Soup, anyone? Stick to Campbell's.

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 8:40am

I wonder if Andy Warhol realized when painting his Campbell's soup can, that he was immortalizing something to emulate.

Well, that's how it appears today. With every chef nowadays needing to add his own "take" to recipes in no need of fixing, and thereby rendering them inedible, there's nothing but good old tried-and-true Campbell's to rely on. Who woulda thunk it?

Since I'm out of the house a lot, I'm forced to endure the misguided caprices of our so-called chefs. They just can't seem to keep their hands off the spice box, with disastrous results. Just this week:

Tomato soup, with cilantro. Horrific.
Lentil soup, with an amalgam of ill-matched spices. Dire.
Pea soup, with anise. The smell alone was enough to turn one's stomach.

Why is it so hard to serve pea soup the way it's supposed to be? It's been done for eons, after all.

I guess Campbell's gets the last laugh.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 9:39am

I like Campbells Chunky!!!

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 10:31am

I am all about the Campbell's because I am a Southern woman. We have more specific Campbell's soups here. Cream of Chanterelle is my favorite. I make a lot of casseroles with it. I also reach for the Campbell's tomato when I am sick, but only because Chicken and Stars isn't available here.

So, there ya go.

[D2]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 10:40am

Stick to diners and coffee shops, A8, and leave the fine dining to those of us who appreciate it.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 10:42am

Mmmm, I would love a good Lobster bisque right now.

[Kad]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 11:06am

Lobster? In soup? What will these so-called chefs, with their nonsense training and absurd "spices" and "ingredients", inflict upon unsuspecting diners next? What we modern restaurant-goers must suffer through every time we sit down at a table! Adding anything more than a sprinkle of salt or a bay leaf to a pot is unnecessary at the best and horrendous at the worst. When I go to a well-rated upscale restaurant, I want to be secure in the knowledge that no risks have been taken, no ideas ventured, and nothing new has been created.



You'll have to excuse AfterEight, he recently emerged from a 70 year-long coma, so anything that doesn't reflect the tastes of yesteryear frightens and confuses him.

[Calvin]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 11:22am

Too bad Andy Rooney died -- that would have been a great segment for him.

Though I'll admit pea soup with anise does sound like a bit of a misfire.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 11:37am

I don't know that I've tried it, but "pea soup with anise" gets about 405,000 hits on Google, so it must be a combo that works.

Nothing against Campbell's but I'd be sad if that were my only soup option.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 11:45am

Oh, I like cooking with Campbell's or using it as comfort food, but I would prefer a good French Onion crock dripping with cheese. :)

[Calvin]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 11:46am

True, Reggie, though "Krispy Kreme cheeseburger" also gets nearly 200,000 hits. :)

[artscallion]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 11:47am

I'd probably switch those around and do pea soup with cilantro and tomato soup with anise. But that's just my taste.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:01pm

I truly hate Campbell's split pea and tomato soups, but that's probably because I was introduced to good versions of both before I tried Campbell's. I like their chicken broth, but the actual chicken they put in their soups is often just a couple of tiny, gristly morsels. I like some of their higher-end products (chunky or Select Harvests) that use better ingredients, but most of the basic red/white label soups are pretty bad save for the creams which are better as a cooking ingredient than an actual soup.

Tomato soup with cilantro sounds wonderful, but that's probably because I'm from Texas where cilantro and tomatoes are commonly used together in Tex-Mex dishes.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:03pm

Yes, but the anise pea soup hits were actual recipes, not just people saying "Can you believe it?"

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:05pm

Beware the Pepper Pot!

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:06pm

Mr Matt, I agree about Campbell's tomato! I liked it as a kid, but after having had better versions--even better canned versions--I can't take Campbell's.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:11pm

My favorite tomato basil soup. I ordered it a lot at La Madeleine in Texas and was sad to discover the chain was only in a few states. Recently, I stumbled across the soup at a store in Chicago and I stocked up! I tried making it myself and it still is never as good as theirs.

[Calvin]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:21pm

I miss La Madeleine's soups. I used to get my hair done in the Galleria and stop by for one right afterward. But there's a great place on 31st near my office for soup. Kind of a Soup Nazi style place, but with a very nice staff.

Campbell's tomato is OK only if I'm home sick. (That's what I equate it with, in fact, because it's what my mom used to give me when I was sick.)

And SOMMS, there's a canned version of pepper pot? Yikes. My dad, a native Philadelphian, gave me pepper pot soup as a kid without telling me about the tripe in it until I had eaten it. He ate scrapple, too. Ick.

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:27pm

We have the same father, Calvin! It's my dad's favorite and he never told me about the tripe as a kid either. He likes scrapple, too. Philly folk are a strange foodie bunch.

[Marianne2]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:44pm

Campbell's soups are a hit or miss for me. I think the chicken noodle has a weird smell and taste. I like the Manhattan Clam Chowder and vegetable soups though. I actually prefer Progresso sometimes because they are more substantial. But, I do love fresh soup. I guess it is a favorite food of mine.

[Calvin]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:48pm

Ha, I blame scrapple for the fact that he was the only one in our house who would eat Spam. Neither me, my mom or any of my sisters would touch it.

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:51pm

I love old cookbooks and I know I've found a good one when they start off the "Soups" chapter by saying you'll never make Tomato or Cream of Mushroom soup as good as Campbells so you might as well not even try.

And, as hard as it it to believe, MANY "elegant" cookbooks and food writers were of the opinion that a TRULY delicious way to start a dinner party was to serve "Soup (or Soupe) Mongol (or Mongole)" which was canned Campbell's tomato and split pea soups poured side-by-side into a bowl.

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 12:52pm

Another institutional favorite in Philadelphia. I'll pass.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 1:02pm

Calvin - Did you ever have Butera's cream of mushroom? That's the other soup I sorely miss. It was heavenly.

Now, it's rare I find a soup that would entice me to revisit a restaurant just for soup. There is one Mediterranean restaurant in Hyde Park in Chicago called Cedars that brings me back, though. All their soups are so aromatic and flavorful, it's hard to believe they are served at a small, mid-range restaurant. I cannot go eat there without ordering soup.


Cedars Mediterranean Kitchen

Updated On: 3/2/12 at 01:02 PM

[Eris0303]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 1:06pm

Hmm....all this scrapple talk is making me hungry

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 3/2/12 at 1:16pm

Yep, just had soup for lunch. I couldn't get the idea out of my head.

Went for the Hungarian Wild Mushroom.