Choochoos.  Langley Village.

Still feeling sick.  A stupid cold.  So where does someone go when they really want to be in bed and curled up under the warm covers?  The answer.  A place that serves cheesecake, the well-known cure for any cold.

I chose Choochoos in the Langley Village based on the fact they sell home-made desserts.  How do I know this?  A recommendation from months and months ago.  It’s one of the local places I’ve kept meaning to visit so why not now, why not tonight?

The first interesting thing I noticed when I opened the door is that they have a foyer.  It’s filled with antique memorabilia and furniture, setting the stage for what I would find inside.  When I went into the actual restaurant, I saw a brightly lit display case filled with desserts, (cupcakes, pies, cheesecakes, chocolate cakes), and, beside it, a sign that said, “Dare to be Different.  Eat Dessert First.”

Not a bad thing to see when I’ve come in just for dessert.

A super friendly hostess led me to a table by the window, past the flying snoopy hanging from the ceiling, past the booths filled with more antique memorabilia, past the strange giraffe.   Now, what exactly constitutes ‘super-friendly’?  Well, she smiled, which is always nice, and she asked about my day, which is always polite but when she asked what brought me here and I said, Dessert, she told me, with pride, that they have great desserts here, really great desserts, all homemade, and then she told me which were her favourites. See, the thing is, she was excited to talk about the menu.  She was genuinely proud of what they had to offer.

I liked that.

I liked that a lot!

This also became evident when they brought out, not a menu, but a whole dessert tray and then went on to explain each and every selection.  So many good things to choose from but I went with the banana split cheesecake.

It was delightful.  Light and full of flavour, not a heavy, thick cheesecake.  Plus, they had that little extra that you all by now know I like, they wrote Choochoos on the plate is chocolate sauce.  It was a good sized helping with fresh graham crumbs on the bottom and proper whipped cream.  So good to taste, so very bad for my diet.

Afterwards, while paying for the bill, the hostess was excited to tell me that 99% of all the food they create is homemade.  Being me, I had to ask.  “What’s the other 1%?”  She said they were working on homemade salad dressing and should have it up and running by next week.  She told me to ask her about it when I came back, maybe for supper next time or lunch or, hey, ‘we have a great breakfast menu, too.’

Now, how can you dislike a place like that?

You can’t.

I’d be back.

I’d bring friends.

I’d recommend it to anyone, especially if you’re looking for a great dessert and owners who take great pride in what they produce.