The days are getting colder. It's natural to feel a need to focus, like "Seinfeld's" George Costanza, as you shift into soup mode . The Globe Market's tomato basil soup is made with tomato, sugar, Italian seasoning, fennel, Parmesan cheese and a lot of dairy.

By definition, soup is simply liquid food, but anyone who has had an especially well-timed bowl knows it's often more than that: a source of comfort, a form of cold medicine or a dose of nostalgia. From appetizer cups to entree-sized bowls, here are some soups to try around Buffalo. French onion soup from Gabriel’s Gate 145 Allen St.

Gabriel's Gate is one of many local restaurants making a classic crock of French onion soup ($7/cup and $9/crock). It's blanketed in melted cheese that spills over the sides, causing diners to use the side of a spoon to cut out chunks of cheese, then twirl it around the spoon like spaghetti. The broth is pleasantly salty and full of umami.

Slips of onion melt in the mouth, while wet croutons soak up the broth and maintain their basic, sometimes crunchy structure. Yalley's African Restaurant serves a filling peanut soup with fufu and chicken. Fufu peanut soup from Yalley’s African Restaurant 290 Kenmore Ave.

The West African staple is served the traditional way, with fufu and chicken at Yalley's (290 Kenmore Ave.). Fufu – boiled cassava root that is pounded and shaped into a gelatinous ball – anchors the dish like a pillowy moon.

Peanut broth, oily on top and creamy underneath, surrou.