The Soup Kitchen: It's a restaurant, not a homeless shelter!

There is a busy street in the Sugarhouse neighborhood of Salt Lake City which makes you feel like you are on Main St. in small town America (other than the traffic). There is an old bookstore, plumbing business, eye doctor, coffee shop, bar and The Soup Kitchen. This restaurant fits right into the other shops and buildings nicely. It's quaint, has character, and feels very welcoming.

Late one Friday afternoon, Sous Chef Sam and I were coming back from a hike and he was craving some non-chain restaurant food. I have that craving daily. As you walk in you definitely feel like you are taken back in time. There is an antique Royal Crown Cola machine with a 7up cooler resting on top. The chairs are definitely old diner chairs and the menu is written on a chalkboard. It truly is love at first sight. My only disappointment was that I couldn't order all the sandwiches & soup at once. Moderation in all things.

The description of the SKS sandwich draws you in: turkey, bacon, Swiss, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, sprouts & mayo on jacksprout wheat. When have I ever eaten jacksprout wheat bread? The sandwich and a cup of soup was $7.19. Not bad at all. The soup choices were clam chowder, split pea with ham, chicken noodle, tomato, chili and vegetable beef. After the debacle of really bad tomato soup at Rocky Mountain Grill, I definitely needed my faith in humanity restored; tomato soup it was.

The taste of the sandwich was much better than even the description. This is how bacon should be cooked. It was thick & crispy. The turkey was high quality (I would guess Boar's Head), the lettuce was very crisp-not wilty like so many places serve, the sprouts must have been picked from a garden that day. I have not had sprouts on a sandwich in years and realized what I have been missing. And to top it off, the jacksprout wheat had a lite multi-grain flavor adding a great complexity to the sandwich. It was perfectly toasted-airy & crisp.

Verdict on the tomato soup: my faith in humanity was restored. What a relief! I love a good tomato soup and make a great tomato bisque. It was perfectly creamy and had hints of spice and onion. It also was obvious that there was a lot of butter and cream. My kind of cooking. Taking the soup to the next level were the hand crushed San Marzano tomatoes. These will make a good pasta sauce great and made a fabulous soup extraordinary. They emit a flavor profile rarely experienced.

Given The Soup Kitchen's proximity, prices, and wonderful food, I will need to add yet another category in my budget. The only non-delicious item were the breadsticks; very dry. They have a tub each of cheese, garlic and wheat breadsticks. It was 5:00pm however and maybe they had been sitting out all day.

The Soup Kitchen

2012 South 1100 East

Salt Lake City, Utah, 84106

Happy Eating