First off, you should know that I have a slight obsession with butternut squash soup. If I come across it on a menu, it’s nearly impossible for me to refrain from ordering it, but more often than not, I end up disappointed. It simply never matches up to my favorite version, the butternut squash soup served at Jean-Jacques Culinary Creations in Pleasantville.
Jean Jacques is a café and patisserie serving traditional French fare. In 2016 Jean Jacques won our Best of Westchester Food & Drink Readers’ Picks award for Gourmet Takeout and the Editors’ Pick for Petit Fours. What you haven’t heard about is their small-batch soups.
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They offer at least five different soups daily and rotate through about 19 seasonally based varieties. According to Alex Vallejo, who works in the kitchen, the customer favorites tend to be the butternut squash, potato leek, vegetable barley and onion soup, just to name a few. The cooks follow standard recipes because the customer is expecting the same flavor every time and the butternut squash never disappoints. It’s rich, creamy, the perfect consistency (who wants a thin soup?), and a little bit on the sweet side. And it gets even better, via a dunk with the accompanying buttery crostini.
Tip: Call ahead to see what soups are on the menu for the day — the butternut is not always available.
Jean-Jacques Culinary Creations
468 Bedford Rd, Pleasantville
914.747.8191; www.jean-jacques.com
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