Crabmeat and Brie Soup @ Dakota
This soup--now such a signature item for this five-star restaurant that they bring it to every charity event they join--was created when the kitchen found itself with an excess of Brie cheese. Brie does not last forever, so chef Kim Kringlie plowed it into the already rich crabmeat and cream bisque. What emerged was a soup with the tang of cream, the bitterness of Brie, the fat mouthfeel of both, and, overriding it all, the flavor of crabmeat both from backfin lumps and crab stock. It's certainly the best-selling first course at Dakota, and so popular that they get requests to sell it by the quart and gallon. It teaches us that for some people there is no such thing as too rich. I think this is right on the edge of that, and occasionally over it. But the taste is marvelous.
