Tomi-Tola's

641 Sargent Avenue
(204) 779-2777

Unfortunately, Tomi-Tola's has closed down.
 
Since so many people on New Winnipeg listed Tomi-Tola's as one of their top West End restaurants, I suggested this Nigerian restaurant for the Pet Sole staff party, and Vani loved the idea. Six of us made it, including one vegetarian, and Kenny, the owner, was more than obliging. She even asked right-out if there were any vegetarians in the crowd.

Upon entering, Kenny greeted me and reached out for handshake but I opted for a hug, saying, "I hear you give hugs!" She was tickled pink and gave me a hug and proceeded to give everyone else at the table hugs. There was only one other table in the restaurant at the time, so Kenny sat down and had a chat with us about her menu and Nigerian food while we waited for the sixth person to arrive. Instead of ordering off the menu, Kenny ordered for us. She charged $10 per person and served us the traditional dishes, which included joloff rice, fried rice, salad, moin-moin (steamed black bean cakes), foo-foo (tropical mashed yams), egibu soup (soup=sauce in Nigeria), chicken, and fried plantains. Yum! I really liked the joloff rice, plantains, and chicken. The joloff rice is a bit spicy--just the way I like it! The egibu soup was quite good hot with the foo-foo, but once it had cooled off, I thought it needed more flavour.

Everything was served and eaten communally, just like you would at the dinner table at home. The foo-foo and soup are meant to be eaten by hand, and she welcomes eating purely by hand as well, though utensils are provided. We did have a choice of chicken, beef, or fish, or a combination of the above.

Kenny was more than generous and told us that she fed people until they were full, gauging their appetites by whether or not they're Canadian. I thought that was hilarious. She kept on asking if we wanted more food, and we did get some more plantains because they were so good! It was all covered under the $10, though.

We had water and red wine to drink. The wine didn't suit me but the others seemed to enjoy it (we're all poor students though). I also had the mango drink, which was quite nice--tasted like real mango.

Madina can't ever be replaced for me (someone needs to open up another Somalian restaurant!) but I found Kenny and her Nigerian food entertaining, filling, and delish!

Aladdin chez Sophie

Aladdin chez Sophie
248 De la Cathedrale Avenue
(204) 235-0353

My supper club left the restaurant absolutely stuffed. Between the five of us, we tried the 9" build-your-own pizza with pepperoni, bacon, cheese, and tomato sauce, the 13" Femiere pizza (three cheeses, one being goat cheese, and a cream sauce), salade noire (darky leafy greens, balsamic vinaigrette, dark chocolate shavings, parmesan, and orange slices), steak au poivres (with pommes frites and steamed vegetables), the tartiflette (glorified scalloped potatoes), the dessert pizza with chocolate sauce, and the banana strudel.

I enjoyed the salade noire but found it a little underwhelming. For nearly 6$ as a starter, I would either share the larger portion or skip the salad altogether and give in to a heavenly carb-filled night. We noticed that nearly everyone around us ordered soup, which came on a darling little wooden cutting board. It looks like a favourite amongst the regulars. Entrees (excluding pizzas) come with a home-baked white bun--fluffy and warm from the oven.

The three girls indulging in French pizza loved the thin crusts--crispy and light, but not to the point of being cracker-like. The crusts come in thin, medium, or deep crust. The bacon was real slices (not just crumbles) and the cheese was generously spread. Aladdin chez Sophie uses a special cheese made by Trappist monks, and the cheese is definitely the best part of the pizzas, as well as my tartiflette. The tartiflette was delicious but very rich. This baked dish contains sliced potatoes, tons of cheese, bacon, ham, and onions. I love potatoes and I could not finish this very filling portion.

I was a little disappointed with the desserts. You have to pre-order your dessert pizza during your entree because they make it fresh. I found the pizza crust to be too bland for a dessert pizza and the fruit did not retain very much flavour. I think this dish could benefit from less time in the oven or a pre-baked crust that's sweetened a touch more than the regular pizza crust. The banana strudel was not a strudel, in fact, but a rather skimpy serving of banana wrapped in what appeared to be pizza crust. The chocolate sauce on both desserts was too thinned out.

Service was delightful, though uninformed. Our server often had to go back to the kitchen when we asked a question about the menu. My friend's steak au poivre were supposed to come with salad, but alas, the salad did not come. We still enjoyed our evening and had some good laughs when the francophone server tried to converse with us. Be forewarned, some of their servers do not speak English! It was just shy of $100 plus tip for the five of us, and I would definitely go back for the pleasant atmosphere and delicious food.