West Midtown cafe offers a casual spin on a classic dish

Many restaurants take a familiar dish and turn it into a more upscale product. Sometimes, restaurants will go in the other direction, taking a fancy dish and making it more casual. Case in point: the beef stroganoff soup at Amelie’s French Bakery & Cafe.

Beef stroganoff is a fine-dining classic that gained popularity in the United States back in the 1950s. Beefy, creamy and satisfying, it’s a dish that typically is expensive, because of the pricey ingredients involved. The version at Amelie’s distills the essential elements of the classic dish into a simple, comforting soup that provides much of the pleasure of the original at a fraction of the price.

Based on a hearty, richly flavored beef stock with a hint of spice, Amelie’s beef stroganoff soup has the beefiness to satisfy on cold, rainy winter days. Tender noodles bob cheerfully on the surface, while chunks of beef and toothsome mushrooms add the meatiness that you don’t usually expect from a cup of soup.