Chicago, ILSoups

Gene's Sausage Shop & Delicatessen is a Lincoln Square butcher shop and deli, and its chicken noodle soup alone justifies the trip. The golden stock is made daily from Amish chicken and comes full of skinny, pliant noodles and tender chicken, a restorative bowl for anyone fighting off a cold. Order the chicken noodle soup, and grab a few Polish sausages while you are there.

Eleven City Diner makes its matzo ball soup from a recipe passed down from owner Brad Rubin's mother. The chicken stock is made in house every day and flecked with pieces of celery and carrot, and each bowl is anchored by a hulking yet pillowy handmade matzo ball. Order Bubbie's chicken soup with matzo ball.

Pozoleria San Juan is a small Humboldt Park spot of shiny tiled walls and kitchen noise, and the pozole is the reason to go. There are three kinds, each with pieces of pork and fluffy hominy, and the rojo gets its smoke from guajillo chiles. Top the bowl with avocado, lime juice and crunchy pieces of salty chicharron. Order the pozole rojo.

Taste of Lebanon is a small, no-frills, cash-only spot in Andersonville, and its lentil soup is the draw. The soup is simple and hearty, and a hefty sprinkling of black pepper pushes it over the top. Order the lentil soup and pair it with a falafel wrap for a winter lunch.

Le Bouchon is a charming little bistro in Bucktown, and its French onion soup is the order. A thyme-infused beef broth full of soft caramelized onions waits beneath a spongy, broth-soaked crouton and an almost unrelenting layer of melted, blistered Gruyère that takes several spoonfuls to get through. Order the soupe à l'oignon gratinée.