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.

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> Every once in a while we have dinner with Steve Dropkin, an rfc friend
> who gets out and about more than we do.

> 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'll go back.



(Sigh) As you keep telling us, it's GOOD to be you....

gloria p

On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 15:03:18 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>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

Rooster's by any chance? They have the best fried cheese curds I've ever
tasted, and I love their chicken.

Carol
--
"Years ago my mother used to say to me... She'd say,
'In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.'
Well, for years I was smart.... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

*James Stewart* in the 1950 movie, _Harvey_

In article >,
Dog3 > wrote:

> > 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.)

I _really_ need to learn to post about these things quicker! Barb
covers all the good stuff!

This meal was one of those happy accidents. Safari actually had been
on my list to try for quite some time, but I just never found myself
in the neighborhood (just south of Minneapolis downtown). Turns out
they've been there for five years; I'd heard about them only because
of the recent StarTribune review that Barb linked. I'm glad that Barb
and Rob are pretty open about trying different food.

I decided on the goat (cutlet) as soon as I saw it on the menu. I've
never had goat before, though it is widely available at most of the
ethnic food markets in town. It very much resembled beef, except for
the texture (denser, but I suppose that may be because goat, at least
in the U.S., has not been bred over the years for marbling and
tenderness the way beef has) and for the presence of several flat
bones in this cut (not quite like beef- or pork-rib bone segments).
Sade Hashi, the host, said they pressure-par-cook the goat and _then_
roast it to give it tenderness. No marinade or rubs were mentioned. It
turned out great. I definitely will try some again.

The rice served to all of us was a basmati rice with some relatively
mild herbs in it -- no strong individual flavors. Mixed with the hot
relish and bananas, though, it was a wonderful side dish, and while
the relish and banana were readily identifiable, they played well
together. It's not like any of those ingredients was horribly out of
place. I would not have thought of that particular combination. I'm
glad someone did.

The foul maddamas is fava beans, mixed with onion, garlic, a little
bit of lemon juice, and, in the case of our dish, lots of vegetables,
and allowed to sit long enough for flavors to mingle. It's meant to be
a dip and is served with (nowhere near enough) pita bread. Very tasty,
very substantial, and probably pretty healthy if you don't know how
much olive oil goes into making it (!). :-)

"Besbes" (the hot relish) aside, none of the food was hot-spicy. It
definitely was flavorful, in almost an Indian way in that it was
difficult to isolate individual spices and ingredient flavors, but the
combinations were very pleasing. Even the relish itself was not hot in
the
"I-swallowed-it-a-minute-ago-and-only-now-is-the-searing-heat-arriving"
sense; it was a clean, quick heat that didn't overwhelm.

Sade said they had to tone a few dishes down to appeal to Minnesota
palates, but I don't imagine the besbes was one of them. And, judging
from the number of East Africans in the place (several parties by the
time we finished), I don't think the dishes could have been toned down
too much without driving away the majority clientele.

Rob and I had the mango drink; it tasted to me like fresh-squeezed
mangos -- not from a can and not cloyingly sweet -- a good counterpart
to the earthy dishes we were eating.

The rest of the meal? Good conversation, lots of laughs, and a very
personable host. The restaurant was clean (if a bit dark), the menu
navigable (with menu items well-described except for one "grilled
lamp" dish that Rob was thinking about trying for a few moments), and
the prices extremely reasonable considering the locale (almost
downtown), the quality of the food we were served, and the fact that
it wasn't hard to get two meals out of the goat-and-rice combination
(or, probably, the others).

I'm going to have to find a few more people I can bring over to
Safari! (Barb and Rob and I have too many other places on the list to
come back soon!)

sd

In article >,
wrote:

> On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 15:03:18 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> > wrote:
>
> >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
>
> Rooster's by any chance? They have the best fried cheese curds I've ever
> tasted, and I love their chicken.
>
> Carol

Lee's & Dee's, 161 North Victoria.
--
-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.

On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 21:41:47 -0600, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>Lee's & Dee's, 161 North Victoria.
(A rib place in Saint Paul)

Thanks, Barb. There isn't much real food down here. I despise going back
to the Cities, but this might be worth the trip.

Carol
--
"Years ago my mother used to say to me... She'd say,
'In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.'
Well, for years I was smart.... I recommend pleasant. You may quote me."

*James Stewart* in the 1950 movie, _Harvey_

Melba's Jammin' wrote:

>
> Gloria and Michael -- I've now got a couple more NON-CHAIN restaurant
> places to take incoming r.f.c. visitors. We owe Steve a lot. I'm
> sure Rona's adding this to her list for her next visit to town,
> though it may be a while before she's done in Japan -- I don't
> remember the length of her stay there. I had a card from her -- she
> and her mom were in Singapore -- eating. :-) She's a cool woman --
> both of them, actually, mother and daughter. Re Safari -- I swear to
> God that it was the smell of stuff cooking -- smelled like somebody's
> kitchen where something good is happening. And owner is such a dear
> fellow.

(laugh) And wouldn't you know it, I had just copied both Steve's and your
posts into my inbox! Alas, it seems I have become far too predictable!

I think I'm going to spend the summer back in Canada--I'm hoping to hit MSP
at some point--perhaps on the way to Nashville if I manage to make it out
there, too. In order to do that, though, I have to try to bear the next 6
months here (i.e. no traveling during spring break!). Will probably be
staying on here till 2007 (am considering extending my contract an
additional year) so to those thinking of heading to Japan (Barb, niece
Patty, Arri, Jean, etc. etc.) keep it in mind! That's an extra year to save
money to come on over!

And no one is cooler than you, Barb!

rona (Barb thinks I'm cool!)

--
***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the inconvenience!***

"[America] is filled with people who decided not to live in Europe. We
had people who really wanted to live in Europe, but didn't have the
energy to go back. We call them Canadians." ---Grover Norquist in
Newsweek, November 22, 2004

Melba's Jammin' wrote:
> Every once in a while we have dinner with Steve Dropkin, an rfc friend
> who gets out and about more than we do.

And Steve, where's the photo of me and John at the art show in Minneapolis
last year?! Sorry we couldn't take you out to dinner; we were working.

Jill