Simple, well-prepared French bistro food is available in Somerset, with décor and ambience to match.
By: Tom and Kate O’Neill
For Francophiles and fans of the French bistro, Sophie’s Bistro provides a convenient alternative to a transatlantic voyage. Located on the outskirts of New Brunswick, Sophie’s offers simple, well-prepared, heart-warming French bistro food, with a wine list, décor and ambience to match.
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Sophie’s Bistro |
Heady aromas of boeuf bourguignonne, cassoulet, roast chicken, garlicky mussels and grilled steak greet the diner at the door. As the hostess guided us past the long bar to our table, we took in the details that make Sophie’s feel so right: the pressed tin ceiling, banquettes, chairs and tables covered in Provençal prints, flickering candles, French country sideboards, colorful posters and prints. Even the signs to the toilettes are in the classic bistro spirit. It’s hard to imagine that this faithful reconstruction of a bistro is in a building that, not long ago, housed a 12-lane bowling alley.
We were seated at a table for two in the back, where a comfortable banquette stretched the width of the room. The banquette seat offered an unfortunate sight line through constantly swinging doors into the bright, fluorescent-lit kitchen. The other seat faced a wall-sized mirror fronted by a shelf displaying a long lineup of empty French wine and champagne bottles, including magnums, double magnums, and maybe a jeroboam or two. Reflected in the mirror was an attractive view into the bustling restaurant.
The layout and typeface of the menu (French with English translations) and the wine list look just like those you’d find on bistro tables from Strasbourg to Bordeaux. Just as faithful to the French original is the menu’s list of bistro standards with a few fancy flourishes: French onion soup (6.95), mussels in white wine sauce (13.50), frisée salad with bacon and vinaigrette dressing, topped with a poached egg ($8.75), coq au vin ($15.75), trout almondine ($19.75), roast chicken and French fries ($15.75), and mushrooms or seafood baked in puff pastry ($16.75/$18.50). Simpler fare includes the hamburger Monsieur Jean, served on French bread, bien sur, ($9.95) and the croque-monsieur ($7.50), grilled ham and Emmental cheese on country bread.
While soaking up the surroundings, we enjoyed a white Lillet ($6), an aperitif from Bordeaux, served on the rocks in a cocktail glass with jaunty red and blue stripes circling the rim. The main section of the reasonably priced wine list offers three house wines. One may also choose from among 15 whites, nine of them French ($18-$36); and five reds, 10 of them French, ($18-$33). The reverse of the list includes some higher-priced wines from "Sophie’s Cellar" along with imported beers and a couple of ciders. Also on the bar list is a good selection of brandies: cognac, calvados and armagnac; and muscat, a slightly sweet and spicy dessert wine. We found the Lorval Pinot Noir ($7.50/glass), from Languedoc-Rouissillon, to be a pleasant accompaniment to all of our courses, though it lacked the body and earthy essence of the typical Pinots from Burgundy.
We started with the evening’s special soup ($7.50) and a goat cheese salad ($9.50) from the regular menu. The tasty soup was a creamy, gently herbed French vegetable soup, given extra density by chunks of potato. The salad of mixed red and green lettuce was topped with julienned endive, sliced roasted beets, and three crottins of warm goat cheese, quickly grilled and served on thin, crisp toast.
From the entrées, we selected cassoulet ($21.50), a mainstay of the bistro menu. Legend has it that this hearty casserole of meat and beans was created by the people of Castelnaudry to strengthen the resolve of the troops defending their town during the 100 Years War. The night we dined, New Jersey was under siege by a wintry blast, and cassoulet recommended itself as the perfect defense. Sophie’s robust version featured confit of duck, spicy andouille sausage, white beans and tomatoes, topped with toasted bread crumbs and served in a sturdy ceramic baking dish.
A very different dish, salmon Eze ($18.50), is named for a perilously perched hilltop village on the Cote d’Azur, evoking warm images of summer. The moist fillet, encrusted with mustard, was served over spinach, with a generous ladling of honey mustard sauce. The honey-sweetness peeked through, but the intense flavor of mustard seemed bitter and overpowered the delicacy of the salmon and the earthiness of the spinach. We later learned from the owner, Peter Mack, that salmon Eze is one of Sophie’s most popular entrées, so we can only guess that it was having an off night.
Along with the truly French bread, desserts and every other edible at Sophie’s are made on site by Chef David Fordjour, a native of Ghana who has been with the bistro almost since the beginning.
The dessert selection includes many of the bistro classics, including tarte Tatin, the apple tart from central France that is currently enjoying a seismic wave of popularity. Other temptations are crème bruleé, crème caramel, profiteroles, and crepes filled with ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce. We found the crème caramel ($6.75) to be an honest example of this French standby, with the unbeatable combination of a creamy egg custard, enveloped in sweet, light caramel. The delectable Chocolate Sophie ($8.50) is a dark chocolate cake with a meltingly soft, semi-sweet chocolate center. Two well-made espressos ($2.75 each), served after dinner, as requested, capped the meal and closed a lovely evening, almost in France.

