrilled that this restaurant has come along because I can write about going
out for a delicious meal and still eat healthy! Please give SAFFRAN a try, they
have great prices, they are kind on the waistline, and most of all they have
delicious food!
