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South Jordan • Who would have known that fast-casual Indian dining could thrive in South Jordan?
Saffron Valley Indian Street Foods owner Lavanya Mahate, who's been mixing up spice blends and teaching cooking classes through East India Pantry, has tapped a market hungry for her cooking.
Since opening in February, Saffron Valley has offered an extensive menu of traditional and more experimental Indian foods, including wraps (kati rolls), chaat (street foods) and dosas (savory lentil-rice crepes). Also pizzas, kebabs, biryanis, Indo-Chinese dishes and curries — all for $10.99 or less.
At lunchtime, the $8.99 all-you-can-eat buffet is a nice introduction to some of Saffron's offerings. But you'll want to order off the menu to get a true taste of the restaurant's extensive offerings.
Bhel puri ($4.99) is a cold salad of puffed rice, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, cilantro-mint and tamarind chutneys that comes together for a perfect blend of cooling refreshment when enjoyed with korma (shrimp or chicken, $10.99) or vindaloo (lamb or shrimp, $10.99) curry dishes.
Kati rolls, such as "paneer passion" ($5.99), featuring Indian curd cheese, spinach and a pineapple-mango-ginger sauce, or the spicy lamb rogan josh ($7.99) with onions, peppers and spinach, are filling. They're served with the soup of the day (Wednesday's green-pea soup or Saturday's saffron soup, for example) and a mango vinaigrette (with roasted cumin, ginger and garlic) green salad for the ideal "combo meal deal."
While the eight types of dosas (crepes for $5.99 or $7.99) are impressive in their large size and presentation, I was disappointed by the shortage of vegetables inside the spring dosa, while the lentil dipping soup and coconut chutney accompaniments didn't wrap the taste package together as expected.
The savory chicken biryani ($8.99) comes as a huge, delectable portion. If there were any question about Mahate's use of fresh spices in her dishes, it was answered when my dining companion bit into a cardamom seed pod in the biryani and we fished out bay leaves from the chicken korma ($10.99).
For $10.99, the Saffron mixed kebab platter is a great way to sample a wide selection of clay-oven baked meats. The lamb chops were juicy and mouth-watering after being marinated in garlic, papaya, paprika, fennel and cream. Several preparations of chicken as well as shrimp and fish — all cooked in a tandoor — were included as well as two sides such as soup, salad, rice or naan.
The plain naan, served as an optional side with the kebabs or a la carte for $1.69, is crispy and buttery. The stuffed flatbreads (parathas for $4.99) were less satisfying as the added ingredients (fresh mozzerella and green chiles or chopped garlic and cheese) took the focus off the otherwise perfectly prepared naan.
As a sit-down restaurant, Saffron Valley seems a bit unorganized (even for this type of fast-casual dining), which is why I suggest that take-out is really the best way to experience the true flavors of Saffron Valley. In fact, a sign at the cash register points out that if all the seats are full — which happens fairly regularly — you'll receive 10 percent off your order if you take food away.
As a dine-in customer, you pay at the counter and take a seat with your number. Food is delivered to your table in no particular order or speed, seemingly just as it's ready. If you are planning to share family-style, this works out fine. Otherwise, your choices are: eating alone or having cold food if you wait for all guests to be served.
Drinks are another mystery. Unlike most fast-casual restaurants, there's no self-serve drink station. On multiple visits, our drinks were delivered after two or three of our dishes had already been served and partially consumed. This would have been less of a problem if the medium-hot chicken tikka masala ($10.99) or Szechuan shrimp ($10.99) weren't so well-spiced. Even after asking for water and our other drinks (tremendously overpriced lemon, raspberry and blackberry iced tea for $2.99 that didn't include a refill), it was another 10 minutes before either arrived.
Saffron Valley's barista drinks are of the highest quality and are certainly worth waiting for. The "amazingly almond" steamer ($3.49) was delicious but also came with a beautiful design in the foam. The hazelnut mocha ($3.49) melds cappuccino, hazelnut and mocha flavors for the perfect after-dinner treat.
I would definitely pass on dessert (overly dry chocolate samosas and the popular rosewater and cardamom gulab jamun, each $3.99), in favor of the specialty drinks.
While ordering take-out will mean you'll have less time to appreciate the modern décor and cool metal artwork at Saffron Valley, you'll fare better when you can enjoy the great food at the same time, serve yourself drinks when you would like them and maybe take advantage of the 10 percent discount, too.
Tribune restaurant reviewer Heather L. King blogs at exm.nr/ilyFbP. Send comments to food@sltrib.com or facebook.com/tribremix. —
HH
Saffron Valley Indian Street Foods
Food • HH
Mood • HH
Service • H
Noise • bb
South Jordan's Saffron Valley Indian Street Foods offers an extensive menu of Indian foods including wraps, street foods, crepes, pizzas,kebabs, biryanis, Indo-Chinese dishes and curries.
Location • 1098 W. South Jordan Parkway, South Jordan; 801-438-4823
Hours • Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; 5 to 10 p.m.
Children's menu • Yes
Prices • $
Liquor • No
Reservations • No
Takeout • Yes
Wheelchair access • Yes
Outdoor dining • No
On-site parking • Yes
Credit cards • All major