It felt like I hadn’t eaten out in along time. And in a way, it was true. After all the holiday meals with family and post-holiday happenings that were not conducive for dining out, we finally had to escape. We went to Saffron again. I do not remember the menu looking this nice. Maybe I just didn’t pay attention last time.Although their plain naan is fine, I wanted to try something truly different. This is the spinach and cheese naan, and frankly, this is now my favorite kind of naan. Fresh spinach and ooey gooey mozzarella. This is seriously good.
J’s favorite dish, the kadai paneer makhani. Homemade cheese with green bell peppers and onions in a sweet and tangy tomato based sauce. I have to agree, this dish is pretty amazing.
I got the chicken korma because it’s one of those dishes I like to try at any and all indian restaurants. It’s really good at Saffron, but perhaps a bit on the safe side. They use really good quality ingredients here. And they don’t skimp with the rice either. They’ll bring out piles of it for you, if you ask.
Mango lassi and the rice pudding. I think this is the rice pudding they kept on trying to push on us last time. Both are good. But since I’m not a dessert person, I don’t really know. And on a thursday night, this place was still hopping. That makes me happy.

I infiltrated a dinner of south philly residents to check out Tres Jalapenos, a fairly new byob mexican joint on Christian. Yes, they’re a byob, with cheesy and kitschy mexican decorations. They host margarita mondays and taco tuesdays. Also, unrelated to food, one of the partners hosts a conversational spanish class there on wednesdays. So don’t say that blogs are not educational. The chips are good but the salsa is kind of weird, like it couldn’t quite make up its mind about how it wanted to taste.
The steak sopes. These are quite attractive, to me.
Chicken fajitas!
I got the tacos al pastor. They weren’t the greatest in the world, but they were quite respectable, and the pineapple was surprisingly sweet. They were on two corn tortillas and topped with onions and cilantro, so at least they were trying to be authentic. I got a side of rice too and that was pretty boring.
Fried ice cream… does this bring back memories of chi-chi’s for everyone?
The sopapillas… the sprinkles really knock this up a notch! I think I prefer the tacquerias not so far from this place for authentic mexican, but this is a pretty fun place. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and all the staff were very nice, even to a giant table like ours. It’s pretty big too and can accommodate large parties. And you can booze it up on your own.

Potlucks do not have to be about beanie weanies and salsa dip. They can be gourmet as well! M and E hosted a high class gourmet pot luck, and somehow, I was invited. Some lovely champange cocktails. Way to start this thing off!
This beet dip is just about the most beautiful color in the world. And it tasted just as beautiful. Who said dip couldn’t be healthy? Especially when it’s served with cucumbers.
M’s mom and P made these ganderi kebabs made with ground chicken, herbs and spices. It was served with a mango chutney and these chicken balls were a hit!
We talked about how beautiful the beet dip was but look how beautiful this cold squash soup is! It looked great and tasted just as great. It wasn’t just the food that looked attractive. M outdid herself with the tableware and decorations.
Onto the real gourmet stuff! Coq au vin! Made with a pressure cooker and all! It was super moist and tender.
Rabbits are adorable but they’re also incredibly tasty. This was a rabbit stew with prunes. This was definitely my favorite meat dish of the night.
Some gorgeously stuffed chicken.
Don’t worry, it wasn’t all just meat. There was also this pesto pasta that D brought. She made the pasta by hand!
There was even this brussel sprout salad. And it was amazing. It was vegetarian for the most part, except for the large hunks of ham.
To keep it gourmet as well as local, M made some eggless eggnog using Snap liquor. Dangerously delicious snapnog!
Tiramisu from wegmans!
Me and gourmet cooking don’t go well together, so I took the easy way out and brought a mocha cake from the korean bakery. Everybody loved this because well, it’s freakin delicious. Thanks to M and E for hosting another fantastic dinner!