No soup in Paris?!
 

Our past trips to Paris were always for a week, but in October we had a wonderful three week stay. My husband and I are soup eaters but never looked for soup when staying for only a week. Well, on a three week stay we craved soup but could find only onion soup in the bistros! To eat soup we had to go Asian ( I guess we could have eaten Italian but it didn't occur to us at the time). Don't the French eat other than onion soup or did we just look in all the wrong places? We return for a long stay in June so any good chicken or veggie soup locations would be most appreciated.

several of thse rstaurants serve soup.

http://www.patriciawells.com/paris/ptables03.htm

We have a French woman in her late twenties who is living with us temporarily. In November, we had soup one night when she was eating with us. We live in Florida where it is still pretty warm. She said soup is something she and her family only eat when it is cold. I don't know if she is representative of the country, but she did say that it is more of a cold weather food.

I will admit to being a "soup junkie"! I love soups and they are my favorite thing to cook. I've never found a place in France that didn't have wonderful soups!

Yes , if you have only tried cafes or bistoes at lunch you might have only found onion..and in most places, not very good , IMHO!
I have had a wonderful mussel soup at Le espadon bleu, a chestnut with seared scallop in the Loire, a pureed vegetable in Normandy, and Le Bookinstres always has something on their menu as an entree that will satisfy, we had a squash or pumpkin soup there a few months ago ,with frizzled bacon, that I'd kill for!!

I think you just have might been loking in all the wog places...and the French would not consider a soup..a meal..even at lunch.

"wog" jody? LOL reminds me of cabdice:D

We had some wonderful soups in Paris. We usually go in the fall when a good warm bowl of soup is a perfect lunch. I rarely eat onion but usually have some sort of vegetable or creamy soup.
Too bad, margaret, you will have to go back and try again :)

BTW.. I can spell! I just don't type very well!

Yes, Scarlett, isn't it horrible, I just have to go back and try again :) You can bet I'll be searching in June. I've seen it suggested on this site that a way to keep enjoying Paris after many visits is to set a quest. As Elmer Fudd used to say " a hunting I will go".

Chilled soups are fairly common in Paris in the summer. We were amazed how often we saw gazpacho listed, and I had a great one at Aux Charpentiers.
Also had a wonderful chilled asparagus soup at Le Petite Prince.

Oddly enough I still remember one cold and rainy night when we had had far too big a lunch but wanted to get something for dinner and we ran all over the 6th looking for a brasserie that served onion soup, but couldn't find one to save our lives. Where is it when you need it?

LOL margaret, you are learning fast!
One of our all time favorite Italian restaurants in Paris is Le Perron, on rue Perron, just off of Blvd St Germain & rue Sts Peres..they made a wonderful pasta faggiole and one other time a spinach in broth that was out of this world.
You can get good Chinese food in Passy (16th) and have some noodle soups or egg drop.
I seem to remember a soup at Ma Bourgogne in the Marais that was some sort of creamy pea soup but very light with sherry in it..or something tasty.
In March I will do some research of my own, and find some good soups for you :)

Margaret, it's hard to believe you ate in Paris for 3 weeks in October and never came across "soupe de potiron", or pumpkin soup. We were there at the same time and I think it must have been on two thirds of the menus we saw. I often had it and it was usually delicious.

For your next vist you might want to try this little place, which is getting good reviews:

Le Bar à Soupes
33 rue de Charonne in the 11th
metro Ledru-Rollin
tel: 01 43 57 53 79.
Open 12-3pm for lunch, 6:30-11pm for dinner, closed Sunday.
"On any given day, six different soups are available, all around 5 euro, a small piece of organic bread included."

In addition to that great recommendation by Shellio, I also saw a soup place listed in my Guide Zurban from last year. It's called What's Soup at 18 rue du Dragon in the 6th. Looks like a soup bar...Yum!
Peg

I don't know how you could have missed soups in October, either (was there then and ate soup many times), but here's a thought: do you know that there are a number of French words for soup other than "soupe?" If you search a menu for "potage," "velouté," "crème de..." you'll find soups of varying consistencies. Good luck next time.

And thanks, Shellio and minimn, for the soup bar info - I'm a soup addict.

Agree with Patrick, I had a wonderful gaspacho at La Boulangerie in the 20th last trip. I'm a stickler when it comes to Mexican food and they had the spices down right. Even a hint of cilantro, which I love.

I love hot soups in cold weather, too. But will occasionally make a light brothy soup in summer. Good thing I made some chicken rice soup, y'all are making me hungry!

StCirq, did your son cook again today??

Hi, Beathchick. No, he's a B-Ball tournament, but there's some fresh tilapia in the fridge and I'm hoping he'll have some ideas on how to prepare it when he comes home.....preferably not soup;)

Beatchick, gaspacho is a Spanish cold soup (or my undestanding was wrong?). No big deal though. Those Spanish ones I have tasted were not so (or at all) spicy. I love it. I heard they call it a "liquid salad".

Yes, kappa, it is Spanish and I love it spicy!

I take that back. There is a Mexican version I googled. (looking for something spicy.)

Yes, kappa, technically it is Spanish but I've seen versions in Mexican food places. There is usually fresh onion, garlic puréed in the soup, with a bit of cumin, and I find it especially good with cilantro. Sometimes there might be a splash of lime juice.

LOL, StCirq, no tilapia fish soup today!! I think you're son is well on his way to becoming a fine chef someday should he so choose to take that path! Gee, I wonder where he gets his predilection for making great food?

Hey, Mimi, it's so good to see you back! I'm hoping your weather gets better for you soon to help you in your convalescence from your pneumonia. You could sure use some chicken soup today, couldn't you?

The only soup I've ever had in Paris was a horrible "fish soup" which still makes me weak to think of it! Not to say there aren't wonderful French soups, we were shopping all day and freezing, stopped into a very nice place and ordered the soup. We were so cold and hungry (and it was piping hot)that it wasn't too bad at first but oh my......! Pardon my walk down memory lane!

So...the fish soup makes you weak, eh?

NO SOUP FOR YOU!!!