354896 Thu Dec 28 02:31:28 -0800 2006 4 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 2132949 There’s a new restaurant section in the Design District on Townsend & 8th ... near the traffic circle. I had a burger at Holy Grill (another post) and had dessert and a little more at Saffron 685 - Moroccan spiced hot cocoa - Turkish Delight - Konafa - Manaesh The meat here is Halal and the pita is Kosher. The usual and some not so usual items: Falafel, mojjadara, hummus, baba ganoush, tabouleh, tahini, dolmas, tzazekee, Basmati rice (with peas, carrots & spices), fattoush, and bean salad. The French fries come with saffron or balsamic aioli ... that sounds SO good. There is lamb shawerma & kebabs (lamb, chicken, veggie or prawn). There are also latkes with applesauce & lebni. Other drinks include pomegranate spritzer, mint lemonade (all fresh), Turkish coffee, Moroccan mint tea (black or green). Other desserts include: Baklava (walnut or pistachio), saffron rice pudding with nuts, Gaz (nougat with pistachios & rose water), sesame cookies and ... this sounds SO good ... feta with honey, lavender & spices. If the food is as good as what I tried, this place is a winner. The Moroccan spiced hot cocoa was so lovely ... not too perfumed ... what a great idea ... those spices like cardamom work so well with cocoa. The konafa is shredded pastry on a filo base with cheese & orange blossom water. I am not a fan of Mid-Eastern desserts, but I would order this wonderful dessert again. The orange shredded pastry that had a coconut look and was topped with pretty green chopped pistachios. The base was chewy, cheesy, buttery & delicious. The discussions on Chowhound about Turkish delight had me intrigued, but it seemed that in this country it is usually stale. This is made locally and is lovely. They looked liked this picture except there was a delicious green cardamom flavor which was my favorite. http://www.cooksofswanton.com/acatalog/turkish.jpg Turkish delight is a gelatin type of candy, like a pate de fruit. It is delicately flavored and rolled in powdered sugar. My next favorite flavor was rose water, then orange water. I couldn’t figure out what the brown candy was. It had a molasses type of flavor. Oh my, I just had another bite of the cardomom ... it is killer good. The manaesh is house-made bread topped with olive oil & za’atar ... described as a mixture of wild thyme, sumac & sesame seed. It was round like a pizza and they were nice enough to sell me a slice without the fattoush, hummus & feta cheese ... my mistake ... this bread was made for those items. I might skip the latkes as they were pre-made and sitting in a bowl. The young owners are super-nice. The owner/cook grew up in Croatia and went to the university in Lebanon. The décor is a little spare, but kind of cool ... sort of modern Turkish. Google “Saffron 685” and there’s a nice picture out on the web. There are also tables in addition to the couches. It has been open about a month. Saffron 865 685 Townsend St San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 863-2285 Thu Dec 28 02:31:28 -0800 2006 10264 rworange 1 2133037 Is the kanofa (aka kanafa or kanafeh) baked to order and served warm? Thu Dec 28 03:20:33 -0800 2006 2132949 10039 Melanie Wong 2 2133232 Well, not baked to order, but baked at the shop ... there was a big pan cut into squares. Something was warm, either the konofa or the manaesh ... but I didn't get to them until I got home since I had just polished off a pagan burger from Holy Grill and was working on the hot chocolate to wash it down. I just threw what was left of it in the microwave, thinking it would kill it but ... omg ... it got better ... that hot, melty cheesy bottom and the crisp buttery shredded pastry on top ... wow. So, who makes them to order around here? I'd give that a try. Some more info on Turkish Delight. http://www.chowhound.com/topics/354916 Thu Dec 28 05:15:28 -0800 2006 2133037 10264 rworange 3 2133247 It's been a while since I was there, but House of Falafel in cupertino made the kanafeh to order. I've had microwaved kanafeh twice since then and they turn into rubbery, soggy slop, so you definitely lucked out. Just Laziz in San Jose bakes manakeesh bi zaatar to order so you're assured they're fresh and warm. Thu Dec 28 05:26:17 -0800 2006 2133232 10039 Melanie Wong 1 2157163 Just had the lamb shawerma at Saffron 685. Good stuff. Interesting small pieces of artwork on the wall. Cool looking stereo speakers hanging from the ceilings in the corners. I will try more food choices there soon. Fri Jan 05 19:53:37 -0800 2007 2132949 11947 Benny Choi