The best thing I ate this week was the Couscous Royale at Sofi Corner

Everyone remembers their first taste of Paris. And for me, it wasn’t the escargots, pâté, or even the fresh baguettes. My first meal after landing there for my studies decades ago was a platter of couscous royale, a steamy mound of tiny semolina grains laden with tenderly stewed mutton, grilled merguez, and a medley of vegetables, all splashed in fragrant broth scented with cinnamon and ginger. It was an early testament to the importance of North African culture in Paris, and became the spark that led to an unforgettable trip to Morocco. Real couscous is transporting like that.

So it’s no wonder I was having flashbacks over the regular Friday special of couscous royale at Sofi Corner, the beguiling new daytime cafe in the Gayborhood whose cobalt blue entrance is wrapped in flowering vines. Its sunny 20-seat back dining room has become one of Center City’s most lively lunch destinations for good reason. Its French-Moroccan hybrid menu is an appealing reflection of the couple behind it, the Moroccan-born chef-owner, Soufiane Boutliliss, and his husband, Christophe Mathon, a Frenchman who moved to the States as an executive with Coty. There are croque monsieurs, Niçoise salads, ham and cheese sandwiches on fresh baguettes, and perfect slices of warm quiche Lorraine.

But the Moroccan dishes are the reason to come. Inspired by Boutliliss’ grandmother, Rhimo Chib, a longtime caterer in his native Tangier, the menu’s daily highlights include irresistible eggplant and carrot salads served in tiny beautiful ceramics, tagines of chicken with preserved lemon, and tender lamb shank with prunes, whose conical lids are lifted tableside to envelope the table in stewy ambrosial steam.

Fridays at Sofi Corner, though, are special. That’s when Boutliliss conjures up his deepest memories with the regular couscous special, a weekly nod to the specialty traditionally served as a centerpiece for gatherings after Friday prayers.

Boutliliss always makes two renditions, including a vegetarian couscous showcasing seven vegetables, from squash to turnips, sweet potatoes, cabbage, and chickpeas. A meaty version comes with a hearty portion of tender halal beef shank, whose marrow bone enriches the soulful brew over several hours of cooking throughout the morning. It’s the little grandmère touches, though, that elevate this common dish into something personal. Like the use of clarified butter that’s aged for three months, which lends the fluffy steamed couscous an almost nutty tang. Or the familial blend of spices — turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, saffron, and pepper — ground in house to season a tomatoey broth perfumed with rose water. No, Boutliliss doesn’t make the tiny couscous grains by hand like his grandma does, but the dish is undoubtedly still a labor of love shared with Philadelphia.

“For me, couscous is always the grand journey of Fridays. It’s great to share with my friends and family and so many clients who come every Friday. It reminds me of Morocco and makes me happy.”

Couscous Royale, $22-$25 (vegetarian or with beef), Sofi Corner Cafe, 1112 Locust St., 646-724-9667; soficornercafe.com. Open daily 8 a.m.-5 p.m.