Best onion soup on both sides of the Atlantic?
One of our most beloved appetizers is the Onion Soup Gratiné, Façon les Halles. Almost daily, I am told by guests that this is the best onion soup they have ever had, and I could not agree more! As a fellow lover of the onion soup I usually respond: ”Yes, this is the best onion soup this side of the Atlantic. It is simply delicious!”
The more I think and talk to our patrons about it, the more certain I am that this is the best onion soup on either side of the Atlantic!
To fully understand why our onion soup is delicious, first we must go over the history. So, what, exactly, does “Façon les Halles” mean? Les Halles used to be the wholesale food market in Paris where restaurants and markets bought meat, fish, vegetables, and flowers each morning. The surrounding restaurants were often open all night and onion soup was a popular dish; the most famous of these restaurants, the “Pied de Cochon”, still exists today. It is one of the few les Halles restaurants remaining, as the majority of the Paris food hub moved to the suburb Rungis near Orly airport in 1969. So, ”Onion Soup, Façon Les Halles” means that our onion soup is made in the style of these historic, traditional Parisian restaurants.
Part of what makes our onion soup so great is, of course, the recipe and ingredients used. For our onion soup, we start with our own stock made with top-notch onions and some secret ingredients! We cover this base with croutons made from bread from the best local bakery in the Triangle, then top it with a generous heap of gruyère (regular swiss cheese won’t do!).
The savory cheese on bread flavors melt in your mouth from the first spoonful to the last. The complex flavors that make up the base of the onion soup follow as you continue to enjoy this simple but delightful dish, which is fantastic paired with a nice white Burgundy! For the full Provence experience, continue your meal with our specialty: a whole fish stuffed with garlic, lemon, and rosemary, coated in rock salt and baked, then filleted table side and served with hollandaise sauce or herb-infused olive oil sauce. Absolutely delicious. Finish your meal with one of our pastry chef Martina’s delightful desserts (the crème brûlée and profiteroles are customer favorites!) for an unbeatable meal.
Pierre