RESTAURANTS : Scratchin’ Around for Chicken Soup

...Soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.

Master Chef Louis P. De Gouy

Moses Maimonides, the 12th-Century Hebrew scholar, physician and rabbi, recommended chicken soup as a remedy for “black humors.” Test studies have proven “Jewish penicillin” effective in relieving cold symptoms. And recently the Thomas J. Lipton Co. announced that they were developing a new chicken soup with lecithin, claiming the brew might benefit one’s memory.

But you don’t need an excuse to eat chicken soup. In almost every corner of the world it is the ultimate comfort food. So whether you feel a cold coming on, your memory needs improvement, or you just want a bit of quick comfort, try a little chicken soup. Cooks all over the city are waiting to make you feel better. Eat and enjoy!

American

The Who and Motley Crue are only two of the multitude of rock ‘n’ roll groups who have been eating some of the best-known chicken soup in Los Angeles at the Rainbow Bar and Grill.

“People get off planes and run in to eat. They don’t even look at the menu . . . just ask for a bowl of chicken soup,” said our waitress.

And for good reason. According to the story on the back of the menu, chief chef Miguel Murillo was discovered as a busboy “practicing his epicurean feats on his day off.” Miguel gave them a taste of his soup, and the owners immediately hired him as chef.

Filled with chunks of chicken, potatoes, zucchini and carrots, the rich and flavorful broth has a slightly creamy texture, which has been thickened by a small amount of rice. Both cup and bowl (enough for a meal) sizes are served in huge crocks with a basket of two homemade baked breads and butter.

The Rainbow Bar & Grill, 9015 Sunset Blvd., W. Hollywood, (213) 278-4232. Open daily, 6 p.m.-2 a.m.

In the Pot

Before mid-Melrose Avenue was setting trends, hopeful poets and screenwriters were sitting further west on Melrose in the Cafe Figaro, smoking cigarettes and drinking cup after cup of coffee. There’s less smoke today, but little else has changed. The new generation of young writers now sit in the corners or at the huge bay windows.

The Stragiatella Meal in a Kettle, priced at $7.25, is a huge portion of full-bodied, herb-laden chicken broth (sometimes on the salty side) loaded with tomatoes, onions, zucchini, shreds of beaten egg and half a chicken. Two gigantic slabs of whole-wheat Figaro bread (which is available to take home in 2-pound loaves for $2.25) come on the side with fresh butter. Cafe Figaro will happily wrap leftovers to go--but every time I’ve taken mine home, the soup has leaked.

Cafe Figaro, 9010 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 274-7664. Open 11:30 a.m.-12:30 a.m. Mon.-Sat., 4 p.m.-midnight Sun.

Fast Food

Chicken soup in a fast-food restaurant? Good chicken soup in a fast food restaurant? Try Chicken Natural, where chicken soup is prepared following the guidelines of the American Heart Assn. (as is the delicious spit-roasted chicken).

The skin and excess fat are removed from the already cooked bird before the meat and bones go into the pot. After some simmering, heaps of vegetables are added, then cooked until just soft. This saltless soup is seasoned with lots of pepper; at 79 cents for a generous cup-size serving, it is a bargain. The pint and quart sizes to go are $1.89 and $3.58 respectively.

Chicken Natural, 7308 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 934-2203. Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 3 p.m.-9 p.m. Sun.

French

You would never expect to find a simple back-of-the-stove, old-fashioned chicken in the pot at one of the most elegant dining rooms in Los Angeles. Yet, there it is, listed on the menu as “ Pot au Feu de Poulet Ferme au Bouillion Herbes .” And what an exquisite chicken in the pot! Half a free-range bird is cooked in chicken stock enhanced by fresh tarragon, chives, chervil (and sometimes thyme). Served on a large oval platter, the boned and skinless poached poulet is accompanied by leeks, baby red potatoes and small, perfectly turned nuggets of carrots and turnips, then garnished with fresh lacy chervil and some of the herbs from the cooking liquid. A sauce boat filled with the slightly reduced chicken broth is served as the sauce.

This is not an inexpensive dish at $25. But even without the gorgeously romantic atmosphere of the restaurant, it would be worth every penny.

L’Orangerie, 903 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 652-9770. Open 6:30 p.m.-11 p.m. daily.

Italian

When it is pouring outside, there is nothing more warming than a bowl of stracciatella fiorentina , the quintessential Italian chicken soup. Fresh chopped spinach is beaten with an egg and grated Parmesan cheese and then poured into a delicate broth to make a sort of free-form dumpling. At Piccola, it is served with warm homemade foccacia . The more formal La Famiglia next door shares the same kitchen with Piccola and also lists the soup on its menu.

Piccola & La Famiglia, 453 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills, (213) 276-6208. Piccola hours: lunch, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., Mon.-Fri.; dinner, 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Mon.-Sat. La Famiglia: 5 p.m. -11:30 p.m., Mon.-Sat.

Jewish

Most delis serve pretty good Jewish chicken soup--and most of it is probably made by cooks named Jose or Juan. Which proves that you don’t have to be a Jewish mother to cook like one.

I don’t know who does the cooking at my favorite Jewish chicken soup emporium, a funky deli called Cuisine Cuisine, which barely seats 35 people. The only decorations are odd mirrors and autographed paper plates and pictures of various celebrity patrons.

Forget the decor and treat yourself to a bowl of chicken noodle or matzo ball soup (or a combination). Two huge and fluffy homemade matzo balls float in a bowl of rich nectar filled with carrots, chicken chunks and celery bits. The soup has no visible fat and is blessedly unsalty.

Michael’s Cuisine Cuisine, 8369 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (213) 651-2928. Hours: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sun.

Southwestern

Every morning when prep cook Antonio came to work at Rosalie’s in San Francisco, he’d throw together his special pot of chicken cilantro soup. By 11, all was ready and chef Rick O’Connell and her entire kitchen staff would line up to taste it. “It really got everyone going,” says O’Connell. “I finally smartened up and put it on the menu last June.”

The clear broth is almost imperceptibly spiked with jalapeno chiles, which are removed prior to serving. Pea pods, red potato cubes, chicken and fresh cilantro float among matchsticks of zucchini, carrots and celery. A small cobette of sweet corn sits in the center of the bowl. When Rosalie’s came to Los Angeles last month, transforming the former 385 North into a Southwestern restaurant, Antonio’s soup came with them.

Rosalie’s at 385 N. La Cienega Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 657-3850. Lunch hours: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tue.-Fri., dinner 6-10:30 p.m. Sun.-Thur., 6-11:30 p.m. Fri. and Sat.

Thai

Die-hard foodies have been lauding the virtues of the small, almost hidden City Thai cafe in the middle of Hollywood.

And after one taste of their chicken soups, it was easy to see why. Tom Yum Kai , chicken with mushrooms in hot and sour soup with lemon grass, was a wonderful soup. Fresh tomatoes, lemon grass, pieces of chicken, green onions and straw mushrooms floated in a well-balanced hot and spicy chicken stock that just hinted of red serrano chiles.

But Tom Ka Kai , hot and sour coconut soup with chicken and mushrooms, was equally appealing. The complex hot and sour coconut soup was strewn with chicken, cilantro and straw mushrooms. The subtle blending of the sultry chiles with the smooth cream of coconut in the same hot and spicy broth took us by surprise. At first sip, the soup had a mellow, velvety quality, but the bite of the chiles emerged after swallowing.

City Thai Siamese Kitchen, 6414 Sunset Blvd. (at Cahuenga), Hollywood, (213) 469-4241. Hours: 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m., Mon.-Thur., 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fri. and Sat.