There was a time when, if I went to Fables Cafe for lunch and they had a soup listed that I'd never had before, it was an automatic order and the odds were very good I was going to be in for a treat. Well, evidently those days are past. On my recent visit to Buffalo, I had soup four times at Fables, and only once was it even remotely good (the Zucchini Parmesan of all things). The last time was the worst, and it involved an unfamiliar variety that I jumped at with unwarranted enthusiasm. It was Southwest Ancho and Corn, and I had no idea what "ancho" was, so I really was going out on a limb. In fact, as I watched the server fill my bowl it hit me that it might be short for anchovy, and I hate anchovies. Well, it turns out ancho is a kind of chile, but that didn't save the soup, which was little more than a watery vegetable mix. I can't believe that the best soup place ever has gone into the tank, but I don't know what else to conclude from my recent experiences. I guess the good side of that is when I go back next summer I won't feel obligated to eat there when I'm downtown, and maybe I'll discover someplace as good or better as my memory of what Fables used to be. I guess this is just another example that nothing stays the same. But I'll always remember the good old days.Full discolsure: for the first time since I've been doing this diary, I could not find anywhere on the internet a picture of the soup described, so that image above is actually a vegetable gumbo-- it actually looks pretty good, doesn't it?
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