Soup Diary 120323

I've fallen a bit behind on keeping everybody up-to-date on the soup I've been eating.  That's not because I'm eating less soup, just rarely having anything new or noteworthy.  On my recent road trip, I had soup every couple of days at least, but it was usually something I've commented on before, like the Chicken Tortilla Soup at Baja Fresh (which actually does seem to taste better the closer one is to Mexico), or something fairly nondescript, like the Split Pea at the Ellis Island Casino in Las Vegas (as part of the still phenomenal steak dinner special). Bean Soup seems to be coming back as a regular option, as it was the soup de jour at a couple places I stopped: Jan's in Beverly Hills and Izzy's Deli in Santa Monica (where I also had a Cobb Salad that came in a bowl bigger than my head). The picture above is of the Creamy Tomato Soup which is a March staple at the Souplantation and raved about in many places.  I've had that before too and wasn't impressed.  But it was awhile ago (the chain only exists in the Southwest, apparently), so I stopped in at the location in Phoenix to give it another try and I wasn't any more convinced of its greatness.  They actually have several varieties available (it's an all-you-can-eat soup and salad bar), so I also tried the Chicken Stew which was mediocre, and the Pinto Bean (there it is again) which was the best of the lot in my opinion.  Souplantation is a nice option because you can load up (I went the evening I visited the Mariners camp, and I hadn't eaten since very early that morning), but I wouldn't really recommend it for its soups, which all taste mass-produced. They advertise that they are made from scratch, and I believe that's probably true, but if you need to keep six or seven pots full for however many hours the place is open, it's got to be hard to give each batch a little individual attention. Oh well... this weekend I'll be in Helena, with the promise of something really good from Steve's Cafe.  Stay tuned...