I made one of the tomato soups the first day I got the book. It used roasted tomatoes and was absolutely delicious. The recipes are generally very healthy and could be more so if you made some simple substitutions. Soups are a great way to get my family to eat more vegetables and a convenient way to eat; easy to make in advance, freeze and reheat. I have never been to the restaurant but I’ll bet it’s amazing. The soups are inventive but not fussy or complicated, perfect for a home cook.

I am in love with this book. Many of my co-workers and I consider it a special treat on days we get to lunch at the New England Soup Factory (their Chili Con Carne is our collective favorite), so I was ecstatic to find a copy of their recipe book while browsing the bookstore over the weekend. And, yes, the Chili Con Carne recipe is included!

There are so many mouth-watering, rich, unique and comfort-food soups that I had a hard time deciding what to make first. From Potato, Crab and Gorgonzola to Apple, Onion and cheddar–they all sound so good! I decided on a vegetarian option: Spinach, Feta Cheese, and Toasted Pine Nut Soup. Not only was it delicious, but it was easy to make.

In addition to the seasonal soups, Druker has included a chapter of sandwiches and salads which are just as appetizing as the soups. (For example; The Fallwich, with sweet potatoes, cranberry mayonnaise, turkey and cashews.)

I know what I’ll be getting my whole family for Christmas this year.

I had high hopes for this book. I have visited the New England Soup Factory frequently and have always been impressed by the array of interesting soups and the fact that we have yet to try one we didn’t like. However, I wasn’t sure how this would translate into a cookbook as sometimes recipes invented for large scale production don’t taste the same when you pair back the yield to something more appropriate for the average home cook like myself. I also wondered if they would leave out some of their more interesting recipes. Thankfully, neither of my fears were founded. The recipes I have tried to date taste just as good as anything I have had in their restaurant and are just as interesting.

The thing that sets this book apart from others I have tried is the sheer variety of interesting recipes. Sure most books cover the basics, but this also includes some very inventive combinations in addition to the classics. And every soup has been very layered in flavor and complex tasting. My personal favorite is the author’s take on spanakopita in soup form. It’s rich and delicious and quite unlike any soup I’ve ever had. The eggplant parm soup is also unbelievable. I first tried it in the restaurant and the cookbook version is identical. I also quite enjoyed the Roasted Beet and Pear Soup with Blue Cheese. I’m not normally a huge beet fan but this soup won me over. Overall, you get a breadth of recipes that not only sound good on paper, but work out perfectly when you cook them at home.

The ingredients used are also very easy to find in the average supermarket so you shouldn’t run into the problem of wanting to make a delicious soup but having no access to the raw materials. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to expand their soup repetoire beyond the usual standards.

ETA on 11/13/13: It’s nearly six years later and I wanted to update this review to say I still very much enjoy cooking from this book. I’ve continued to try more recipes including Pumpkin and White Bean Soup, Tortilla and Butternut Squash Soup with Green Chiles, Cauliflower, Potato and Cheese Soup, Potato Crab and Gorgonzola Soup, and Butternut Squash Soup with Calvados, Gorgonzola Cheese and Prosciutto and all have turned out delicious. I still have yet to find a single dud in the book and look forward to trying the recipes I have yet to make.