SnackTime With Jen— Rising To The Occasion, December 5th

Welcome to my newest feature, SnackTime With Jen. This midweek morsel is a small taste of something fun. Topics range from food (of course) to fashion, amusing little discoveries both locally and abroad, and a variety of interesting intel too tempting not to share. So let’s get snacking…

I was dying to try the well-known lunch fare at Le Soufflé and finally managed to score a reservation. I was seated in the cozy back room and the service was terrific considering a soufflé is often a time-consuming order to perfect. But this Parisian specialist had the delivery down to a science.

They offered a priced fix soufflé meal and I went all in. For my first course I started with the small Spinach and Cheese Soufflé with garlic and herbs. It came with a lightly dressed green salad on the side. How can I describe this dreamy whipped ramekin of delight? Ummm, cloud-like perfection perhaps? The mild spinach flavor was a perfect complement to the warm goat cheese center. And even though it was super light, it was oh so satisfying. I could have stopped there… but there was more to come.

For my second course I ordered the Cheese Soufflé with a chicken and mushroom sauce. This dish was special. The waiter pierced the center of my over the top pouf with a serving spoon and poured in some of the savory sauce from the gravy boat. It was like a French version of homemade chicken pot pie with a fluffy airy filling instead of a thick pastry bottom. The baking dish itself was coated in butter to prevent the soufflé from sticking to the sides and this only added to the delicious flavor.

For the grand finale, I chose the Chocolate Soufflé. This was absolutely insane. The reason to visit. The pièce de résistance that I could not resist… obviously. The soufflé, cresting over the top of the dish with that delicate wiggle, arrived piping hot and again the waiter made a small incision into the top and in dribbled a rich, hot chocolate sauce. I couldn’t even! It was dreamy, decadent, and completely irresistible. I ended up scraping the sides of the bowl to enjoy every single bite of this heavenly chocolate dessert.

The name soufflé comes from the French verb souffler, which means to blow up or puff up and Le Soufflé takes their puffed up provisions to incredible heights. This is a fabulous restaurant to enjoy wonderfully cooked savory and sweet soufflés in a warm, friendly atmosphere. Jen’s Little Black Book just loves a restaurant where each dish makes it into the clean plate club. And Le Soufflé is certainly a venue where you’ll be happily scraping by. Their dishes rise to every occasion… especially lunch!

I’m so happy that a very good friend of mine recently followed my fellow foodie advice and was able to sample Le Soufflé while he was in Paris. In a word he said the food there was “insane.” And today just happens to be another occasion– his birthday. So a big shoutout to Scott Stuart. Happy Birthday, Scott! I hope you’re eating well today. Enjoy. xoxo