Soup Makes Me Happy

Joanne and I on a girl's
weekend in Killington, VT

We have less than five days to go until the big Blizzard Bash!  I cannot wait for both the bash and also to have Joanne visit me for the weekend.  Besides the visit to the big event, I also want to take her on little tour of my local neighborhood to see the cheese shop, little grocery store, the great cafes, pretty much everything the South End has to offer.  It looks like it is going to be a very very cold weekend so that might limit our exploration of the neighborhood, but be sure to look for posts on twitter about our many hot chocolate trips.

Joanne, Katie, and I

For my final post about the chefs at Blizzard Bash, I thought I'd feature Ms. Lynch herself   I have had the pleasure at dining at every one of her restaurants with the exception of Stir (I would love to take a class there.. *hint hint*).  I wanted to feature my three favorite dishes at her restaurants   One thing they all have in common is that they are all soup.  Soup makes me happy because it warms you right up.  As a kid, my grandma would always make us a big pot of Lipton noodle soup with some extra no yolk noodles.  I think this is where my love of soup stems from.  It just relaxes me and makes me happy.

Sportello's Tomato Soup

Sportello is Barbara Lynch's casual Italian restaurant where all the seats are counter seats.  Its warm and homey with delicious food that never disappoints   Every time I go there, I always get the spicy tomato soup.  I was never a fan of tomato soup as a child but this version has turned me into a lover of tomato soup.  Its smooth and spicy.  There is a little grilled cheese to go on top.   Many a weekend day has been spent slowly enjoying this warm tomato soup.  

B&G Clam Chowder

B&G Oyster is a local south end restaurant with a wide variety of oysters.  I could talk for days about my love of oysters, but I'm going for the soup today.  B&G makes a very traditional New England clam chowder. Traditional means not thick.  This may seem like blasphemy to all non-New Englanders and I thought the same being a recent transplant.  However, the soup is meant to be quite thin but chock full of flavor.  B&G's definitely is.  Its so flavorful, filled with the freshest clams and not over burdened with potatoes   Also, please don't ask for a packet of oyster crackers to thicken up the soup.  Just enjoy it in its pure form.

Menton's Butter Soup

Lastly, I want to highlight Menton.  I had the privilege of eating here with my Dad when he was in town.  It was a big to-do.  The meal was very extravagant, starting with champagne and ending with a glass of port.  I didn't need to eat for days after this meal.  At the beginning we were given a variety of amuse bouches.  The one that was memorable was the lobster with butter soup.  Yes, butter soup.  I actually bumped into Chris Lynch, the executive chef at Menton and asked him about this great butter soup. Its simply melted clarified butter.  It was so delicious I wanted to lick my bowl clean.  

I hope you all enjoy soup as much as I do.  I am much happier just writing this post.  I think tonight for dinner I will have a nice bowl of Lipton cup o' noodles since soup doesn't have to be fancy to make you happy! 


Here is a recipe for Sportello's Tomato Soup