French Onion Soup Page

I had no idea what to expect when I read the menu at this place.  It said, “non-classic onion soup, with cheese and a slow-cooked egg.”  What was brought to me was the bowl you see above, with a poached egg, and 2 or 3 tiny shards of cheese from a grater.  On top of this was poured some onion soup broth with much fanfare.  This is apparently an invention of master chef José Andrés.  It is visually appalling, and unfortunately tastes not much better than it looks.  Although they seem quite proud of the presentation, it is certainly not helped by the fact that the bowl looks like a commode.  I would say that this theme continues in every aspect of this dish.

Rating: 1.0 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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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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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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This is the third F.O.S. I’ve reviewed with a “puff pastry” on top (see Papillon and Christine Lee’s).  While I considered the others to be unique and still decent, this one does not “hold up” (in more ways than one).  The pastry was as good as the others, but there was no cheese to be found, at all.  I believe I could taste the remnants of cheese in the broth itself, but with nothing there to keep it on top of the soup, it was invisible.  So, rather than saying there was no cheese, I guess I’ll say that there was no cheese texture, and that by itself is unforgivable.

Rating: 4.0 out of 10

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Nice presentation, via the brass bowl right out of the oven.  However, the bowl is tiny, the cheese is extremely mild and hopelessly stuck to the bread.  The broth is also bland.  The cheese was so mild that I didn’t really believe it was gruyere.  I asked the server what it was, and he said, “provolone”.  I pointed out to him that the menu said gruyere.  He went back to the chef, and he still claimed gruyere.  In any case, not a stellar showing for this high end, highly rated steakhouse.

Rating: 4.0 out of 10

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Well, there’s not much good to say about this one.  The menu said it would have melted mozzarella cheese, and if I searched hard, I could find *something* that might have been mozzarella.

Rating: 2.5 out of 10

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To start with, this may be the strangest presentation I’ve ever seen.  It was served with a traditional onion soup crock, but the soup was not in there!  Inside the crock was a smaller soup cup which contained the soup.  I suppose the vestigal crock was just there to keep people from touching the cup right out of the oven?  The presentation notwithstanding, the soup was horrible.  They boasted a vegetarian broth, and it was bland.  The cheese seemed to be a smoked provalone.

Rating: 3 out of 10

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I should mention that the rest of the food and service was outstanding.  The soup, however, needs some work.  The cheap swiss was overcooked (as you can see from the photo), and the broth was quite bland.

Rating: 5 out of 10

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A couple of hunks of provolone and immature broth.  Not served in a crock, this dish appears very out of place on the menu and in the restaurant which is a mostly German-themed place.

Rating 4.5 out of 10

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Cheap swiss and bland broth makes this one useful only in case of emergency.  Located at the Poplar Creek Golf Course.

Rating: 4.5 out of 10

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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

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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

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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

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