oh my goodness

We were invited to join in a menu tasting for a spot that will open in Belvedere Square later this year. Influenced by Latin flavors...Irena Stein, chef and owner, has roots in Venezuela and reflects that in her menu. With bright flavors, citrus based, real cooking and baking her future spot promises to be delightful.

Right now she operates Azafran, a restaurant on the Johns Hopkins campus in the Hubble Space Telescope building. Open for breakfast and lunch only during the week, Azafran has a wall of windows overlooking a completely treed park and a menu that has daily specials not usually found on a university campus. Fresh food abounds, delicious fair trade coffee, and wonderful desserts.

As the addition of another location affords the expansion of the menu into an even more delightful array of taste treats: empanadas, arepas, cerviche and more. Desserts made by a resident chef. Refreshing drinks concocted from fruits and citrus and fresh herbs. Yum. Everything we had was good and I don't think we missed a thing. Here are a few photos, including some of the folks we had a chance to chat with...

We are excited for this great chef and the creative and energetic team she has assembled to expand into an additional location. For selfish reasons it will provide me an opportunity for another spot, reasonably priced, to get a bite to eat, quickly while still being fresh and well made. Yay!