Every once in a while we have dinner with Steve Dropkin, an rfc friend
who gets out and about more than we do. Thanks to Steve, Rob and I have
eaten Ethiopian food, sushi, and great ribs in a little teeny place in
St. Paul (we prefer our ribs at the Market Barbecue in downtown
Minneapolis). Greek food was our the agenda last night and our
destination was the restaurant Myconos in downtown Minneapolis -- about
two doors south of the Market. Coincidence.

We parked our car, fed the meter, and walked across the street to the
address we had for Myconos. Not there. We spotted friend Steve, held a
small conference and decided to check out Safari, next door. It's east
African, Somali fixin's. (We have a fair number of Somali refugees
living in the Twin Cities.)

We went into the restaurant, a small space that was under partial
renovation. The smell of whatever something that was cooking was out of
this world. A nice young man offered to seat us and we asked to just
look at menus for the moment, thank you. It took about 15 seconds for
us to decide we'd eat there.

Here's Jeremy Iggers' recent review of Safari in the Minneapolis Star
Tribune:
<http://www.startribune.com/stories/456/5110004.html>
We consulted with owner Sade Hashi (the nice young man who gave us the
menus to peruse) for recommendations for us.

We ordered the appetizer (foul? - see the review) plate that was a
mixture of fava beans, string beans (fresh), corn, carrots, onions and
seasoned with cumin and other things I don't remember. It was not
highly seasoned and could have been a meal in itself. Were it thinned
considerably, it could have been soup. (I'm thinking leftovers here).
It was accompanied by some pita and a small paper container of besbes --
a sneaky little condiment to heat things up. It was flavorful and hot -
jalapeño, serrano, garlic (I think) and I don't know what else. Sneaky
heat -- and I couldn't stop eating it. The plate was enough for 5-6
people (Steve took home the leftovers).

Steve ordered the roasted goat cutlet (I think it was billed as a
cutlet). I've never eaten goat and was glad he ordered it so I could
have a taste. It was flavorful and fall-apart tender. It came with
some incredibly delicious basmati rice.

Rob ordered the shawarma -- pretty standard fare there, I'd say; also
with the basmati. The guys had the mango drink. Tasted like mangoes.
:-)

I had the ke'key, the dish with the homemade noodles that Jeremy
described in his review, and mine was with beef. I love homemade
noodles and these were at least as good as my own. The sauce was not
strongly flavored or spicy, but the besbes was right there on the plate
to liven it up. Each entree came with a banana! The banana is to be
diced and put on top of the entree and then maybe mixed in for each
bite. It's supposed to lessen the heat and add some sweetness. The
addition of the banana bits was surprisingly pleasant to me. I could
feel the heat from the besbes for 20 minutes after we left -- and then
it was gone.

We had arrived at 5:30 and there were perhaps three tables being served
at the time. We were the only caucasian customers. When we left an
hour or so later, the place was starting to get busy -- at least another
four or five tables were being served. We were glad we'd come when we
did because we had the opportunity to chat some with the owner -- he is
a totally charming and delightful man. His mom made the noodles.

Yesterday I posted (to rec.food.restaurants) about another meal Rob and
I had had in a different restaurant -- the cost for the two of us there
was in the neighborhood of $30. At Safari, our bill was $34 -- for
three people. We'll go back. It smelled so good. Did I mention what
the place was like inside? Absolutely nothing fancy -- small tables, a
couple booths; the renovation is going to make a large table and booth
to accommodate 20 or so folks when it's done.

I can't wait to read Steve's report.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Winter Carnival ice sculpture pics
added 1-30-05.
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and
say,'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner,
performance at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.