Editorial
Front Page - Friday, September 17, 2010
River City Roundabout
Soup in the summertime
Erica Tuggle
Soups On! offers daily changing soups and plate lunch specials for those who know that soup good year round. Their Reuben sandwiches and Bison Burgers are popular with locals and travelers who stop in for lunch on their way to attractions like Rock City and Ruby Falls.
- Erica Tuggle
During the hot summer days we are still having, a steaming bowl of soup might not seem like the ideal treat, but for Soup’s On! I’ll make an exception.
It may be easier to say what this Broad Street lunch hotspot does not serve, because the menu is pilled as high with tasty dishes as their sandwiches are with savory ingredients. Sandwich platters, grilled polish sausage, foot long hot dogs, pulled pork, Tilapia Filet and their signature Bison burgers are all options. Adding a bowl of soup to any of these meals is not only possible but encouraged! Eclectic dishes like deep fried breaded cauliflower and deep fried breaded chicken livers prove that variety in menu choices is clearly present.
Each day there is a different plate lunch special full of food that includes meat, two sides, bread and tea for only $7.50. During the day I visited this family owned and operated diner style eatery, the plate lunch consisted of pork roast, mashed potatoes, green peas, rolls and cornbread. They also offer three changing soup choices every day for those who like their vegetables or those who are a meat and potato type. The soups this day were vegetable, chicken and dumpling and hamburger soup.
Whether having one bowl of soup or opting for the bottomless bowl option, it’s hard to be disappointed with any of the soup choices. The hamburger soup I had was full of carrots, onions, peas, macaroni noodles and ground beef pieces in a tasty broth. With the choices of Mexican cornbread, cornbread muffins, buns and cinnamon muffins offered, I had plenty of choices of what to use to sop up every bit of my soup. All soups are homemade daily and the bread choices are fresh baked. The cinnamon muffins were particularly tasty and bursting with real cinnamon flavor, while the cornbread muffins had pieces of corn in them and were moist within.
Although, I was leaning toward ordering a Bison Burger after seeing it advertised in huge letters on the iconic Soup’s On! outdoor sign, the gourmet chicken salad sandwich reeled me in is instead. With chunky chicken breast, celery, huge red grapes, pecans and a special sauce on a wheat bread, this was a huge and satisfying sandwich to compliment my soup. The popular Reuben and Russian Reuben that the restaurant serves are also ones that will be on my mind for a return visit.
What kind of side would you like? I ask because they have everything in that department too. Homemade potato chips, potato salad and deviled eggs along with Asiago mac n’ cheese or potato logs can be yours if you don’t fill up too fast on soup, sandwiches, burgers, ribs or any of the other entrees. You can even finish up the meal with a homemade cupcake if you work it just right.
To see so much homemade food in one place and in such a variety was refreshing and a treat. Soup’s On! has been on Broad Street on the way to Rock City and Ruby Falls for quite some time now, but many of the lunch patrons that day admitted to the cashier that they had never tried the hometown eatery. On the other hand, regulars in the form of working class heroes on their lunch break were also there to fill the parking lot.
From 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Soup’s On! is open to serve. For those in a rush, they offer soups to go and soups by the gallon that come with eight pieces of bread and also come in bison soup varieties. Speaking of buying bulk, it’s not only the soup that you can buy to share lunch with the office. The regular and gourmet chicken salad, tuna salad, pimento cheese, cheese or egg salad and potato salad are all sold by the pound.
If you are stumped on where to have lunch with a friend from out of town or are tired of bringing in leftovers for lunch, stop on in at Soup’s On! Have no trepidation about not liking the soups of the day, because patrons can find out the soups for the month at www.soupsonboard.com or the simple soups of the day and lunch specials by calling 423-267-1555.
Upcoming soups this month include mac n’ cheese, Tijuana chicken, spaghetti, German potato, beef and cabbage, goulash, broccoli and cheese, black eyed peas with ham and creamy potato, to name a few. For those too busy for a sit down meal, take out can be ordered by calling 423-267-1557.
On a hot day, do something different and dip into Soup’s On! for a bowl or, as the window slogan says, “as much as you care to eat soup.”
Email Erica Tuggle at reporter@hamiltoncountyherald.com.
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