TCP: The Curry Project

Finding an Indian restaurant in the West Palm Beach area presented an unexpected challenge during a recent visit to Florida. After receiving blank stares from my parents and friends when I asked if they had any recommendations, I ending up having to turn to the internet. But even the mighty Google had trouble providing me with options as every search I conducted led me to the same one restaurant over and over again.

So, with apparently no other choice, I drove off to Saffron to meet my father for dinner.

While it wasn’t difficult to find, I did pass right by the restaurant the first time around due to its location at the far right end of a strip mall within the crowded Villages of Palm Beach Lakes shopping complex. (It’s right next to a brightly lit liquor store!)

However, despite Saffron’s simple outward appearance, as soon as I entered the front door three interesting things immediately stood out.

#1 – The restaurant was arguably one of the most beautifully designed Indian restaurants I had ever seen, with low lighting, booth tables hidden behind thin silk curtains and a variety of large plants and tasteful Indian decorations lightly scattered throughout the multi-level room.

#2 – Almost every one of the 30+ tables was already taken. (Had it been 5pm I wouldn’t have been surprised, but at 7pm this is quite a rarity in Southern Florida.)

#3 – A scantily-clad belly dancer, who seemed to be practicing her own form of exotic dance that didn’t exactly seem in tune with the music, bounced wildly all over the restaurant.

The first two impressed me and the third, while piquing my curiosity, confused me, as belly dancers are not really something you find in India. More on her later.

As we sat down in one of the comfy booths, an impressive menu was handed to us, one with six large pages full of vegetarian, chicken, seafood and lamb curries, South Indian stir-fries, kebabs and tandoori specialties, biryanis and pulaos and an impressive collection of appetizers, rotis, paratha and naan breads. (Most main dishes ranged from $12.95 – $19.95)

After an unusually long and difficult debate, my father and I eventually settled on mixed vegetable pakoras, chicken do-piaza and bhaigan bhartha, along with some plain naan and saffron-infused basmati rice.

The pakoras arrived after only a few minutes and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they had been fried in far less oil than is often the case in Indian restaurants. When dipped into the bowl of flavorful mint chutney that accompanied them, these pakoras provided an excellent start to the meal. And only moments after we polished off the last one, our main dishes arrived, all within fifteen minutes of placing our order.

Despite having a waiter who seemed quite uninterested and rushed throughout the evening, who also clumsily plopped the dishes down on the table and then immediately ran off without a word, the eye-pleasing presentation of the food definitely had us eager to start eating.

So, the verdict?

The chicken do-piaza, which was listed as ‘hot and spicy’ and which we asked to be ‘very hot and spicy’, had no spice in it whatsoever, however, there was still no denying that this mixture of tender pieces of chicken with onions, peppers and tomato was one mighty fine dish. The bhaigan bhartha deserved even more praise, consisting of perfectly baked eggplants, mashed, seasoned, spiced and sauteed into an absolutely delicious dish, perhaps the tastiest bhaigan bhartha I have yet to try. In addition, the naan was fresh from the tandoori oven and in the words of my father, the saffron rice was, “mind-bogglingly amazing.”

However, even with the quality of the food, it was uncomfortably difficult to eat with the belly dancer slithering and twirling around only inches from our table for ten straight minutes. Lost in her own little world, she clearly didn’t seem bothered by the fact that my father and I kept dropping do-piaza in our laps every time she swung her body over the edge of our table.

When we eventually finished our meal, we relaxed for a while over some lightly spiced masala chai while enjoying the overall atmosphere created by the sounds of traditional Indian music being played at just the right volume (the belly dancer was taking a break at this point). Although, when it came time to leave, we did have some trouble finding our waiter, who never again appeared after having delivered our food.

So while the service at Saffron proved to be below average in the end, it was the combination of a pleasant ambiance and quality food that helped make this meal a success. And besides, if you’re craving Indian food while in West Palm Beach, Saffron is your only option. Luckily, it’s a good option indeed.

Restaurant Details:
Saffron
731 Village Blvd.
561-616-8585
www.saffronpalmbeach.com
Hours: 7 Days a Week from 11:30am – 2:45pm & 5:00pm – 10:00pm (Friday & Saturday until 11:00pm)