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Photography by Carmen Troesser
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New York native and New Orleans transplant Brandon Benack had never even heard of the legendary onion soup previously served at Famous-Barr department stores when he created his Soon to Be Famous French Onion Soup for the menu at Truffles in Ladue—but it’s a stellar knockoff. We asked Chef Benack what factors combine to make his version so noticeably different.
Out with it, man—what’s your secret? The process takes four days: I start with house-made veal stock, using bones and marrow, and add to that a second stock made from literally gallons of slow-cooked, caramelized onions—both red and yellow—that have been deglazed with sherry and sherry vinegar. Unlike Famous’ version, mine is thickened with melted onions, not flour, and gets finished with a little fresh rosemary and thyme to keep it bright.
But the garnish may be the best touch of all. All of us tend to eat the melted cheese and croutons first; then we’re left with no goodies for the rest of the soup. So I include two mini grilled Gruyère cheese sandwiches for dunking into the soup after the cheese blanket has disappeared.
Truffles’ menu also includes other adapted classics. I’ve added Creole boiled Gulf shrimp to fried green tomatoes. We use a brown–butter farro with sunchokes on our Dover sole, add fresh jumbo lump crabmeat and a bit of cayenne to a wedge salad. Even our cheeseburger is topped with house–smoked bacon and aged cheddar and is made from Prime beef we grind daily.
