Well, that’s a crock of….heaven!

The Dish: French Onion Soup
The Place: Zinc Bistro
The Location:  Kierland Commons  15034 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, AZ 85254  P: 480.603.0922

By: Glen Davis

Some time ago, I recall watching a show on the Food Network and a local Arizona chef said that the best French Onion Soup he’d ever had was at Zinc Bistro in the Kierland shopping district of North Scottsdale.

I’ve always been a big fan of melted cheese. Heck, melted cheese on a spare tire would go down well (if paired with the right wine) and a great onion soup should never be missed. Right there is the reason I spent lunch today at Zinc Bistro with the Publisher of AZ Food and Wine.

So, soup is soup, right? Uhm….nope! The nicely black-and-white outfitted server brought over a little plate with a messy looking white crock on it. At first look, I was quite happy. What appeared to be “messy” was in fact overflowing melted gruyere cheese. Believe me, you’ll find yourself scraping the sides of the crock after eating all of the wonderful contents inside.

A look from the top of the crock (make a note….’top of the crock’ is a good name for a soup only restaurant someday), you see that the wonderful sharp gruyere covers the entire thing. I attempted to look like an adult and depress my spoon into the center of the cheese in order to fill the spoon with some soup before tearing into the cheese.

Surprise! The soup was fantastic. “Surprise” because many F.O. soups I’ve eaten were basically just vehicles for the cheese. Zinc’s is different. The wonderful brown liquid was delicious and contained a generous amount of long-cooked onions below the large crouton. The soup was so good, I have to pace myself and ensure that I was eating all parts, the soup, the crouton, the onions and the cheese, all proportionately. I did not want to finish one element too quickly.

So, “the best French Onion Soup I ever ate?” Yes, definitely! Try some the next time you are looking for a light lunch or as an appetizer to a nice dinner at Zinc Bistro. Let them know that every single friend that has had the soup before you, suggested that you must try it.

I’ll bet you’ll be smiling as you scrape the sides of your own crock of heaven very soon!

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