Got Soup?
The second day of February is a pretty auspicious day. First and foremost, it's the day I became a dad to a daughter. And it's also the day the groundhog pops out to give us a weather report - a weather report, I might add, that is supposed to tell us how much longer we're going to enjoy winter.
Winter. As in “cold.” As in
“ice and snow.” As in “biting winds.” As in “soup weather.” Right. Supposedly Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring. He must have cousins in Mississippi: it's here.
Or at least it was here on Groundhog Day. I was headed downtown and wasn't sure what to wear. Definitely not a coat. And despite the name of the race that was finishing, there certainly wasn't any danger of frostbite. But it was still soup weather.
The Souper Bowl has become a local food event that I've really come to look forward to. Unfortunately, I don't get to taste everything a week in advance so I can convince readers to come and join me for fourteen bowls of soup. You just get to enjoy it vicariously through this column a week later, or nod your head in agreement (or not) because some of you were there - I saw you. And for goodness' sake, the next one is exactly a year away given that it comes around the other bowl game known by a similar name. (I'm trying to be polite to those still in protest.) Surely we can remember that.
What I like about this event is that many of the restaurants that compete don't necessarily feature soup on their menus. This gives us eaters a chance to see a different side of the chefs we already love. So let's talk soup.
City Bagel was the first tent in the line, offering Mississippi Burgoo in a jalapeno cheddar bagel bowl. Burgoo is generally considered a Kentucky-bred stew, which, according to Southern Living, falls under the adage, “If it walked, crawled, or flew, it goes in burgoo.” The City Bagel Boys definitely met that criteria, with chicken, pork, and ground beef, and at least ten different vegetables. And I feel sure that as much as possible was from Mississippi.
Their sister restaurants were also in the competition, but on extreme ends of the soup spectrum. Restaurant Tyler had a Texas Style Chili with a chunk of Firecracker Cornbread, and I'm reasonably certain that there was also a dash of spice from the cinnamon family. I've been known to do that myself, so my tastebuds enjoyed the familiar flavor. From the other end of University-main at BIN 612, an Oyster Bisque emerged from the pack, smooth, silky and sophisticated.
One of the new competitors this year was the