Saffron's pad thai offers rare flavors for the bored tongue

Opened in 1996, Bistro Saffron in Cape Girardeau is a well-established name in date-night restaurants. While I tend to go in for lunch, the atmosphere and sophisticated decor lend themselves well to a romantic night out. But romance is not why I go to Saffron. I go to Saffron for the pad thai.

The first time I heard of pad thai was on the Food Network. I don't remember which show it was, but they said pad thai was Thailand's version of spaghetti, meaning everyone ate it, and every family had their own recipe and particular way of making it. I am always up to try the classic recipes that anchor other cultures, and so I looked around the area to find a restaurant that could make pad thai.

Enter Saffron -- a cozy, stylish Asian restaurant that serves sushi, weird foreign drinks and pad thai. Success!

If you don't know what pad thai is, here is how Saffron makes it. Perfectly cooked rice noodles ... But let's stop there for a moment. Rice noodles are amazing. They are completely different from "regular" Italian-style noodles. They appear white as opposed to cream colored, almost translucent, and they can be cut in different ways, just like wheat-based pasta. For pad thai, Saffron's noodles are shaped like a fettuccine noodle. And the taste is unique. It's hard to explain the difference, because noodles are just vehicles for sauces and meats, but it is a unique, light taste Italian noodles do not share.

They let you pick your protein: chicken, beef, tofu or vegetables (not a protein, but you get the idea). I prefer chicken. We'll talk about why in a moment.

A small selection of the fresh sushi available at Saffron.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

They add some bean sprouts, and that's not something I'm terribly fond of. But in this dish, they are completely necessary. They add crunch to an otherwise very soft dish, and the bean sprout flavor is mild and complementary to the rice noodles. Add a stirred fried egg, some green onion strips, and stir in the chopped peanuts that are served on the side.

The sauce they make for pad thai is what makes it a winner for me. I had to look up what the flavor is, because I had honestly never tasted anything like it in my life. Sweet, a little sour, but so incredibly rich, with the texture of a silky butter sauce. That flavor made all the little receptors on my tongue sing all at once.

This one-of-a-kind flavor comes primarily from tamarind. Tamarind comes from an African tree that makes pods that look very much like a dried bean pod. In fact, it technically is a legume. This bean pod can be used fresh or let to dry. If dried, it is more sour that the fresh paste.

Tamarind tastes like nothing else in our cuisine, or does it? Come to find out, tamarind is the secret ingredient in Worcestershire sauce, so we have had some exposure to this spice. Regardless, pad thai tastes like nothing else. Sometimes, I crave this flavor mash-up, so sweet and sour and savory, and tamarind makes it look effortless.

When you order your pad thai, I said I prefer chicken. This is a personal preference, obviously, but I do like its flavor in this dish the most. Chicken complements the stir-fried egg and the mild flavor of chicken lets the sauce really come through. When Saffron serves pad thai, everything is mixed up except for the peanuts and I recommend stirring those in right away. It is also served with a lime slice -- and for the love of everything good, squeeze that juice on there! It tastes so wonderful with the tamarind, the lime is a necessity.

Saffron has a lovely, calming atmosphere.Submitted by Rebecca LaClair

To make your pad thai experience more memorable, ask for a side of chili sauce. I like to dip the tines of my fork in the sauce so I get just a taste of the spice with each bite. It adds another layer of flavor to an already power-packed meal.

Saffron also has freshly made sushi, truly bite-sized. My favorite is their Futomaki Roll, full of ingredients I can't pronounce, but that is what makes life interesting. This is a mild sushi, with a pleasantly sweet and clean flavor, a good start for a sushi novice. If you like spice, try their Dynamite Roll. It's not extremely spicy, and don't let the raw tuna scare you. It is very tender and not at all "fishy."