Springing back into action after way too long a break (forced by the demands of my WineLoversPage.com website and wine-related travel to Portugal early in the holiday season), I resume this journal with excellent news for local fanciers of good things to eat: Saffron’s, veteran restaurateur Majid Ghavami’s classy Persian spot that I rank among the city’s best places to dine, is about to open a second downtown location.

Saffron’s Buffet will open soon in the space at 558 S. Fifth St., just north of Chestnut Street, that had housed Manoosh’s until the latter put up the shutters last autumn. (It was originally scheduled for opening in January, but significant renovation needs have prompted some delay. Watch this space for more news.)

Saffron’s Buffet will feature many of Saffron’s popular Persian dishes, styled for buffet service and priced to enjoy at $7.95 for all you can eat.
Kebab dishes and a few other high-end items won’t be on the buffet, Majid said, but it will showcase a wide variety of the Iranian culinary delights that Saffron’s has made popular, set up to accommodate workers on brief lunch breaks with all-you-can-eat buffet style service at lunch time. Evenings, Majid said, the much-renovated facility will be used for private parties.

I very much regret the loss of Manoosh’s to the Louisville dining community. Manoosh Khosrowshahi was a genial and hospitable host (as is Majid), and his multi-national cuisine that featured the rim of the Mediterranean as well as his own Azeri heritage fare from Azerbaijan in Iran will be missed. I wish him well in his other career as an electrician, and hope he might return to food service some day.

But the expansion of Saffron’s into a second and similar-only-different operation eases the pain. I’m eager to hit the all-you-can-eat line, and will report in when I do.

Meanwhile, watch for frequent LouisvilleHotBytes journal entries to resume now that we’re up and running in the New Year.