Soup and Pie- What Blew Me Away in 2010

Buffetbuster deserves the credit for this years title. We were discussing my year in Roadfood and I mentioned that there was lots of soup and lots of pie and he suggested the theme for this years'  best of list- Soup and Pie.

I usually begin my top 10 lists after Christmas. Although this year I will begin with a Pre- Christmas taster (no pun intended) simply listing the best soups and the best pies. I'll list the remaining top 10 lists, as usual, after Christmas...
 
Here we go:
 
Top 10 Soups of 2010 (in no particular order) 
 
1- Corn Chowder-  Soup and Greens  Barre VT
 

 
Thick n' creamy redolent of corn with hints of bacon.
 
 
2- Chicken Noodle, Chicken Borscht and Green Bean and Ham - Breadbasket Newton KS

 
All three were extaordinarily and equally good therefore since they were all served at the
Breadbasket I am counting all three as "one".
 
3- Knoephla Soup- Fried's Family Restaurant Mandan ND
 

 
Hearty Chicken and Potato Soup, generously loaded with dumplings. The "official" soup of
North Dakota
 
4- Matzoh Ball Soup- 2nd Avenue Deli- New York NY
 

 
In my opinion. the Best of the New York Delis-  Light Fluffy Matzoh Balls that would make the archetypical "Jewish Grandma" proud.
 
5- Wild Rice Soup- Northern Lights Cafe- Beaver Bay MN
 

 
More of a buttery broth than cream, the least traditional of the lot, this soup packed the most flavor.
 
6. Cream of Wild Rice Soup- Kafe Stuga Harris MN
 

 
Substantial, and loaded with toothy, chewy, grainy wild rice in each spoonful.
 
 
7. Tomato Crab Soup- A.W. Shucks Norfolk VA
 

Just loaded with hunks of fresh crabmeat, with strong hits of old bay and worcestershire  in the zesty tomato stock
 
8. Minorcan Chowder- Salt Water Cowboys St. Augustine FL
 

 
addictive and peppery
 
9.  She Crab Soup- 82 Queen Charleston SC
 

 
This creamy nectar is sided with sherry to add at will
 
10. Okra Gumbo- Gullah Cuisine Charleston SC
 

 
savory and spicy with generous amounts of shrimp, sausage and chicken.
Honorable Mentions
 
Peanut Soup -Surrey House Surry VA
 

 
Beer Cheese Soup- TNT's Diner West Fargo ND
 

 
Ham and Bean Soup- Riefe's Family Restaurant Davenport IA
 

 
 
Cheddar Soup- Simon Pierce Restaurant Quechee VT
 

nice list as always.
That crab and tomato number just looks dandy. I'm sure 
it tasted even better. 
And of course, your seduction by Miss Wild Rice is duly noted. 
 You're almost an honorary card carrying flyover country member.

Very appropriate reading/viewing considering the temperature outside!  Nice pictures Dale!

Great list - you just made the home page.

Man you're an artist...an artist........I'll take a bowl of each...and an extra one of the beer and cheese.....

Unbelievable.  I don't know if I could be as creative!    Chris

I make a killer corn chowder myself so I wouldn't go out of my way for a restaurant version, but I agree with you that 2nd Ave. Deli is the best in the city--everything I've ever had there was excellent.

Dale, I have to hand it to you - soup is a notoriously difficult subject to photograph well.  Your soup pictures are outstanding!

I could eat a bowl of #'s 4,7,8 and 9 right now. Dale-----great list! For next year hopefully we'll find a nice bowl of posole for you to add!

Love the idea of a top 10 soups and it is photographed remarkably well.  Great job!  But, I'm going to save my jealousy for the pie list!

What a great list and pics!

Outstanding post! Those all look good to me - it's 16 degrees in my part of North Carolina this morning. I could go for soup for breakfast. I could happily live on soup, bread, and fruit if I had to.

Steve,
I'm flattered.
Bruce & Chris
Thanks for the compliment, coming from the Roadfood staff that really means alot to me !
Ed
Isn't posole a stew vs a soup?
My wish list is to make it to Phoenix/Tucson/Albuquerque/Santa Fe next year, not sure if that will happen, it all depends on my profit sharing/ and  if I get any type of bonus. If it does happen, then I do see lots of posole in my future!
 
Everyone else-  yes it is the perfect time of year to think about soup- This time of year  a steaming bowl of clam chowder might work locally!
 

wanderingjew, Very nice!  Love a good bowl of soup.
 
I think I see all the makings of a Pie Throw Down coming up

wanderingjew


 
Ed
Isn't posole a stew vs a soup?

 
The million dollar question. I usually find it listed under soups. Out of curiousity, I did a Google search, and it came up more as a soup than as a stew. I suppose it walks that fine line between the two-------I opt for the soup designation more because the broth tends to be thin like a soup, rather than a thick stew. Regardless, it's delicious!

The Temps are in the minus, the snow is blowing and drifting, what a great time to launch excellent pictures of soup. I know, what I am having for supper. Maybe something close to the Okra soup. Probably won't be as good, as what Wanderingjew posted but he did give me the inspiration.

Soup is my thing.
 
Dale, your pictures, descriptions and choices of soup make me want to cook up a batch of my own.  (Not going to happen!)
 
Excellent work!
 
Thanks.

That tomato crab soup looks absolutely delicious!
 
Despite being a Minnesota transplant, I am really not crazy about most wild rice soups.  I love wild rice, and if I do say so  myself, I make a fantastic casserole/side dish (with thinly-sliced green onions, fresh mushrooms, and slivered almonds) from a recipe that I got 35 years ago from a co-worker at a summer job I had outside Chicago.  But the versions of wild rice soup I've had here in Minnesota just don't do it for me -- maybe because I don't really like cream-based soups.  I prefer broths.

I am impressed.  Good job my friend.  Oh yeah.  The swamp gravy thing.  Where is that?  :)   ?  Yes, that qualifies...
Sign me off as -- The raw veggie pizza lover dude.
 

Ed
Wikipedia describes Posole as a "soup" or "stew" so I guess it goes "both ways"
 
Rumaki
You would probably like the Wild Rice Soup served at Northern Lights Cafe in Beaver Bay, it is not cream based but is actually a buttery broth...
 
The Pie list should be posted sometime this weekend.
 
After Christmas I will continue with


Top 5 Non- Pie Desserts
Top 10 Standbys
Top 10 Breakfasts
10 Honorable mentions (non local non breakfast)
and the Finale
Top 10 Non Local Non Breakfast Roadfood Restaurants of 2010
of course I will also include roadfooders that I met for the first time this year
and whats in store for 2011 (unfortunately not very much)
 
The one list that I decided to omit this year is the rotten tomatoes list

Great photos, Dale. Those soups look delightful. looking forward to the rest of the lists.

Peanut soup at Surrey House. I remember it well from about 40 years ago when our boys were youngsters and we toured Williamsburg, bought our first of many Smithfield style hams, and had lunch at Surrey House where I was the only one who would try the peanut soup. It was delicious and the memory lingers because it was my one and only encounter with peanut soup. Anyone know of a place along 50/301 where I might find it on the menu?
 
Cheers, John 

Looking good so far, keep them coming.

Wandering, one of your Richmond restaurant favorites has moved four blocks east of its former location on the same side of the street.
http://www.mcleansrestaurant.com/
http://www.menupix.com/richmond/restaurants/4608846/McLeans-Restaurant-Richmond-VA

GeoNit


Wandering, one of your Richmond restaurant favorites has moved four blocks east of its former location on the same side of the street.
http://www.mcleansrestaurant.com/
http://www.menupix.com/richmond/restaurants/4608846/McLeans-Restaurant-Richmond-VA

GeonNit
 
I heard about that.  I wonder if the new place has as much character as the old place. BTW since I returned to Mcleans this past spring. stay tuned to find out if they make one of the top 10 lists.

Just some of the cooler things that caught my attention on the road in 2010
 

 
The Tin Man - Wichita KS
 
 

 

Great Plains Polka Fest- Mandan ND
 
 

 
Still really don't know what to make of this??- Grand Marais MN
 
 

 
Yes- an arm and a leg!- Two Harbors MN
 
 

 
A big ol' coffee pot- Lindstrom MN
 
 

 
They must be very enthusiastic about the place if it's described with an expletive- Fredericksburg VA
 

 
Charleston Aquarium- Charleston SC
 
 

 
I could think of at least a couple of roadfooders that probably like to frequent here- Charleston SC
 
 
The pie list should be posted tomorrow!

Good stuff WJ!  I especially like the Costley Law Firm.  Maybe the name Dewey, Cheatem & Howe was already taken.

buffetbuster


Good stuff WJ!  I especially like the Costley Law Firm.  Maybe the name Dewey, Cheatem & Howe was already taken.

 
Actually I deal with Dewey, Cheatem and  Howe on a daily basis at work. I also deal with Schuyster and Schuyster. They're  always providing me with medical records to evaluate from
Dr. Summeroff and and Dr. Treatalot.

As promised, the last Pre-Christmas taster of my best of 2010.
Of course this is what makes Buffetbuster green with envy.. however I dedicate this portion of the awards to Jane and Michael Stern, the original pie aficionados.
 
Top 10 Pies of 2010 (in no particular order)
 
1. Key Lime Pie- Salt Water Cowboys St. Augustine FL
 

 
Cool- Creamy n' Tart....
 
 
2. Sweet Potato Pie- Mama Mary's Sugar & Spice  Richmond VA
 

 
Undeniably the best sweet potato pie I've ever had- anywhere!
 
3. Mixed Berry Pie- Two Fat Cats Bakery- Portland ME
 

 
The single most best item enjoyed on Buffetbuster's  MY trip to Portland Maine this past summer . This pie must have weighed about 5 lbs and it was a multi berry orgasm, which my friends could attest to when we enjoyed it that evening in Rhode  Island at my buddy, Mike's engagement party.
 
4. Raspberry Rhubarb Pie- Rustic Inn Two Harbors MN
 

 
Probably my favorite pie of the Heartlanding through the Breadbasket Trip. The perfect combination of tart n' sweet and housed in a buttery crust.
 
 
5. Sour Cream Raisin Pie- TNT's Diner West Fargo ND
 

 
Not too rich, light n' moist- creamy- and absolutely perfect.
 
6. Sour Cream Raisin Pie- Farmer's Kitchen Atlantic IA (enjoyed about 90 minutes away)
 

 

Mark's mom really puts "the Raisin" in Sour Cream Raisin Pie. To this day I simply cannot understand how someone who doesn't like Sour Cream Raisin Pie can make such an outstanding one. Mark aka Blizzardstormus, proprietor of The Farmers Kitchen was nice enough to bring me this slice "long distance" when we met up at Crouse Cafe in Indianaola IA this past August.
 
7. Cherry Pie- Crouse Cafe Indianola IA
 

 
Well, I guess this only proves that Iowa really is a pie state. Thanks to Ayersian for
leading me here.
 
 
8. Coffee Cup Cafe- Sully IA
 

 
rich and decadent- a chocolate lover's delight
 
9. Banana Cream Pie- Riefe's Family Restaurant- Davenport IA
 


 
It's no wonder that Riefe's has been around for over 60 years. This fine hunk of banana pie had huge banana slices with each forkful.
 
10. Maple Cream Pie-  P & H Truck Stop Wells River VT
 
 

 
a magnificent maple masterpiece.
 
 
Honorable Mentions
 
Blueberry Pie- Uncle Don's Spurwink Country Kitchen Scarborough ME
 

 
 
Apple Pie- Bonefish Willie's Melbourne FL
 

 
For the life of me, I can't remember if Travelin Man ordered this or if one of his friends did. Either way, I had a piece and realized that I should have ordered this instead of the Key Lime Pie
The rest of the lists- after Christmas

There is a finger in that last pie
 
was it tasty, or was it not?