French Onion Soup Page

Good provolone, and one of the better non-beef broths make this soup a good lunch indulgence.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

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This restaurant is located in the Westin City Center.  The broth and cheese are good, but the odd shape of the “bowl” dictates that the cheese to soup ratio cannot meet the bar.

Rating 6.5 out of 10

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Nothing good to say about this one.  Broth was very salty, and tasted like it was out of a can.  Cheese was sparse.

Rating: 3.5 out of 10

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This restaurant is located in the Ritz-Carlton, Marina Del Rey.  The soup is advertised to use “California Gruyere”, and the cheese is really good.  It was a bit stuck to the bread, so it could have been even better.  The broth was quite tasty, and it really hit the spot.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10

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I’ve been searching for a soup that falls into this category for years: one that is available in the terminal of an airport.  This place is located in terminal C of the Newark Liberty International Airport.  I’ve always been very strict about soups that are ineligible for rating on this blog.  In particular, if the restaurant does not serve soup as a regular item on the menu, I will not rate it.  If the restaurant is not generally open to the public, I will not rate it.  There was a question in my mind as to whether or not this is an eligible soup.  Since it is “airside”, that is, you must pass through security to eat it, is it generally open to the public?  I was leaning towards not reviewing it.  In fact, I’ve decided not to…just kidding.  Actually, if you really want to have this soup and not get on a plane, it is still possible.  It’s simple: just by a refundable ticket for a flight.  That will get you through security, and then when you’re done, ask for a refund.  Fortunately, this is in Continental’s terminal, and they are very quick with crediting refunds back to your credit card.  Just make sure that you don’t do it too close to departure time for the flight you are on.  There is some cutoff where it is too late to get a refund.  I think it is 1 hour before the flight.  Oh, the soup.  It is pretty awful.  Completely tasteless mozzarella cheese, and broth probably from a can.

Rating 3.5 out of 10

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Great cheese was wasted on this bland, uninspiring soup.  I had very high hopes, especially after tasting the excellent gruyere.  But the soup had no trace of caramelization, no trace of sherry, or anything else other than hot water that had a slight onion flavor.  This one avoided a “Poor” rating, solely due to the excellent cheese.

Rating: 5.0 out of 10

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I had really high hopes for this soup.  The menu is nearly a carbon copy of Artisanal, which (of course) has the #1-rated French Onion Soup in the world.  However, for some reason the cheese and broth were both bland.  They use “imported” emmentaler, gruyere, and comté.  I was really disappointed, but mostly because of my expectations.

Rating: 7.0 out of 10

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Just when I thought there was nothing more that could be done with F.O.S. comes this new invention by Chef Terrance Brennan of Artisanal Bistro and Artisanal Brasserie (rated the #1 French Onion Soup in the world by your favorite onion soup blogger).  Testing right now at Artisanal Brasserie in Bellevue is a “French Onion Soup Fondue”!  It contains their “Artisanal Blend” fondue, with their onion soup broth, along with onions themselves.  Although as many of you know I don’t normally eat the bread in the F.O.S., I still really enjoyed this fondue.  It’s also great with the optional apples and kielbasa.  Since this is not a soup, I will not rate it here, but I thought you should all know about it.  I can’t imagine having this fondue *and* the actual french onion soup on a regular basis, so I probably won’t be eating this too often (because I don’t want to miss out on the #1 soup).  I would love to hear other comments from people who try this!

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Sorry about the lighting.  This soup’s broth was much better than expected.  The onions were nicely caramelized, and there was the right amount of sherry.   Unfortunately, the cheese was tasted like a very cheap swiss.  The richness of the broth was ruined by the crappy cheese.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

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Excellent cheese, good broth.  I’m fairly certain that it wasn’t gruyere, even though the server claimed it to be.  The cheese was very tasty, and browned nicely (as you can see).  At the very bottom of the bowl, the broth was especially salty.  Otherwise, it would have been top rated!

Rating: 8.0 out of 10

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I remember the old “Hamburger Hamlets” in Westwood, Beverly Hills, and West LA, and their amazing F.O.S.  New owner, slightly different name, and it’s just not the same.  Pretty good, but not the same.  Seems like the same combination of cheese that I couldn’t quite identify back then, but now I would say is gruyere and jack.Rating: 7.0 out of 10

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The overpowering taste of parmesean ruins this soup.  There’s emmentaler in there somewhere, but I would never have known.  The broth was decent.

Rating 6.5 out of 10

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Why didn’t anyone think of this sooner?  An onion soup with an optional glass of sherry on the side!  It’ll cost you two loonies, but it’s worth it.  The soup does stand on its own, but is enhanced even more by the addition of the glass you see in the picture.  Good quality swiss cheese, and full control of the sherry level makes for a great soup.

Rating 7.5 out of 10

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My friend Andrew and I were lured into this restaurant by a “barker” woman standing at the entrance.  Her whole presentation was based upon the fact that “the onion soup is to die for”.  Well, noting that some of my previous tastings that featured comté were very good, it was worth a try.  Well, not really.  The broth was bland and the cheese was gross.

Rating: 4.0 out of 10

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Awesome gruyere, and some of the best broth ever.  There was nothing negative to say about this soup.  Perhaps it’s their use of vidalia onions, or just the quality of the cheese…I don’t know.  It was simply spectacular.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10

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