French Onion Soup Page

It was shocking enough to find F.O.S. on the menu of a chinese restaurant, but then when it came out with the pastry puff on top, which looked exactly like Papillon in Fremont, I was flabbergasted.  I’m now trying to figure out who copied from whom.  The two soups look too similar for it to be coincidence.  There were differences, however.  This one had only what tasted like mozzerella, and very little of it.  The broth was chicken stock, and really lacked in flavor.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Wonderful broth, and lots of excellent gruyere cheese makes this soup a winner.  The only thing I would consider changing is that there were more croutons than were necessary.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

I was not expecting to find F.O.S. at The Davenport Hotel when I checked in, but noticed it immediately as I was walking towards the elevator.  Even though I was between lunch and a big dinner party, I had to stop and order a bowl.  I hadn’t even read the description when I ordered it, but when I had my first taste, I was flabbergasted!  It was one of the best soups I’ve had.  The description reads:

Washington sweet onions caramelized with sherry in an herb broth topped with a crouton, melted Gruyère cheese & green onions

It really was delicious.  The sherry stood out, and it was really hard to believe it wasn’t a beef-based broth, as it was so incredibly tasty!  I hereby reverse my assumption that all vegetable broths don’t stand a chance.

Rating: 9.0 out of 10

Extra ratings points for lots and lots of cheese.  It’s a combination of provolone and swiss.  Broth was tasty.  Located in the Sheraton University Hotel.

Rating 6.5 out of 10

Decent soup with provolone.  Nothing special.

Rating 6 out of 10

This traditional greek-style diner has what I remember eating growing up in New York.  It’s “comfortable” onion soup, while not French traditional.  Provolone cheese, nice and browned, and salty soup.  One of the top of the pedestrian soups.  This particular diner is the place that has become a regular stop for folks travelling from the NYC metropolitan area on their way to some of the upstate colleges (Cornell, Syracuse, Binghamton, etc.)

Rating: 6.75 out of 10

Great Internet recommendation.  Broth was decent and the cheese was very good.  The server claimed it was “just Swiss”, but I think it was gruyere.  Seemed like everyone there was having the F.O.S.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Spent last week in France and sampled some O.S. from the motherland.  Overall, my rating would have been high on the cheese and low on the soup.  The broth was remarkably bland at all 4 places I tried.

La Poule Au Pot, Paris

L’Alsace, Paris

Hippopotamus, Lyon

Le Deauville, Paris

Served as typical pub fare, this soup definitely rates in the upper eschelon of its genre.  It’s just provolone cheese, but they do a very good job of browning it, and it has a good flavor.  The soup has just the right amount of salt.  Note that this is one of a chain of “Miller’s Ale Houses”, each being prefixed with its city.  I’ve found the soups to be consistent in quality throughout the chain.

Rating 6.5 out of 10

I have a history of giving very, very little leeway to soups which venture into non-traditional presentations or ingredients.  But I found this soup to be amazing.  It is described on the menu as “French Onion Soup Baked with Puff Pastry”.  They have been serving the soup this way for over 20 years, and it’s very popular in the Fremont area.  The pastry is delightfully light and flakey.  The cheese is cooked under the pastry, resulting in a sort of “upside down” onion soup.  It was like “bizarro f.o.s.”.  Because the cheese is not exposed when the soup is baked, the cheese cannot become browned and loses some of the flavor potential.  It’s a “double broiler” effect.  The soup is served in a Crème brûlée bowl, and when it comes to the table it looks like a chicken pot pie (as you can see from the picture).  The cheese is a mix of gruyere and standard swiss, and tastes great.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Standard hotel fare, with regular Swiss cheese, which was too stuck to the bread.  This restaurant is located in the Westin Hotel.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Underneath the breaded “shoestring onions” on top of this one is a great soup!  It is difficult to tell from the menu whether or not it will really be gratinée, but indeed it is.  They use a nice fontina cheese, and add something to the broth to make it fantastically rich and oniony.

Rating: 8 out of 10

The soup is consistently decent here.  It could use a little more of the swiss cheese that they use, and the soup is not really rich enough.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Another bland soup, with lower cost swiss cheese, mixed with some mozzarella.  It was a nice amount of cheese, though.

Rating 5.5 out of 10

As my friend commented, there was more cheese running off the side of the crock than in the bowl.  But even if that hadn’t been the case, the problem with this soup lay in the broth.  You could smell the brandy eminating out of it (which could have been good), but the onions were not carmelized.  In addition, the onions were too finely chopped and there were too many of them.  It created a broth that reminded me more of pea soup than onion soup.  The cheese was a very mild swiss.

Rating 4.0 out of 10

This soup brought on a very warm feeling.  It reminded me of the FOSs I used to get at the various greek diners around NYC when I was growing up.  Although it is non-traditional and pedestrian, it wins the award for best in that class.  The right amount of cheese, and sensible broth.  Recommended by one of our readers who posted about it this morning, so I figured I’d try it out for lunch.

Rating: 7 out of 10

The menu promises “lots of goopy french emmanthal cheese.”  I suppose they mean emmental, because it tasted like it.  Seriously, there is so much cheese in the soup that I couldn’t taste the soup.  That would have been fine, but the quality of the cheese was not as good as I would have liked. 

Rating: 7 out of 10

One of the best broths I’ve had!  Unfortunately, there was not enough cheese, and what was there was too stuck to the bread.  It was a blend of gruyere and parmesean.  If they could only get the cheese right, it would have made the top 10!

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Excuse the picture “tone”, as we were seated next to bright yellow neon signs.  If that isn’t an indicator of the expected quality of the soup, I don’t know what would be.  Decent amount of cheese (provolone and swiss), and browned nicely.  However, the soup was like drinking a bowl of salt water with some black pepper and onions thrown in.   The onions were nicely carmelized.  This is another entry in my recent tour of chain restaurants.

Rating: 5 out of 10

This could have been any of the 1,019 Friday’s restaurants in the USA.  The FOS here is the same as it has been for decades: pedestrian, but comfortable.  It is in no way traditional in the european sense, but it’s consistent and serves its purpose.

Rating: 6 out of 10

I wasn’t expecting much, especially due to some other reviews I had read.  However, this soup was quite good.  The main thing that could use improvement is their choice of cheese.  It is simply a low cost swiss cheese (not gruyere or anything). There was certainly a lot of it, though.  I believe it was the most cheese I had ever seen in a bowl this size.  It was also cooked well, and served very hot.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Promises of “the best onion soup in town” brought me to sample this place with good friends.  We all immediately knew something is wrong when we looked at the cheese when the soup was delivered.  “What type of cheese do you use?” I asked the proprieter.  His response, in a thick french accent was, “Swiss.”  I’m sorry, but there was no way this was any kind of swiss cheese I’ve ever seen.  Its taste was quite familiar, though.  It reminded me of that fine “white american” cheese they serve at Subway.  Or should I say (in a thick french accent), “Metro?”

Rating: 4 out of 10

The menu says, “Hearty beef broth,” and “Swiss and Parmesan,” but I found neither to be true.  The broth was not hearty (might have been vegetarian), and there was swiss, but no parmesan.  Nonetheless, it was pretty good for a chain type of soup.

Rating 6.75 out of 10

Finally, an Internet-recommended soup that beat all of my expectations.  Very nice cheese, and very sweet, tasty onions.  We had four of them delivered to the table, and they were very consistently great.

Rating: 9 out of 10

It definitely has a lot of cheese, and is browned nicely.  They use Jack and Parmesan, which happened to hit the spot for me this evening, but it’s not traditional.  The broth is nothing to write home about.

Rating: 6 out of 10

This restaurant seems to be owned and operated by the same people as The Metropolitan Grill (see below).  The menu claims gruyere here as opposed to emmentaler, and I believe it to be true.  The veal broth adds good flavor, and unlike my last visit to “The Met”, the cheese was fresh.

Rating: 8 out of 10

I found this place just by doing a Google search for “french onion soup” austin.  It turned out to be great!  The menu says it is a combination of “Gruyére, Swiss, and Parmesan cheeses”.  The Parmesan worried me a bit before I got there, but it actually isn’t overpowering.  It ends up being a great combination done right.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Although the broth tasted amazing and the onions were excellent, the cheese was not melted completely.  If they had left it in the oven a bit longer, this soup would have been outstanding.  The room was dark, so the picture is not very good.  What probably looks like browned cheese is actually parsley.  So, they will lose some ratings points for not cooking it enough, but I will revist this restaurant soon and re-review with some optimism.

 Edit (11/3/07): I revisited, and asked for the cheese to be melted well, and it was very good.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Nice emmental swiss, and a good amount of it.  The broth could use some work, and I suspect the onions were not adequately carmelized.

Rating: 7 out of 10

I was excited to try this soup out because I read of their use of comté cheese.  I have to say it’s a great choice!  The onions were carmelized perfectly, and the broth was excellent.

Rating 8 out of 10

Traditional Gruyere, good quantity of cheese, and fairly tasty broth.  Located in the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Rating: 7 out of 10

As you can see, it arrived as what appeared to be some sort of “soup mutation”.  It looked like it might be the start of something good, and I sent it back for some more cheese.  On the second try, it came back looking much better, and I have to say that the broth tasted excellent.  I imagine they use one of their own beers.  The cheese was decent swiss, and eventually the quantity was adequate.  I suppose you need to ask for “extra cheese” as a practice here. 

Rating: 6 out of 10

Another Internet recommendation, and another disappointment.  The online menu had a picture that made it look like the best soup I’ve ever seen.  Click on the picture above, and you will see that the picture on their website was misleading.  I assume they’ve changed the recipe.  The cheese was cheap swiss, and the soup tasted like a glass of water with an entire salt-shaker dumped in.

Rating 4.5 out of 10

I can’t believe that someone recommended the onion soup at this place.  As you can see from the photo, no cheese on the top, and no baking of the soup.  There was some shredded (mostly unmelted) cheese at the bottom.  I asked them why a place that touts the fact that they were founded in 1889 in Paris would serve a totally untraditional F.O.S.  They just replied that they didn’t have the facilities.  Why they even bother to serve it in a crock is a mystery to me.  

Also known as Paul Maison de Qualité.

Rating: 1 out of 10

Very good combination of swiss and mozzarella.  Onions could have been carmelized better, or perhaps it needed more wine for the broth.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Standard pub-style soup, with provolone cheese, usually well-crisped.  Broth is nice.

Rating: 6 out of 10

The presentation of the F.O.S at this restaurant has something very unique.  In my opinion, they’ve done something here that is long overdue, and secretly wished for by all who love this dish.  They actually serve the soup with a pair of scissors (click on the picture to see a better view).  That’s right…there’s no need for the secret glances to make sure nobody is watching as you separate a particularly long string of cheese with your fingers.  This feature alone would warrant a very high rating, but the soup also happens to be excellent.  It is a perfect combination of Gruyere and Swiss.

Rating: 9 of 10

Exellent soup, with lots and lots of Gruyere cheese.

Rating 8.5 of 10

Cheese is emmentaler and parmigiano, and a broth that tastes of sherry and fresh onions.  Never stingy on the cheese, and always served hot, this one used to be atop my list.  My most recent visit bumped it way down, as the cheese was not fresh, and soup has lost some of its taste.

Update: 2/27/2008: This soup is back in form.  Excellent cheese, and great tasting broth.  Increased rating and ranking. 

Rating 8 of 10

Recommended by several people on the web, and it did not disappoint.  Plenty of gruyere, and very sweet onion broth.  Located in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, in the conservatory.

Rating: 8 of 10

Served in an iron crock, which kept the soup and cheese hot.  Unfortunately, it didn’t help with the flavors, which were lacking.  Located in the Red Rock Casino Resort and Spa.

Rating: 6.5 of 10

Well, at least they aren’t pretending to be something they aren’t.  Typical onion soup for a large restaurant chain.  Cheese is provolone and parmesan.  Broth tastes like it’s out of a packet.

Rating: 4.5 of 10

Low cost swiss cheese and immature broth make this soup not very exciting.

Rating 4.5 of 10

Cheese is a blend of Gruyere, Swiss, and Parmesan.  Tasty and cooked correctly, but the soup itself was quite bland.  Located inside the Planet Hollywood Casino and Hotel in Las Vegas.

Rating: 6.5 of 10

Fantastic blend of Gruyere and Jarlsberg!  Lots of delicious cheese, and excellent presentation.  Unfortunately, the room was a bit dark to get a good picture.  The soup could have used a bit more flavor, but it was made up for by the taste of the cheese.  Located inside the Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Although I visited the restaurant in Bellevue, it is a chain with restaurants all over the country.  The cheese was on the cheap-tasting side, but was plentiful.  A bit too much of a peppery taste in the soup, and the “garnish” is a bit over-the-top.  There are not a lot of restaurants with French Onion Soup in this geographical area, so this certainly falls under the category of “better than nothing,” but it lacks the flavor and sophistication that I’ve come to expect.

Rating: 5.5 out of 10

A fabulous surprise find, in midtown Manhattan.  Lots of great cheese, and a very flavorful soup.  Even some hidden cheese at the bottom, which is always a delight.  This is French Onion Soup done right.

Rating: 9 of 10

It was good for a pubhouse style onion soup.  The cheese was a combination of regular swiss and mozzerella, and much more mozzerella than swiss.  The result was light on flavor, but nice on texture.

Rating: 5.5 of 10

I’m blogging this as I still sit at the restaurant. Interesting soup, as the cheese was an extremely mild gruyere.  So mild, that I did not believe it was really gruyere, but the server asked the chef, and says it really was.  The cheese did stick to the bread a bit more than I would have liked, but not too much.  Also, there was a good amount of cheese.

 Rating: 7.5 of 10

Decent soup.  Cheap tasting swiss cheese (not Gruyere), and as you can see from the picture, it was a little bit too stuck to the bread.  In my world, the bread is only an instrument used to keep the cheese in form, and the cheese should be able to be eaten without having giant, soggy pieces of bread eaten along with it.  The soup also had too much black pepper in it.  More cheese would have been desirable.

Rating: 6.5 of 10

Another traditional and tasty soup.  Nice amount of gruyere.

Rating: 8 of 10

This one wins the awards for freshest ingredients.  The soup and cheeses are non-traditional, but quite tasty.  The vegetables used are grown at their own farm a couple of miles away and picked daily, and the bread used is baked the same day.  You can taste the freshness, and the soup is served with incredible toast that is baked that day as well.  Ask for a tour of the kitchen and you will see their bakery.  The biggest problem is that the soup is too small; likely because it is included with your meal.  The trick here is to ask for more.

Edit (12/28/2007): Added picture, and increased rating/ranking.  Bern’s uses 5 fresh cheese on their soup.  They are: Geitost, Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina, and Goat.

Rating: 8.5 of 10

I’m currently catching up on various places where I’ve had F.O.S. over the past few months.  The idea of this blog is that it will be updated as I try new places.

Please add restaurant suggestions as comments to this entry!

Sorry, but this one just doesn’t cut it.  Seattle locals rave about the French Onion Soup at this place, but they’ve obviously not had the real thing.  Although the broth and onions are decent, the cheese appears to just be shredded and dumped in.  There’s no evidence of any baking, and it is served in a regular soup bowl; not a crock.

Rating 2 of 10

This restaurant is a Mecca for those of us who love cheese.  They use a blend of a few of their hundreds of cheeses on hand to make a fabulous F.O.S.  This makes it a bit non-traditional, yet delicious.  I would never say that an F.O.S. has too much cheese, but I will say for this one that it has not enough soup!  I think a bigger bowl is called for.  However, this would make it tough to tell the difference between their soup and their fondue.  Oh well, such problems!

Edit (11/18/2007): The three cheeses are emmentaler, beaufort, and hoch ybrig.  Picture added.

 Rating 9.5 of 10

Just ate there tonight (5/29/2007), and enjoyed the F.O.S.  Doesn’t make my top ten, but it is of high quality.  Seemed like my dining companion had more cheese, and also had his cheese more well done, both of which are important to me.  The restaurant gets bonus points for having a cheese course, although their “Gouda aged 4 years” tasted more like 1 year to me.

Rating: 7 of 10