Saha

My work-husband (Scott A.) took me out to dinner for my birthday last night. My birthday was actually about a month ago but I quickly forgot that when he suggested taking me to Saha to celebrate the big 3-4. Saha is one of Scott's favorite restaurants in the bay area and whenever the topic of Middle Eastern food (or women) comes up, the conversation almost always turns to Saha.

Saha is self described as Arabic Fusion Cuisine http://www.sahasf.com/. You won't find hookah pipes, belly dancers, or suicide bombers at this lovely restaurant situated on the ground floor of the Carlton Hotel (a certified green hotel) but you will find yourself at an intimate place to dine with dim lighting, gorgeous servers, and plenty of animal free options on the menu to choose from.

Since last night was all about moi-I took great pleasure in ordering the sampler appetizer. This included fouel (pureed fava beans-tasted almost like refried beans), hummus, tahini sauce (mixed with herbs-the best I've ever had), mixed olives, tabbouleh, a kind of salsa, and my personal favorite-smoked eggplant with tomatoes. Serviced with plenty of pita Scott and I tried numerous combinations and were practically licking the adorable little dishes they were served in.




I ordered the stuffed avocado as a salad all for myself. The outside was coated in knaffe, lightly fried, and served warm. Stuffed with tabbouleh made of cous cous, served on a raspberry reduction accompanied by two chunks of marinated tofu-I was in avocado heaven.

Below you see Scott's entree. Because he is the best work-husband a lady could ask for, he ordered a vegan dish so I could take a bite if I was so inclined. I was. The Maklouba isn't the prettiest of dishes to look as, probably because it's topped with a slice of cooked eggplant, but the layers of rice seasoned with allspice, pine nuts, and cinnamon then topped with the eggplant, tofu, and caramelized onions, were a wonderful combination.

I savored every last bite of my entree-Spinach and Tofu. The terra cotta bowl was filled with spinach, garbanzo beans, organic tofu, Yemini Hawag (don't ask), olive oil, topped with Yemeni noodles and tomato vinaigrette. Not over seasoned, this dish allowed me to appreciate the taste of every single ingredient.

Our adorable server (because she was from Australia) recommended the vegan version of their house speciality, "Slap Ya Mama (roasted fruit, date & almond marzipan, and chocolate wrapped in phyllo, baked, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and drizzled with raspberry sauce)." She later explained that the chef tried this combination out on a friend who promptly responded, "that's slap ya mama good!"

Included below is Scott's choice-the Chocopear. A splendid presentation of layered chocolate and pear mousse topped with think slices of pears.

The couple sitting across from us insisted on taking our picture before we dug into our desserts.

Once again Scott has impeccable taste when it comes to quality food and I left Saha full and more than satisfied. If I were his real wife he would have received the BJ of his life. But like I said, I was full from dinner so I did the next best thing a committed work-wife could do-we closed down Annie's Social Club in SOMA singing karaoke.