Sophia Loren is widely quoted as saying, "Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.", which is certainly a great advertisement for carbs.
This statement is celebrated, along with its namesake, at a new warehouse district eatery called Sofia. It's a smallish but glamorous space, punctuated by images of Italy's famous export everywhere. There are candid photos, pop paintings, and most captivating, slideshows of the actress, who is a personal friend of owner Billy Blatty's parents. Deep in the linear space is a gigantic pizza oven from Italy, where magic happens. Light pies with just the hint of char on the bubbled dough come to the table sporting the perfect amount of a red sauce so impossibly perky, it challenges your taste buds at all levels. Cheese is the buffalo milk mozzarella rounds, but not many of those. Meats are minimal, as is spice. We asked for crushed red pepper and got a generous offering, but also a chili oil. Go easy with this. Parmesan at the table is the really good stuff and very generously offered. It was hard to resist putting it on the malfaldine pork bolognese or the bucatini guanciale in front of us. Neither dish needed any help.
We can't wait to go back and try more from chef Talia Diele. We didn't get to any salads or other appetizers this first time. Full menu, Italian wine list, craft beers and Italian-inspired cocktails. This exciting partnership from Blatty, Max Mackissock and Diele is Wildly Welcome.
Sofia (spelled the Italian way)
Lunch Tu-Fri 11am-3pm Dinner Tu-Thu 5-10pm Fri-Sat 5-11pm Sunday 5-10 Happy Hour Tu-Fr 4-6pm Closed Monday
516 Julia New Orleans 70130
504-322-3216
