I love soup. It’s one of my favorite things to cook, and I’ll eat it whether it’s a sub-zero day in December or sweltering July. I especially like soup for breakfast — nothing like starting the day with a steamy bowl of goodness. The Japanese agree with me on this.
Perhaps because of my affection for soup, I’ve been thinking lustfully about eating at Montpelier’s That’s Life Soup ever since my first visit last year. Each time I go to Montpelier I ponder stopping by, but I just haven’t been able to fit it into my schedule…until yesterday.
First of all, I really appreciate the arts & crafts-style decor. Beautiful. And the fact that my lunch cost under $10, but I still got to use a cloth napkin. And then there’s the soup. I tried a southwestern chowder, which came with a basket of crusty wheat bread from La Panciata. The broth, augmented with cream, was super flavorful, and filled with corn, potatoes, peppers and a generous amount of sausage. The “small” serving size wasn’t small at all, and between the soup and the bread, I was pleasantly full. Well, maybe I stuffed myself just a little!
Another great thing is the “souper” variety. According to this article in the Boston Globe, owner Pam Root cycles through over 200 recipes. If I lived in Montpelier, I’d be apt to develop a bit of a soup habit.
Compared to many other places that serve primarily soup, sandwiches and salads, the folks at TLS seem to pay a great deal of attention to the details and really focus on aesthetics. I’m a big fan.
Although I’m not at home and thus can’t count them, I’m pretty sure I have around five cookbooks devoted to soup. Now that I think about it, maybe I’ll make some soup this very evening!
This article appears in Jun 6-12, 2007.
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