Onion Soup

Beloved for its restorative properties, onion soup is to France what chicken soup is to America."Onion soup is . . . rich without expense, savory without complication, and, best of all, comforting," wrote John Thorne in his 1979 "Treatise on Onion Soup."The French have cherished onion soup for centuries, but, according to food authority Waverly Root, "apparently no region lays claim to it."Or perhaps every region. Chef Laurent Champalle recently reeled off eight regional variations, from Alsatian onion soup with beer and sour cream to onion soup Champenoise, which uses a whole bottle of champagne.

Baltimore-area restaurants took to social media on Wednesday to announce weather-related specials, closings and promotions: Food trucks mostly kept off the road. They Gypsy Queen, Miss Shirley's, South Carolina BBQ, Iced Gems, Kommie Pigs and Wheyrich all Tweeted out notices that they would not be operating on Wednesday. The Manor Tavern in Monkton was closing for lunch on Wednesday. In Ellicott City, Tersiguel's was closing for lunch and dinner on Wednesday. Establishments in Federal Hill and Fells Point Tweeted out messages on Wednesday afternoon assuring patrons that they were remaining open.

In yesterday's Recipe Finder column in A La Carte, an ingredient was missing from the Cheesy Onion Soup recipe. After thickening the soup, one gallon of warm water should be added with the remaining milk.The Sun regrets the error.Tarte Tatin, also called a caramelized apple pie, and Cheesy Onion Soup are delicious reasons to spend some time in the kitchen.Sylvia E. Harman of Baltimore lost her recipe for the pie which she says was wonderful. Not to worry, M. Lovelace of Glen Burnie answered her request.

It's been 10 years since Cindy Wolf and Tony Foreman opened Petit Louis in the Roland Park space that for nearly a century was Morgan Millard, also known as Morgan & Millard. There was a time when you could make a Gilman boy's lips quiver just by mentioning "The Morgue. " Ten years later, Petit Louis is a category-owner. On a random weeknight, it comes close to soup-to-nuts perfection. And these days, it's doing so in a manner that feels effortless and natural, the way a restaurant, or a person, behaves when it knows it's loved.

There's no reason to go hungry at the A-1 Crab Haven. The portions are hefty, the courses numerous, the prices reasonable and the selection, especially of seafood and the namesake crab, extensive.Unfortunately, the food didn't always taste as good as it looked -- or sounded.But that didn't seem to deter the Saturday night crowd that filled the comfortable dining room of this Essex restaurant. Everyone seemed to be having a good time, especially the folks in the adjacent bar who were carrying on -- loudly -- as Duke beat Kentucky in the NCAA basketball tournament.

It's been 10 years since Cindy Wolf and Tony Foreman opened Petit Louis in the Roland Park space that for nearly a century was Morgan Millard, also known as Morgan & Millard. There was a time when you could make a Gilman boy's lips quiver just by mentioning "The Morgue. " Ten years later, Petit Louis is a category-owner. On a random weeknight, it comes close to soup-to-nuts perfection. And these days, it's doing so in a manner that feels effortless and natural, the way a restaurant, or a person, behaves when it knows it's loved.

Virginia S. Hodges of Baltimore says this sauce was one of her mother's favorites. The recipe is for Dolores M. Barnes. Don't let the light color of this from-scratch sauce fool you, the lemony flavor is quite strong.Lemon Sauce1/2 cup sugar1 tablespoon cornstarch1 cup water1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice1/8 teaspoon salt2 tablespoons butterCombine sugar, cornstarch and water in saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly until thickened, not quite the consistency of mayonnaise.

There is bar food, and then there is bar food. Jeannier's serves the second kind.The first kind is nachos and wings and burgers with fries. The other is onion soup gratinee made with a delicious homemade broth, crab omelets and a sirloin steak sandwich. With oeufs a la neige (floating island) for dessert.Jeannier's is predominantly a traditional French, special-night-out restaurant located in an apartment house, with all the interior-design excitement that an apartment house dining room usually generates.

Baltimore-area restaurants took to social media on Wednesday to announce weather-related specials, closings and promotions: Food trucks mostly kept off the road. They Gypsy Queen, Miss Shirley's, South Carolina BBQ, Iced Gems, Kommie Pigs and Wheyrich all Tweeted out notices that they would not be operating on Wednesday. The Manor Tavern in Monkton was closing for lunch on Wednesday. In Ellicott City, Tersiguel's was closing for lunch and dinner on Wednesday. Establishments in Federal Hill and Fells Point Tweeted out messages on Wednesday afternoon assuring patrons that they were remaining open.

The BowmanThe Bowman, 9306 Harford Road, (410) 665-8600. The Bowman, just outside the Beltway in Parkville, seems to enjoy a good reputation and a loyal clientele. It's an inviting, attractive restaurant with a warm dining room and a comfortable atmosphere. We found the service and the food a little less accomplished than on earlier visits, but still enjoyed our meal, especially the French onion soup ($3.25), with its rich, buttery edge, and a nicely done strip steak ($16.95). $$moderate.

You may member Miss Irene's as a singularly louche Fells Point dive bar. It closed a few years ago and was bought and renovated by the chef and management team from the Waterfront Hotel, just down the block. In part because of the mare's nest of pipes and tubes under the cobblestones of Fells Point, this renovation took a long, long time. (Disclosure: At one early point, I was following the renovations at Miss Irene's with the intention of writing about the million little things that go into opening a restaurant.

1 Wings dripping with sauce. : Wings were what inspired this idea in the first place. 2 French onion soup : (both for the breath and the stringy cheese problems). 3 Broccoli,: for the little bits that get stuck in the teeth. 4 Spinach.: It's a cliche but ... 5 Any long pasta with red sauce. : Unless you're Italian, you'll look silly eating it and the sauce will get on your clothes. 6 A house salad that has raw onions. : 7 Steamed crabs. : You simply can't look romantic tearing apart a crustacean.

OK, I agree Kamikazis isn't the greatest name for a new restaurant, given the large proportion of new restaurants that crash and burn. But it does suggest that this is not your typical Japanese steakhouse. For some reason, hibachi cooking has always been more of a hit in the suburbs than in Baltimore city, maybe because it lends itself to high jinks and family fun. (I don't really like having food thrown at me, even by an artiste; but Nichi Bei Kai in Lutherville was my daughter's favorite restaurant when she was little.

WASHINGTON - Thomas Keller is watching me slice an onion, and he is not pleased. "Get closer to the food," he says and demonstrates that instead of keeping my distance, I should be hovering over the onion and the knife. Closer is safer, Keller says. Then, with a flash of humor, he tells me you can't show fear in the kitchen, otherwise the knives will sense it and trouble will follow. "It is like dogs," he says. "They know when you are afraid." As a former paperboy, Keller knows about dogs.

Some call it creamy onion soup, some call it the Outback Steakhouse Walkabout Soup. Kimberly Morris of Baltimore combined the two and requested an Outback Steakhouse creamy onion soup. Chris Mullen, also of Baltimore, responded with a recipe that she says comes from the book "Top Secret Restaurant Recipes." She notes there are many excellent recipes in the book, including this one. Outback Steakhouse Walkabout Soup Serves 4 as an appetizer 8 cups water 8 beef bouillon cubes 3 medium white onions 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup heavy cream 1 1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese Heat water to a boil in a large stockpot.

It always surprises me that Columbia doesn't have more nice restaurants. (I'm not counting chains.) There's a huge, affluent and fairly sophisticated customer base there. Who knows? Maybe that's why Piccolo's was packed on a Wednesday night.Or maybe it was the return of chef Michael Wagner, who was in charge of Piccolo's kitchen for three years, developed a following and then left to open Planet Hollywood. He moved on to the Tomato Palace in Columbia and is now back at Piccolo's, with a new menu of contemporary Italian cuisine.

You may member Miss Irene's as a singularly louche Fells Point dive bar. It closed a few years ago and was bought and renovated by the chef and management team from the Waterfront Hotel, just down the block. In part because of the mare's nest of pipes and tubes under the cobblestones of Fells Point, this renovation took a long, long time. (Disclosure: At one early point, I was following the renovations at Miss Irene's with the intention of writing about the million little things that go into opening a restaurant.

The view from Michael's Riviera Grill is soothingly spectacular. Some would say the Inner Harbor, a block away and many stories below, never looked better, as noiseless crowds stream along its sidewalks and boats of all sizes float through the early evening shadows.From atop the Brookshire Hotel, at Calvert and Lombard streets, even the traffic is quiet; it takes an ambulance to mar the serenity.And it takes superb food to top this view. That is exactly what we enjoyed there recently -- high quality food, carefully prepared.

There is bar food, and then there is bar food. Jeannier's serves the second kind.The first kind is nachos and wings and burgers with fries. The other is onion soup gratinee made with a delicious homemade broth, crab omelets and a sirloin steak sandwich. With oeufs a la neige (floating island) for dessert.Jeannier's is predominantly a traditional French, special-night-out restaurant located in an apartment house, with all the interior-design excitement that an apartment house dining room usually generates.

In yesterday's Recipe Finder column in A La Carte, an ingredient was missing from the Cheesy Onion Soup recipe. After thickening the soup, one gallon of warm water should be added with the remaining milk.The Sun regrets the error.Tarte Tatin, also called a caramelized apple pie, and Cheesy Onion Soup are delicious reasons to spend some time in the kitchen.Sylvia E. Harman of Baltimore lost her recipe for the pie which she says was wonderful. Not to worry, M. Lovelace of Glen Burnie answered her request.