The Appleton Soup Walk is put on by Downtown Appleton and it features a different soup at area restaurants. There are two different options -- one more downtown and the other that followed the trolley route. I picked the downtown option since it was less spaced out and with a bum ankle I thought that might have been better. Honestly I just wanted to try the Red Velvet Soup.
The weather was gorgeous. Danielle, Gavin, and I had a great afternoon strolling through downtown trying new soups. I have to admit it was my first time in most of the bars/restaurants along the Ave. I know the hubby would not have enjoyed the experience as much as I did so I'm glad he decided to work instead.
With tickets in hand, we headed out and tried soups. Most places gave just a little sample cup but a few actually gave us a bowl -- not all the way full but about 1/3 or so.
Rookie's Bar & Grill -- Clam Chowder
This was the first time I ever had clam chowder. I've always been too scared to try it when we'd go out for a fish fry.
Honestly I thought it was too runny. I thought it was supposed to be much thicker. My first reaction was "it smells". If I just swallowed it, it was actually pretty good. Maybe I will try clam chowder in a restaurant one day. Gavin liked that his daddy likes clam chowder.
Appleton Street Sports Bar & Grill -- Chicken and Rice Soup
This was very good even if it was wild rice which I normally am not a big fan of. The chicken was not over cooked. It had a smooth, creamy consistency and I could eat an entire bowl of it. This was the one place that offered oyster crackers along with the soup. They even gave Gavin his own bowl. This was one of my favorites early on.
City Cafe -- Red Curry Noodle Soup
I am not a fan of curry and I know yellow curry is milder than red curry. I knew this was going to be spicy going into it but still wanted to try it. The soup was very spicy. The noodles helped take away the spiciness but there weren't enough noodles to finish the soup. Even though I wasn't a big fan of this soup, it had potential to be a good soup.
Antojitos Mexicanos -- Chicken Tortilla Soup
This was one of the soups I was looking forward to and I was not disappointed. I actually drank the remainder of the broth on this one. The tortilla chips gave the soup a nice crunch. The chicken wasn't over cooked. I would come here just for the soup. Danielle said it had A+ texture.
Lou's Brew Cafe -- Roasted Red Pepper Tomato with Grilled Cheese Croutons
When we got to this one, the line was out the door. I think they had to make more croutons. Danielle was disappointed by it. I thought it was alright but it didn't live up to it's expectations. The croutons were good. It was creamy and would be a good for lunch but I won't race out to get it.
CENA -- Chef's Surprise
Chef's Surprise can be a little scary especially with soup. This was a very pleasant Chef's Surprise -- they served Beer Brat Cheese Soup made with all local ingredients. The beer was from Stone Arch, the brats from Jacob's Meats, the cheese was from another local place, and all the vegetables came from Produce With Purpose out of Fond du Lac.
Danielle was a bit hesitant, I think, based on the name of this soup but as she said it was an "amazing surprise." That it was. The name alone made me want to try it. PHENOMENAL. This became my new favorite soup of the day.
Being a beer cheese soup, I would only want a cup of this soup due to it's richness. I may have to stalk this place to find out when they are serving this soup again.
Brewed Awakenings -- Ginger Turmeric Butternut Squash Soup
This was the only soup I was not excited to try. Maybe if they named it something different so I don't know it was squash soup might have made me more willing to give it a chance.
The first spoonful wasn't bad. The spices helped. The second spoonful was enough for me. I was not a fan.
Danielle thought there was a great use of spices to highlight the squash. Gavin got his own cup since Danielle finished mine. We also got a cup of water here.
Bagelicious -- Chicken Goulash with Spaetzle
Anytime anything has the word Spaetzle in the title, I am excited. Hello German food. Yum.
This did not disappoint. It is comfort food in a bowl. AMAZING!!!! It was cooked perfectly.
Danielle said it was "Flavor and Texture Overload!!!"
Gavin didn't want to share.
This is another place I am going to have to stalk when I'm craving soup.
Olde Towne Tavern -- Chili
I am very particular when it comes to chili. I don't like beans in my chili. I really don't like spicy chili -- it needs some heat but not a lot. However, even with the beans, this reminded me of my mom's chili. It was thick, meaty chili. The only thing it was missing was some cheese top it with. If I had a place to put all the beans I needed to dig out, I would have finished this. Danielle agreed that it had a great texture but it was too mild. It was definitely lacking the heat.
Bazil's Pub -- Tomato Bisque With Romano
I was disappointed. I felt this soup was missing something. It lacked flavor even for a tomato soup. I wanted a bold tomato flavor -- even if I hate tomatoes. The little flavor it did have was very fresh.
Danielle figured out if we added salt to the bisque, it brought out the flavor of the tomatoes. Either I didn't put in even salt or I still wanted more flavor. I still found it quite bland but Danielle really enjoyed it even though she doesn't like tomato soup.
D2 Sports Pub -- Red Velvet Dessert Soup
This was the perfect way for us to wrap up our soup walk. I wanted to try this one as soon as I laid eyes on it when debating which walk to go on when I picked up my tickets.
The Red Velvet soup was surprisingly smooth that excites the palate with some white chips for added texture. It honestly tasted like red velvet cake. I was amazed to be able to have the soup taste like the cake. I was worried they won't be able to replicate the soup. Not only did it taste like red velvet cake, it also tasted like Yoplait's Red Velvet Cake Yogurt probably because it was a yogurt based soup. For a cold soup it was really delicious and not too sweet.
After sampling all 11 soups we were up to our eyeballs in soup. We all had our favorites and ones that definitely disappointed us.
Favorites
Amy
- Chicken Goulash With Spaetzel
- Beer Brat Cheese Soup
- Red Velvet Soup
- Beer Brat Cheese Soup
- Ginger Turmeric Butternut Squash Soup
- Tomato Bisque with Romano
Gavin
- Red Velvet Soup
- Chicken Goulash With Spaetzel
- Chicken with Rice
I may have turn this into an annual event even if I can't score FAN passes to it. I found some new restaurants... tried new soups.. and found a few places I want to go back to which is the whole point of this event.
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