Mad about Saffron: Asian-European at its best

Sometimes, it's nice to spend a leisurely evening with good friends and good food in beautifully serene and inspiring surroundings. And sometimes, it's Halloween and the first thing on your mind is how fast you can ditch your visiting mother in order to prepare for a night of dress-up debauchery at Fells Point.

Don't get me wrong: I was happy that my mother was in town (how else would I have been treated to the nice dinner I had been salivating over for months) but to be perfectly honest, I was in a time crunch. So when my mother asked me for a nice place to have the family dinner, I immediately, in both the interest of time and curiosity, directed her and my sister to Saffron, the new Mount Vernon eatery I have had my eye on since its opening earlier this fall.

Situated in the location of the former Ruby Lounge, Saffron, the latest venture from the owners of the famous Bombay Grill, offers dinner selections with a Near Eastern flair.

Being the intelligent Hopkins student that I am, I decided that we would descend on Saffron at 6:30 p.m. on a Friday night without reservations -- always a good plan when dining at upscale restaurants. Despite my foolish bravado, and the small intimate interior space of the restaurant, we were accommodated politely and relatively quickly.

I must admit, I am obsessed with Asian and Far Eastern culture: I love its sense of clean, bright and distinctive style. The d??cor of Saffron left me wishing that I could hire their decorator to design my bedroom. I felt more cultured just sitting in the dining room, marveling at the open kitchen and sharp bar. The oriental accents are nicely meshed with modern pieces to give the space an overall feeling of sophistication. Everything in the restaurant is crisp and bright, in the way that only a trendy Hong Kong eatery can be.

Saffron boasts an Asian-European fusion menu with touches of Indian flair. However, I must offer one caveat: this is not the place for a gourmet novice -- not when you find yourself sifting through offerings such as fennel-scented tomato puree and foie gras with brown lentils, tamarind-ginger swordfish and roasted garlic with pickled lotus root or ahi tuna steak with a mango-jalape--o relish. The dishes are all exotic, stimulating and decidedly epicurean.

Despite the fact that my party and I were in somewhat of a hurry (and the fact my sister continued to make obnoxious comments throughout our meal alluding to that fact), our service was relatively prompt and courteous -- in fact, as we waited, our server brought us each a sample of the chef's special hors d'oeuvre of the day.

Our main dishes, once they arrived, proved well worth the wait. My mother managed to gobble up every last bite of her lamb and polenta creation, while my sister made fast work of her chipotle-marinated steak, served on a bed of Asian infused mashed potatoes.

I, for my part, thoroughly enjoyed my mango-jalape--o ahi steak, even if my "seared rare" directions somehow translated into "medium" for the chef. The bed of simple saffron rice served as the perfect compliment to my meal, drawing inspiration from Asian, Indian, Mexican and South Pacific cuisines.

Saffron is the perfect place to spend a nice leisurely night in conversation after the opening of a Puccini opera or the Baltimore Ballet (its conveniently located in the Center Stage district) or to impress your parents with how worldly and cultured you have become at Hopkins.

Saffron is the place to go with someone who has money, or to impress someone with money. The dishes are reasonably priced for the quality and type of food you receive, but with most entr??es nearing twenty dollars, I would save Saffron for a special date or night out on the town -- or unless you are that person with a lot of money. In that case, I would recommend you visit Saffron often for its exotically innovative food and sophisticated, cultural ambiance ...?and don't forget to bring me some takeout.