Souping Up Your January
It's January; it's cold; it's time to snuggle up and stay home. No, wait, it is a frigid January day, but what could be better than a Norman Rockwell steaming bowl of delicious soup? One that you've struggled through traffic for; one that you've shivered in the bitter wind for; one that you know someone else has spent the long hours preparing just so you can warm up by cupping your hands around it and inhaling deeplyÉand then greedily spooning in.
For those of us who know that canned soup just doesn't fill the crock, January is the perfect month to eat out--the crowds are down as people recover from both financial and gourmet excess. As long as you go the soup route, it's possible to eat out for less money and fewer calories in January. And there are some super places in Kansas City to do just that, according to a few local gourmands.
The granddaddy is probably one you already know, according to Gary Abram, managing partner of HCap International. That's the steak soup at the Plaza III, where if you add a Caesar salad and munch on the sourdough bread, you've found the best meal in town for the money. The hearty soup is full of steak, which still tastes like steak, and vegetables in a thickened broth. It's consistently delicious.
Janice Kinney, owner of The Stone House, a B&B on Wornall, highly recommends the fresh tomato basil at Café Maison to guests who are looking to eat lunch around Brookside. Of their two daily soups, she always opts for their signature--"just rich tomatoes not quite pureed, onion, broth, without too much basil and it's served with crusty bread and butter--it's perfect for a cold winter's lunch."
Many acquaintances mentioned one of my favorite places: Hannah Bistro. Every day they offer a different "trio" of soups--and you can have small bowls of all three together. I've tried sharing this mélange but my rotund friend usually scarfs one up for himself so I must content myself with the other two along with the best French fries in town.
Mary Pfeifer, program chair for Les Dames d'Escoffier, a leadership culinary organization composed of women who have achieved success in their profession and contribute significantly to their communities, sings the praises of tiny Chacko's in the heart of Mission. The soup is elegant she says, even if the place, especially known for its bakery goods, is not. Recently expanded, there are now a few tables for two as well as a counter from which to slurp the delicious concoctions.
When owner Forbes Cross of the newly opened Michael Forbes Grill on Roe and 95th told me his pot roast soup was great, I thought, "Well, he's got to say that." But this long time favorite made the trek from the original restaurant with its flavor intact. The broth was appetizing, the veggies just barely crunchy as they should be, the pot roast pieces tender. It was a great soup.
Linda Segebrecht, COO of Project Explore, Inc., a new not-for-profit doing exciting educational programming in the Kansas City area, often stops by Thai 2000 on Shawnee Mission Parkway for their TomYum soup (a seafood combo with lemon grass, tomatoes, straw mushrooms, onion, and Kaffir lime leaves) and what she says are the "best spring rolls in town." Devotees of both soup and Thai cuisine are often in luck at the many excellent Thai places in town--soups are typically nourishing, tasty, and self-tailored as you add your own additional spices, cilantro, sprouts and lime.
Soup is actually the perfect food, the perfect meal. It's a shame that it comes most easily to mind in January--it's satisfying year round. But try these places now--soup's on!