In the past, I’ve written a lot about the diversity of Madison’s foods. This assortment of culinary delights has not ceased to amaze me. Growing up in Chicago, I saw diversity all over the city. However, in Madison, I’ve come to learn that everything is centered on the downtown area.
With this diversity, I am also really surprised that a quality soup establishment does not exist. With the success of Pelmeni and its simple menu of dumplings, it must be possible to pull it off.
After convincing some friends to try Simply Soup with some enticing coupons, we realized the soup was okay. No spice. No flair. Ouch. Not only did I look bad, but I also felt like I had been duped after falling for a cheap marketing gimmick: the coupon. Oh well.
After this trial and subsequent error, it became apparent that there is no place to go for soup in the city. State Street, or any street, for that matter, needs a restaurant like the soup place in “Seinfeld.” Perhaps it will come with a Soup Nazi. Maybe it will be run by a normal dude who knows how to make decent soup. I just want a good, solid cup of soup.
With the sudden departure of Moe’s, a perfect, ready to use storefront is available to house the soup joint I am proposing. Hell, Moe’s owners would probably allow someone to sublet the storefront from them.
This soup place would serve all types of soup from all over the world and I guarantee it would be good. Imagine a nice, hot cup (or bowl) of minestrone soup without garbanzo beans and a little extra spice. Mmm. Too bad there is no soup place to pick it up from.
Or, how about a bread bowl of soup? Wait. Can’t find that in the downtown area, either. The closest bread-bowl soup is all the way down University Avenue out near Whole Foods. Demand is there, but the bread bowl just takes too much effort to land for consumption. Foiled again!
But there is hope. Small glimmers, but hope nonetheless. Just when the soup situation appears to be headed into dire straits, a few possibilities arise: namely, Einstein Bros. Bagels.
Why, you ask, is Savory Secrets plugging a bagel shop in a column about soup? Plain and simple, Einstein’s has the best soups nearest to campus. The soups at a bagel store are even better than the selection of soups made at a place that claims to have soup.
The minestrone is absolutely fabulous. Enough spice is added to it to give it enough kick so that it doesn’t taste watered-down and boring. Sometimes, the taste of the soup is overwhelmed by the number of garbanzo beans. But they can easily be set aside without too much trouble.
Also respectable from Einstein’s soup menu is the turkey chili. Though it is packed with red beans, to my surprise, the turkey version comes off much like the normal beef version that everyone is accustomed to.
Where else can a good cup of soup be found? Honestly, nowhere nearby. That said, Panera Bread makes a Texas black bean and chicken chorizo soup. The combination of cheese with any soup is simply insatiable and should be tried. And do make sure you get it in a bread bowl. Of course, with bread bowls, don’t expect to put a sandwich down, too. The bread bowl will fill you up.
The soup scene in Madison leaves much to be desired overall, though the thought of a place putting forth effort to provide soup is encouraging. However, the soup scene leaves a large void that could easily be filled.
Tom McGrath is a fifth-year senior majoring in journalism and mass communications, among other things. He enjoys a good, quality bowl of hot soup in the summertime and will never give up the hooch. Tom can be reached at [email protected].
