There's coconut foam on that squash soup ($6), a frothy white sign at the start of a meal that the kitchen isn't running on autopilot.

A cleaned jar that once held homemade squash soup waits to be returned to the class member who made it for the others.

Better yet, the soup had complexity of flavor and seasonings that separated it from the usual, often-bland squash soup.

Steamed pot stickers were ho-hum, but a "spicy" butternut squash soup was so fiery that all subtlety was lost.

Just ask the diner who ordered the chicken-butternut squash soup.

Butternut squash soup.

One that Mr. Carsberg (like many other chefs) has relied on for years - especially in the autumn - is a puréed squash soup.

He slips nuggets of quince into a thick squash soup flavored with sliced scallions and toasted hazelnuts.

Also recommended is the lower-key MK (868 N Franklin; 312 482 9179), which according to one fan has "the best squash soup ever made".

Well, appetizers included Caesar salad and "Escoffier style" butternut squash soup.