Chez Sophie: Home cooked comfort food

So last night, upon recommendation, we headed out to find a certain restaurant. Something new for us both, something we hadn't experienced, something new to blog about. After getting lost no less than 3 times, and rechecking directions on our phones a dozen times, we found it! And it was closed. Which left us half lost, down town, and hungry. Fear not! This restaurant will make it to the blog as soon as we can get there!

After batting around idea's and trying to remember what name was attached to what kind of food we finally decided on Chez Sophie, a small bistro in the heart of St.Boniface. Just down the street from the beautiful Cathedral, hiding amongst houses and apartment buildings. The dining room had a total of eight tables, most of which couldn't seat more then four people. It was close quarters, and somehow it didn't feel cramped. Alex commented that it felt like a family dinner, everyone cramming into a small dining room, trying to eat without knocking elbows.

The dining room itself was adorable. It was quaint, and had a very sweet country feel. The  'French Bistro' music playing loud enough to muffle conversations, but not make it difficult to hear your date, and was very soothing. All instrumental, all very calming. All in all, it was a terrifically romantic setting that had both of us grinning like fools the whole night.

The bistro is fully bi-lingual, we were greeted in french, the specials were written on the chalkboards in french, and the menu itself was in both french and english. For those who don't speak French, worry not! While the menu is primarily written in French, nearly everything is followed by the English description. It can at times leave it a tad bit confusing, but overall, not enough to subtract from the meal. It is important to note that this is not an Applebee's, you are coming into someone's house to eat. It's all hand done, a simple menu thrown in duo-tang, and every changing specials written in chalk on the board.

The food was delicious. It felt like we had made it at home, like mom taught us how, or like it was one of grandma's favorite recipes. It came out hot from the oven, cheese still bubbling, served in a small casserole dish on a wooden paddle. Adorable!! The best part was seeing the chef poke his head out, and smile when he saw that the guests were enjoying his food. It was good to see that he cares.

Jess's dish was Penne au Poulet. Exactly as it sounds, Penne pasta with chicken. But not just any chicken, no no, chicken fingers. Along with the chicken fingers, there were fresh veggies like green bell peppers, tomato, and onion. All of this was smothered in a cream sauce (not alfredo, just cream) with a little basil mixed in. The dish was baked with cheese on top, and served with a side of super crispy garlic toast (real french bread guys, delish!). It was clear that all of these things were made fresh to order, and it came through in the presentation and taste.

Alex had the Tartiflette with house salad, which he pointed to on the menu, not wanting to butcher the pronunciation. The house salad was probably one of the most attractive salad's he's seen. Again it was nothing fancy, just simple house dressing, not your standard vinaigrette, had more flavour than just sour, but the plating just showed how much they cared about. The tartiflette is basically this big gooey amazing mess of ham, bacon, onion and potato, with this cheesy creamy saucing tying it all together, and yes, it was as amazing as it sounded. Served same as the Penne au Poulet was, baked dish, little wooden panel, crispy cheesy goodness crispy ontop and running down the side. It is definitely a new candidate for comfort food.

Alex: Okay, I'm not supposed to break character, Jessi and I are writing this together, but I really want to add this in. The feeling in this place is incredible. It's soft, dimly lit. It's not like going out to a busy restaurant, where every third word is "what?". It's warm, it's quite. The music gives this fantastic white noise. You're three feet away from the other tables, and you feel private. Guys, if you want to impress a girl, bring them here. It's not pompous, or trying to be anything it's not. When you're there, it feels real, and genuine.

All in all it was a great meal and experience, we will definitely be back!