Soup Diary 090806

There's a chain of Mexican restaurants on the West Coast (maybe elsewhere too, though I've only ever seen them in Washington and California) called Baja Fresh that is worth visiting just for their Chicken Tortilla Soup-- a total delight (even if you order it without the chicken). Because of my experience with their triumph, I often order Chicken Tortilla Soup elsewhere, thinking it might come close to the masters. Unfortunately, I'm usually disappointed (an exception was at Taste of Buffalo a couple years ago, but I forgot the name of the serving venue, so don't know where to go and look for the good stuff in my hometown). Anyway, as it happened, I was at Anderon's Custard stand my last night in Buffalo, and because I'd had a large pistachio ice cream cone at Mississippi Mudd's earlier that day, I decided to try a cup of their soup of the day instead of a frosty treat. Big mistake. It was called Chicken Tortilla Soup, but it's relationship to what they serve at Baja Fresh was at best a cousin several times removed. It was way too salty and there were no succulent chunks of onion, no tangy cilantro, and... no tortillas! I know that no one goes to Anderson's for soup (beef on weck is their non-dairy specialty), but sheesh, if you're going to put it on the menu, put a little effort into it.