Danny Meyer’s Chicken Soup for the Soul

The Hungry Goat — March 06, 2009

For Danny Meyer’s “Chicken Soup” initiative, the restaurateur has challenged the chefs at his esteemed restaurants (save Shake Shack) to come up with their own spin on classic Chicken Soup. For every bowl that is sold during this promotion, which lasts through March 31st, $2 will be donated to City Harvest. The truth is, in these difficult times, a comforting bowl of chicken soup might benefit the diner just as much as the charity. Especially when the soups in question feature ingredients like sweetbreads, black truffles, and ricotta dumplings.

I took to the streets in the name of culinary benevolence to see how Meyer’s restaurants were interpreting this simple dish. What I found were five very different, very delicious, interpretations of chicken soup, each a reflection of the restaurant and the chef.

1) Blue Smoke Smoked Chicken & Wild Rice Soup ($8.50)

This soup was the definition of comforting, very home-style in presentation and flavor. The savory, creamy base had a muted heat and a distinct smoky sweetness. The bowl was chock-full of tender little squares of chicken and chewy wild rice.

Grade: A

 

2) Tabla Goan Chicken & Rice Soup with Ginger & Chilies ($10.00)

The moment the bowl was placed before me, the fragrant, aromatic broth made its presence known. Replete with fresh herbs, basmati rice and thinly sliced vegetables, the thin soup delivered bold spices (tumeric, ginger) and heat (chilies) that lingered in the back of my throat. My one criticism would be that while the soup was very tasty, the chicken simply did not have a strong enough presence.

Grade: A-/B+

 

3) Eleven Madison Park Chicken Velouté with Sweetbreads & Black Truffles ($16.00)

Based on the description alone, I expected this dish to be next-level, and to the great delight of my tastebuds it delivered on every count. The silky smooth velouté was remarkably delicate and expertly seasoned. Generous shavings of black truffle and the tiniest button mushrooms added an earthy balance to the pronounced chicken flavor. As if the soup wasn’t decadent enough, three lusciously crispy sweetbreads held court in the middle of the bowl, taking the whole dish above and beyond my expectations of chicken soup.

Grade: A+

 

4) Gramercy Tavern Four Story Hills Farm Chicken Soup with Ricotta Dumplings & Salsify ($10.00)

This rendition was a close second to Eleven Madison’s. The dark broth, which glistened with glorious chicken fat, was reminiscent of the liquid in coq au vin. Light, lemony ricotta dumplings floated in the soup (looking very much like an Italian take on matzoh balls) and served their purpose by absorbing the concentrated flavors of the liquid. A yakitori-esque skewer of fatty chicken gizzards decorated the rim of the bowl, and tasted best when dunked in the soup first. What’s more, a few hearty slices of chicken, along with crosnes and paper-thin slivers of salsify, revealed themselves at the bottom of the dish. All in all, a lot of action for such a small cup of soup.

Grade: A

 

5) Union Square Cafe Chicken Tortelli & Winter Greens in Brodo di Pollo ($11.00)

The most disappointing of the bunch, the thin broth was heavily flavored by seasonal winter greens that permeated throughout. The dish was lacking a bit texturally, and tasted a tad salty, but the meatiness of the chicken filling in the tortelli helped round the flavors out. I also tasted undertones of cheese, pecorino or parmesan perhaps, which in combination with the other ingredients produced an Italian wedding soup effect.

Grade: B