Along with scarves and gloves, down jackets and cozy boots, a good hot soup can warm you all the way to your toes. Scooping up a bowlful of creamy bisque, chowder, stew, consommé, or chicken pot pie Berks County-style is a surefire, time-tested tradition for instant gratification — especially in bone-chilling weather. Hot soup not only heals the body but is a proven way to gain oodles of vitamins and minerals, fiber and fluids, while quickly sating the appetite, thus leading to better weight control.
Ask anyone about his or her love relationship with soup. It seems everyone has a favorite — one special soup that eclipses all others. Here are four topping the charts locally, and all the restaurants that make them insist that their patrons will literally never allow them to take these soups off their regular menu. This winter, lift a spoon and see for yourself. Let the delicious warming begin!
Butternut Squash
Judy’s on Cherry
This soup is so eternally popular, it causes Chef-Owner Judy Henry to laugh when she talks about it. “Let’s put it this way,” she says. “If I’m looking over the reservations list for an upcoming evening, and it’s going to be a big crowd, I let the kitchen know it’s time to start peeling butternut squash!” The ingredients are not a secret, she says, and some diners are surprised to discover there is a hint of curry beneath its luscious, late-sun-gold interior.
“The butternut squash soup pays homage to a very dear friend, Steve Yeanish, former chef-owner of the Oley Valley Inn,” says Chef Judy. “I created it to emulate a similar soup that I enjoyed eating at his restaurant on many occasions. It has been a staple at Judy’s on Cherry from the first day that we put it on the menu more than 17 years ago. We have happily shared our recipe with thousands of patrons over the years! It is a perfect addition to any fall menu.”
30 S. 4th St., Reading
610.374.8511
Salsiccia and Faggioli Bianco Zuppa
Folino Estate
Full-bodied and delightfully spiced, served steaming hot, Folino’s Italian sausage and cannellini bean soup is all you really need to lift your spirits higher as the days grow shorter. Andrea Folino believes there’s one key reason why her patrons adore this soup. She says, “I would say our soup is special because it tastes like sitting down at an Italian grandmother's table and eating her soup. It’s full of flavor, thanks to the Italian herbs we infuse with it.” This soup simmers for a long time, allowing the meat and vegetables to meld.
Even if you didn’t grow up Italian, you will develop your own personal culinary nostalgia starting with the first taste of this utterly satisfying soup.
340 Old Route 22, Kutztown
484.452.3633
French Onion
Ganly’s Irish Pub and Restaurant
Served in a cup or a crock, the French Onion Soup at Ganly’s is a longtime staple. And it seems to hold a mysterious, alluring ingredient you can’t quite put your finger on, until you consult with the man who makes it. Head Chef Sean divulges, “It has an Irish flair; it has Guinness in it!” The flavor is indeed “a little more robust” than most French Onion soup, he says, “but it’s mainly a beef stock with caramelized onions.” Croutons go on top of the broth, and then the soup’s all sealed up with melted cheese on top. Instead of Gruyère, Ganly’s uses Swiss and Provolone.
“We sell this soup every single night. Even in 102-degree heat in the summer, people order it. Roughly, in a week’s span, we go through seven to eight gallons,” says Chef Sean. Perhaps some of that fantastic taste comes from this chef’s dedication. As he puts it, “The kitchen is the only place I feel like I’m at home.”
500 Brownsville Rd., Sinking Spring
610.678.2000
Tomato Bisque
Say Cheese! Restaurant & Cheese
Smooth and thick, created from scratch and blended into a gorgeous red puree, an addictively yummy Tomato Bisque is found at Say Cheese! of West Reading. “It’s been on the menu since we opened,” says General Manager Theresa Cocuzza. “It’s so popular.” Since it’s a bisque, you might wonder if it actually contains cream. “Oh yeah,” says Cocuzza, “and tomato juice and San Marzano tomatoes — which are really good quality tomatoes.” Micro basil lends just the right pungently sweet touch.
Order this with a crisp white wine and then pair it with anything you like, from salads to full entrees. Cocuzza has clear ideas about what pairs the very best: “I think definitely a Grilled Cheese Sandwich…although some people like it with our Mac ’n Cheese.” Indeed, this restaurant has an amazing 6-Cheese Mac ’n Cheese dish, plus a Smoked Salmon Mac ’n Cheese, as well as Crab and Lobster Mac.
600 Penn Avenue, West Reading
610.406.5390
