Comforting

If ever there were a time to seek out comfort food, this is it. Grilled cheese, anyone?

THE BEST: FARMHOUSE GRILLED CHEESES $7.50, Gibbet Hill Grill

The best part about chef Richmond Edes's grilled cheese sandwiches is that the presentation is so Martha. Two types of adorable bite-size sandwiches are arranged around a steaming bowl of bisquelike tomato soup. Munch on one of the four sourdough grilled triangles stuffed with Westfield Farm's Hubbardston blue or inhale Westfield's chevre, which is piped into three house-made corn crackers shaped like little boats. The soup is solid enough to stand alone, but plan on dunking. Grilled cheese is to tomato soup what peas are to carrots -- they taste so much better together. Bottom line You don't have to be a kid to love these tasty bites.

CREAMY TOMATO SOUP AND FARMHOUSE CHEDDAR GRILLED CHEESe $10 lunch, $12 dinner, Monday Club Bar, Upstairs on the Square

Chef Steven Brand's combo, a staple on the Monday Club Bar (the downstairs restaurant) menu, is so classic and heartwarming that we rank it a very close second to Gibbet Hill's. House-made brioche is lightly grilled on an ungreased panini press, leaving it crispy on the outside, soft and melty on the inside. Aged cheddar gives the sandwich kick; pair it with the creamy tomato soup, and you've got the perfect rainy-night dinner. Bottom line The best combo, if you don't feel like driving to Groton.

TOMATO-HERB SOUP WITH GRILLED VERMONT CHEDDAR SANDWICH $8, Garden at the Cellar

Chef Will Gilson's version is so popular that he says he couldn't take it off the menu if he wanted to. "It pays my mortgage," he jokes. The basics of this version are dead-on -- it really tastes like mom's. He butters slices of traditional Iggy's French organic loaf, layers aged Cabot cheddar inside, and grills the sandwich until it's ooze-worthy. His soup is the tastiest of the lot, even though the preparation is fairly standard. Bottom line Who needs complexity when you can have a perfected classic? -- Rachel Travers

Gibbet Hill Grill 61 Lowell Road, Groton, 978-448-2900, gibbethill.comUpstairs on the Square 91 Winthrop Street, Cambridge, 617-864-1933, upstairsonthesquare.comGarden at the Cellar 991 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, 617-230-5880, gardenatthecellar.com