by MATHILDE RABBAT

From the crocus sativus plant bloom little purple flowers, and from these flowers sprout a trio of red antennae commonly known as saffron, that expensive, savoury spice that lends its flavour to much Indian and central-Asian food. The spice also lends its name to a fairly new Persian joint on Ste-Catherine W., on the corner of St-Mathieu.

To get started at Saffron, you can either sample a soup, a green salad, an Iranian salad (cucumbers and tomatoes under a sprinkle of lemon juice) or a bunch of other typically Persian hors d’oeuvres ($4–$12).

I was off to a good start with the thick Iranian soup of the day ($3.50), featuring tender, linguini-style noodles, a few chickpeas, some lentils and large lima beans. Topped with a fresh cream drizzle in the shape of a star, this slightly bitter but soothing entrée was spiked with a distinctive Persian spice mix, including detectable amounts of turmeric, cumin and cardamom. I would’ve taken it a little easier on the salt, but on the whole this one’s a winner.

Some of the other typical Persian appetizers alluded to above can simultaneously be sampled in a couple of veggie dishes ($13), including borani, mirza ghasemi and kookooyeh sabzi, served with a mound of basmati. Allow me to break down this combo of dishes in my humble version of Persian cooking for dummies. The borani is as good a place to start as any. It’s simple enough: shreds of spinach suspended in homemade yogourt, which I found to be a little on the sweet side. The yummy mirza ghasemi blends cooked eggplant, tomato, onion and tons of garlic—a tasty warm spread that’s best enjoyed, like so many other things, slathered on a pita wedge.

Though the kookooyeh sabzi was part of the combo, in the hopes that I wouldn’t notice, the waiter slipped me a vegetable kebab instead. What I should’ve gotten was a miniature omelette prepared with fresh herbs. What I got was an uneventful skewer, spearing grilled but unadorned mushrooms, chunks of green pepper, eggplant and a series of onion wedges, which makes a $13 price tag a little hard to digest, especially when you factor in that the basmati rice which accompanied the lot was on the firm, dry side.

With the same dish, I could’ve scored the baghala polo. Fall-off-the-shank lamb doesn’t get any tenderer than this. They also spiced things up just right, as the cardamom and cinnamon meshed nicely with the tomato and onion reduction. It’s a shame that it didn’t come with more sauce though, making it impossible to play dunk-the-pita.

The accompanying pile of dill basmati suffered from the same shortcomings as its aforementioned plain counterpart when it came to texture. Sadly, the dill itself, though visible, was virtually undetectable to the palate. As to other chicken and beef main dishes ($11.50–$27), including a “Hunter’s platter” for two with all the trimmings ($34), it’s all 100 per cent halal according to the English, French and Persian menu, which, of course, also includes a whole slew of kebabs. Another bonus is that they have a weekly menu where every day of the week has its own special dish, such as Monday’s baghala polo.

The chai is on the house when you order a main dish, and they got that right down to a T, a real treat served in cute, tiny glasses. You can enjoy this dark infusion imbued with just a dollop of rosewater while admiring an impressive mural depicting the ruins of Persepolis. To appear like a real pro though, you’ll need to pinch a sugar cube between your teeth while sipping.

Saffron
ADDRESS: 1801 Ste-Catherine W. (corner St-Mathieu)
PHONE: 937-7475
HOURS: Every day 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m.
BEST FEATURES: Iranian soup that’ll warm you right up, delicious mirza ghasemi, tender baghala polo in tasty reduction and perfect chai.
ALCOHOL: Yes
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
NON-SMOKING SECTION: Yes
PRICE: Roughly $20–30 a head with taxes & tip, minus dessert
RATING: **1/2out of ****