I thought that in this sickly season, it would be worth resurrecting our Taste Test Thursday post of two years ago entitled “The Best Chicken Noodle Soup in Dallas.” Our goal was to sleuth out the take-out soups you can crawl home with, curl up under a mountain of blankets, and sip shuddering and shaking, but gratefully.
We did not come to any earth-shattering conclusions, though, not surprisingly, the leader in the camp was Eatzi’s, with its clear broth, comforting rosemary aroma, and thick shreds of chicken. Cindi’s New York Deli’s soup was named the panacea for noodle-lovers, while Zoe’s Kitchen’s lemony chicken soup with orzo scored decently. We are not, ultimately, a city of delis. We are not a city of schmaltz.
I would like to add my recent champion: the chicken soup with shells and lemon at Commissary, which opened just in time for downtown holiday shopping, and flu and cold season. I would know. I’ve turned to its wondrous chicken stock, delicate shells, and chicken shreds from the rotisserie birds that turn in view of the counter. It’s soothing and limpid, potently flavorful with garlic and lemon, and topped with a flurry of green herbs. And if the thermometer is reading 101 Fahrenheit and your throat is crying mercy, it will make you light a candle somewhere.
It’s all you need in a soup. I crave it. It’s almost worth being sick.
