Chaise Cafe

Chaise Café

271 Provencher Blvd

204-504-4012

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ChaiseCafe

 

September, 2013

 

Although Chaise Café lounges in the middle of the French Quarter, it also sits awkwardly by itself in a residential stretch of Provencher.  I suppose that the restaurant takes its name from the comfy couches in the lounge, and comfy they are.  Sink into one of these and you’ll never want to get out.  If you just want to snack on some finger foods or relax for a few drinks, the lounge provides the perfect retreat; however, if you’re in for a full meal, perhaps the light and airy dining room is a better fit.

 

The house salad features fresh and crisp vegetables and a delicious dressing.  While the dressing itself tastes nicely balanced, the amount of dressing is a bit heavy handed.  Our first visit found a bit too much balsamic vinegar, which dominated the dish with acidity.  The next visit saw a sweetish, berry-like dressing.  Again, there was too much dressing causing the bottom of the dish to be soggy and too sweet.

 

By contrast, the house soup has the perfect combination of potato, leek, kale, bolstered by generous chunks of spicy sausage.  The hale broth stands up to the bold sausage easily, making for an absolutely divine intro to your meal. 

 

They recommend you order the Hanger Steak medium rare, and you should listen to their advice.  This tough cut of meat easily turns to leather if overcooked.  Even at medium rare, and pre-sliced thinly, this is not a suitable for those with less than honed teeth.  I understand that tougher cuts of meat have more flavour but this might be more work than some want.  Chewiness aside, the steak has wonderful beef taste, augmented by perfect searing.  The crowd-favourite dollar fries on the side (they call them thick-cut potato chips here) have a nice brown colour.  Some have good crunch but some taste a little soft.  The hit for me comes with the accompaniment, which is a deeply rich onion/garlic paste. 

 

If you choose, you can upgrade to a poutine side, which I highly recommend.  I would like to see a bit more country gravy in this boat (I love my fries immersed and soaking) but the combination of curds with bacon absolutely make this dish—top it off with a drizzle of truffle oil and you have a true sampling of ambrosia. 

 

Chaise also offers a wide array of pizzas, calzones and pasta.  The Creamy Walnut Pesto Linguini has the option of adding chicken, and it’d be a shame to omit the meat.  Chicken breasts dry out easily if overcooked, but this perfectly seared breast has a golden, crispy outside, protecting a moist and juice core – delicious.  If you forgo the meat, the pasta itself offers a wonderful reward.  The al dente noodles conduct the rich basil flavour, with added texture from the walnuts. 

 

The efficient, polite and professional servers ensure that you have a lovely evening in Old St. Boniface.  Even though they’re a bit out of the way, Chaise Café is a top notch restaurant serving up fantastic food.

 

****½  /5

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