soups

By Jessica Stern & Annabel Levin 

During the winter months, soup will warm you up! With its legendary power to nourish, heal and bring comfort during challenging times, soup lifts your spirits when you’re sad, sick, or just plain cold. To brave these last few weeks of winter, we are proud to present our choices for excellent ‘Soups to Go’ from your favorite area eateries.

ARMONK

At Armonk Country Kitchen a container of Pasta Faioli soup exceeded our expectations but do add a dash of salt–if that’s your preference. The tomato base was radiant with color. Like our last Pasta Fagioli, it contained kidney beans, onion, calamari noodles, and a bit of garlic, all complementing each other beautifully–a satisfying and filling soup.

BRIARCLIFF MANOR

At Briarcliff Market and Deli, its stand out flavorful chicken soup broth had a rich, healthy, yellow color to it with ample servings of celery, onion, carrots, noodles, and chicken. Ask for extra vegetables and noodles if you prefer a chunkier serving, the staff is happy to oblige.

CHAPPAQUA

At our visit to Chappaqua Village Market, we chose a gluten free Butternut Squash Soup to sample. A savory blend of yams, apples, onions, olive oil, various spices, and, of course, butternut squash, this soup will also keep the doctor away! This soup’s appeal is in its vibrant color and a smooth and silky consistency. Delicious served either hot or cold, it’s the perfect starter to any meal.

Our go-to deli, Lange’s Little Store and Delicatessen, never disappoints. The broth of a timeless classic, Chicken Noodle Soup, was chock full of vegetables and plenty of chicken and noodles. We found a nice balance of seasoning–on the sweeter, less salty side. The noodles were cooked to perfection. We will definitely be returning for more!

For a third Chappie soup, we tasted the Chicken Soup with Orzo from the fairly new Mexcellent Deli. This complex soup contained ample amounts of chicken, orzo, carrot, potato, squash, onion, and more! Its rich broth had a nice yellow tint–a very appealing quality in a chicken soup. With a few less vegetables – and more orzo and chicken – this soup could have been a top contender for our favorite!

MOUNT KISCO

If you’re looking for a warm, hearty, and filling soup, try the Pasta Fagioli at A&S Italian Deli. Compared to lighter soups such as Chicken Noodle or Butternut Squash, this soup is rich with flavor and can be a stand-alone meal. We appreciated its savory tomato base accompanied by white kidney beans, Ditalini noodles, onions, garlic, hot chili flakes, and pancetta. Pop into the microwave to hit a perfect temperature and enjoy a substantial, delicious, and comforting meal.

PLEASANTVILLE

At Root to Rise, a fully plant-based café, aims to use ‘food as medicine’ through their healthy, traditional, and locally sourced food. We very much enjoyed their Khichadi soup for its considerable chunkiness containing several different kinds of lentils, rice, vegetables, and multitude of spices: including but not limited to cumin and turmeric.

We do confess our favorite soup came from Frank and Joe’s Italian Deli. We ordered Chicken Soup with Rice. While this is one of the more basic soups we tried, it clearly incorporated all the flavors for a fresh, homemade tasting soup and a perfect ratio of vegetables and broth. The veggies were cooked to perfection and not too mushy which can happen in soups when they sit in a heated container for too long. We also found unusual soup vegetables – such as corn and peas – a nice addition of interesting textures and flavors.

Soup can truly be the ultimate cure for the winter blues. Like a culinary hug warming you from the inside out, the soups we tried appeal to all different palates, so they have you covered no matter what you’re looking for. So, get out there and nourish the body and soul with a satisfying bowl of soup from one of your favorite local spots! Be sure to tell them that Jessica & Annabel sent you.

Jessica Stern and Annabel Levin are juniors at Horace Greeley High School where both are also columnists for the Greeley Voice. In their spare time, Jessica swims for the Girls Varsity Swim team and Annabel enjoys travelling and spending time with friends.