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Except when we’re experiencing an L.A. heat wave, soup’s the perfect lunch food for winter months. It’s filling, tasty and restorative, goes great with half a sandwich or a salad and can even qualify as a meal in itself. So around midday, if you find yourself wondering, “Is it soup yet?” here are places to go where the answer is emphatically, “Yes.” CORNER BAKERY CAFE (189 The Grove Dr., at the Grove, next to Maggiano’s. Beverly/Fairfax, 323-965-7999; no delivery, but you can get food to go). A relatively new chain, Corner Bakery Cafe has opened a branch at the Grove and another in Westwood. Unless you’re chain-phobic, this is exactly the kind of place you want in proximity to work. Everything I’ve tried is freshly prepared, pleasantly and promptly presented in comfy surroundings, flavor-ific, and, as my chicken soup-making grandmother might’ve said, the food is “such a deal.” Nothing’s more than seven bucks, in keeping with the place’s informality (order at the counter and food’s brought to your table). For $6.29, you get a cup of soup with a half sandwich/panini or salad. Soups change daily, but four are likely to be on the menu at any given time. Exotic Azteca Chicken & Rice is a delicious, mildly spicy soup with a definite Mexican taste thanks to cilantro, tomatoes and onions, and there’s a surprising ingredient, chick peas. White Cheddar & Broccoli is thicker, heartier, cheesy without being overpowered by cheddar, and a painless way to down a healthy quotient of broccoli. Roasted Tomato Soup tastes almost smoky and comes with crunchy croutons. The Caesar’s a decent if not special accompaniment, but I’m fond of the Chicken Pomodori panini, a pressed sandwich with attractive grill marks. Bring baked goods back to the office for snacking; moist cinnamon creme cake is wickedly good. LE SAIGON (11611 Santa Monica Blvd., two blocks east of Barrington, West Los Angeles, 310-312-2929; no delivery, closed Mondays). Pho Ga is the Vietnamese equivalent of the Jewish penicillin we know as “chicken soup.” Le Saigon serves it in gigantic bowls nearly impossible to finish; six dollars for soup is actually reasonable when it’s the whole meal. Brimming with rice noodles, crunchy greens, and somewhat fatty chicken — if you’re afraid of a little fat, stay home — the broth is intensely flavorful. Should I get the flu this season, I’m getting take-out from here. Chin Nam (rice noodles in broth with well-cooked beef) tastes very beefy indeed, but the chewy meat’s problematic; maybe I should’ve ordered it rare. You can also get pho with beef meat balls or shrimp. Service is prompt, but there’s often a line — this tiny place is a neighborhood favorite — so by the time you sit, you may want an appetizer. Goi Cuon spring rolls fit the bill. Soft, chewy wrappers surround basil, mint, vermicelli, shrimp and roast pork (or you can order them with tofu), and come with a peanut dipping sauce. A limited menu also offers rice bowls with meats, but pho is the main attraction. BG TO GO CAFE (12950 Ventura Blvd. at Coldwater, Studio City, 818-366-3246; they deliver and do take-out). Bistro Garden is an old-school, ladies-who-lunch Valley institution, but next door is a hipper, quicker and less pricey option, BG TO GO. Despite what the name implies, you can, in fact, eat inside or on the patio; as at Corner Bakery, you place your order at the counter, and it’s brought to your table. Typical bistro fare dominates the menu: Niçoise Salad, the Croque Monsieur (grilled ham and Swiss) with pommes frites, cold poached salmon. But where there’s a bistro, there’s soup: each day you’ll find Onion Soup Gratin (it has a slice of French bread with melted Swiss floating in the middle), Lentil Soup and Vegetable Soup, plus a daily special. The day I went, there was a terrific Carrot Soup, bright orange and bursting with a perky, carroty essence that dominated a chicken stock base. Onion Soup was less successful by my standards: I like to sip the broth but leave the brown onion bits on the bottom, but the amount of broth was sadly lacking, and there were far too many onions. BG’s hit and miss, but when it hits, it hits a homer. |
