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 November 2005 Back to Table of Contents Back to Archives Main Page Section: Life & Leisure Soup Quest By Annemarie Jason Soup stars in one of my favorite episodes of the television show Seinfeld. The characters go to great lengths to obtain soup made by the “soup Nazi” whose customers must meet his stern demands before he’ll hand over the goods. His creations are so delicious that people are willing to suffer to taste them. This year, I began a quest for similar ambrosial delights in Buffalo area restaurants. I didn’t have to look very hard to find some. November’s chill prompted me to share my findings so that you can warm up with a bowlful — or two or three — of exquisite flavor. For some soup standards “like Mom used to make,” try Quaker Bonnet Eatery, which serves two soups daily, including clam chowder, black bean or potato leek. The Roycroft offers an excellent French onion soup with three-cheese crostini. At Gigi’s you may find chicken or turkey noodle or a yummy smoked sausage and bean soup. You can get a bowl of hearty lentil, chicken rice or split pea at Amy’s Place or a luscious creamy tomato at Cafe 59. Getting your daily dose of vegetables never tasted better than it does in Ou La La’s ratatouille, the vegetable cheese chowder at the Poppyseed or in Betty’s broccoli cheddar rice soup. Chili fans can head to Amy’s, Poppyseed, Sahara Grill, Gigi’s or Quaker Bonnet for different takes on this classic recipe. The adventurous diner will be delighted by the Ellicottville Brewing Company’s African peanut or curried chicken soups, made by the restaurant’s own resident “soup Nazi”! His twin must wield the soup wand at Cafe 59, where the corn and curry or potato bacon soups are pure magic. You can spice up your life with Betty’s chorizo squash chickpea soup or with Dominick’s Brodo Italian sausage soup. Brodo also offers a great gumbo, a Cajun favorite that is also Quaker Bonnet’s signature soup and a regular feature on the menu at Shango and the Rendezvous. Seafood lovers can get La Dolce Vita’s bouillabaisse, or seafood bisques often seen at Shirlee’s, Shango and the Roycroft. For those who enjoy Asian cooking, the superlative Ming Teh menu includes familiar Chinese fare such as wonton or hot and sour soup, but also a pickled cabbage soup, a vegetable moo shu soup and another made with sake wine, pea pods and Chinese red dates. For the flavors of Vietnam and Thailand, Saigon Cafe’s delicate broths feature vegetables, chicken, shrimp, or other seafood, married pleasantly to the flavors of coconut or lemongrass. My favorite at Le Metro is the scrumptious Vietnamese pho pot, vegetarian or served with chicken or seafood. Tru-Teas offers Ochazuke — rice, pickled plum and vegetables in hot green tea. More ethnic specialties await those who want to get all souped up! A wonderful Middle Eastern soup made with chicken broth, rice and lemon and shows up on the menu at Amy’s, Shirlee’s and the Sahara Grill. Traditional Italian recipes are used to make Toscani style tomato with white bean soup at La Dolce Vita and the heavenly ribollita at Lombardo’s. The latter is made with roasted, “pulled’ chicken, broth, white beans and greens served over chunks of garlic bread. Guests at these two Buffalo restaurants never leave without saying, “mmm, mmm, good”! But what if, after all of this healthy eating, your sweet tooth still seeks solace? You can have your soup — and eat homemade dessert too — at Quaker Bonnet (cinnamon ice cream, pastries and fruit pies), Ou La La (Napoleans), Tru-Teas (green tea ice cream, lemon tarts and “something chocolate everyday”), La Dolce Vita (gelato and other Italian treats) or Gigi’s (banana pudding, sweet potato pie and peach cobbler). For pickup or delivery, Zuppa has fine desserts too, plus homemade breads and a daily selection of twelve different soups. But customers are warned to be VERY well-behaved. Some food IS well worth the self-discipline! Just ask Jerry Seinfeld.
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