I'm falling behind on keeping this diary up to date, so there are two soups featured today, enjoyed at restaurants last week on a visit to Ohio to visit my uncle. The first was a really fine, savory cup of Bean Soup, which seems to have become rare on menus at the places I frequent. That is, the straightforward beans with a little ham or bacon, which I recall as being one of the perennial standbys at most diners and coffee shops in days gone by, and not necessarily the more dressed up variations. I had this cup at a place called Varieties in Canton and it really hit the spot (the hot meatloaf sandwich was also first-rate). Personally, I'd love to see the savory bean soup make a comeback, maybe taking the place of clam chowder in the list of commonly offered mainstays.
The second cup I had that day was Cheddar Baked Potato at a Bob Evans. Almost predictably, the cheddar overwhelmed the potato in the mix of flavors, and that was a bit unfortunate, but it wasn't bad. I suspect that unlike a place like Varieties, Bob Evans produces their soup from either some kind of mix, or a standardized recipe, as it had a kind of institutional quality to it. Again, it wasn't bad, just unremarkable and a reminder why it's generally worthwhile to search out the non-chain restaurants if you want to find something out of the ordinary (though I've been disappointed in those circumstances too).
I'm falling behind on keeping this diary up to date, so there are two soups featured today, enjoyed at restaurants last week on a visit to Ohio to visit my uncle. The first was a really fine, savory cup of Bean Soup, which seems to have become rare on menus at the places I frequent. That is, the straightforward beans with a little ham or bacon, which I recall as being one of the perennial standbys at most diners and coffee shops in days gone by, and not necessarily the more dressed up variations. I had this cup at a place called Varieties in Canton and it really hit the spot (the hot meatloaf sandwich was also first-rate). Personally, I'd love to see the savory bean soup make a comeback, maybe taking the place of clam chowder in the list of commonly offered mainstays.
The second cup I had that day was Cheddar Baked Potato at a Bob Evans. Almost predictably, the cheddar overwhelmed the potato in the mix of flavors, and that was a bit unfortunate, but it wasn't bad. I suspect that unlike a place like Varieties, Bob Evans produces their soup from either some kind of mix, or a standardized recipe, as it had a kind of institutional quality to it. Again, it wasn't bad, just unremarkable and a reminder why it's generally worthwhile to search out the non-chain restaurants if you want to find something out of the ordinary (though I've been disappointed in those circumstances too).
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