French Onion Soup

Remember French onion soup--rich stock with long-cooked onions, topped with crusty bread and lots of toasted cheese? These places make it from scratch.

* La Frite: Made with a rich, winey beef broth and lots of onions, the soup at these reliable French cafes is finished under the broiler with a toasted crouton blanketed in creamy mild Swiss cheese. (French onion soup, $5.25 crock; $3.95 cup.) La Frite, 15013 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, (818) 990-1791; 22616 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, (818) 225-1331.

* La Parisienne: At this classical French restaurant, the chef creates a distinctively rich onion soup by using chicken stock along with browned onions and red wine and simmering it for a very long time. He tops it with a crouton and Swiss cheese and bakes it in the oven until the top is brown and crisp. (French onion soup, $4.95.) bLa Parisienne, 1101 Huntington Drive, Monrovia, (626) 357-3359.

* Le Petit Marchi: Shuji Kimura, the chef-owner of this new French cafe on the Franklin strip (just west of Bronson), describes his soupe a l’oignon gratinee as very simple: It’s made from a mixture of chicken and veal stocks and sauteed onions simmered for hours; each bowl is topped with toasted French bread and Gruyere cheese. (French onion soup, $3.95.) Le Petit Marchi, 5917 Franklin Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 468-9026.

* Mimosa: The perfect lunch at Mimosa just might be the watercress and blue cheese salad with a crock of Jean Pierre Bosc’s deeply flavorful French onion soup topped with a sizable crouton and lots of toasted, melted Gruyere. (French onion soup, $5.95 lunch; $6.50 dinner.) Mimosa, 8009 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 655-8895.

* Taylor’s Prime Steaks: Taylor’s serves a lot of prime beef, so it stands to reason that its beef broth is terrific. This, in turn, means that the French onion soup, made with Burgundy and lots of onions and topped with croutons plus Swiss and Parmesan, is about as good as it gets. (French onion soup, $3.75.) Taylor’s Prime Steaks, 3361 W. 8th St., Los Angeles, (213) 382-8449; 901 Foothill Blvd., La Canada, (818) 790-7668.

* Les Freres Taix: Chef Lance Corralez starts with jumbo yellow onions and, through a complex alchemy involving Pernod, brandy, white wine and both chicken and beef stocks, plus a cheesecloth pouch full of spices and hours of simmering, comes up with a robust soup that he then tops with French bread brushed with garlic butter, topped with mozzarella and Swiss cheese. (French onion soup, $4.95.) Les Freres Taix, 1911 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 484-1265.