Have you heard of the Soup Nazi?

I'd been hearing a lot about the Soup Man (a.k.a Seinfeld's Soup Nazi) from my co-workers for a good while now. Apparently the Soup Man is known for quality, hearty soups. Not being a Jerry Seinfeld fan, I couldn't quite say that I shared the same excitement as my co-workers. But the idea that this was one of the best soups to get in NYC, I thought that it was worth a try anyway. Before we left the office, there were a few things I was warned about.

1. The Soup Nazi is called the Soup Nazi for a reason. He's not pleasant and can be pretty rude to customers.
   
2. Don't bother standing in line till you know what you are ordering. If it's your turn and you don't know what you want, back of the line you go.
   
3. Make sure you have your cash ready. Patience is not the soup man's virtue.
   
4. For your patience and cooperation, you get a free roll, fruit and a Lindt Chocolate!
   

So with that in mind, I stood outside the stall and decided what I wanted before even stepping into the line. The menu changes on a daily basis and basically the shop would have at least one vegetarian, one seafood and one clear broth soup. I'd been craving lobster bisque for a good while now and was REALLY excited to see that the Soup Man had it that day! I hardly even had to consider the rest of the menu options (which, of course, I still did). So I ordered my soup (with cheddar topping.. yum!) and moved aside to wait for my order in true conveyor belt style.

 
(On a side note, I have got to say that the Soup Man has a very profitable business. Not too large overhead because it's just a shop window taking orders and placing everything to-go. No need to waste space and money with furniture or eating in. The soups are pricier than your average soup joint so I'm guessing that the company is raking in the cash). No wonder he can afford to be a Nazi.

 
But anyway… I got back to the office in eager anticipation. I mean, my co-workers have been literally raving about this place for a good while now. Those were huge expectations placed on a very small bowl of soup. I opened my soup lid and was welcomed with the nice creamy and seafoodie aroma. I'm probably not exaggerating when I say that the office perked up when the smell wafted through the area. I have to say that the picture that greeted me when I lifted that soup lid was not how I had envisioned it.

Maybe it's because I was brought up with the notion that lobster bisques are really rich and creamy, and always expected my bisque everywhere else to have that same rich creamy consistency. And I also expected the bisque to have a hint of tomato, giving the soup a slight tomato cream color. Instead I was greeted with a more green pea-mixed-with-curry kind of greenish/yellowish bisque. "Well it's probably just not what you're used to… keep an open mind" was what I thought. So with my first mouthful, I realized that I needed to banish my pre-conceived notion of what lobster bisque would always be to me. Once I did that, and not thought of the soup as what I had originally expected, it was actually rather good. Though not as creamy as I had expected, it was still a really good soup! (if you can't already tell, I love creamy soups). I can understand how they price their soups a bit more because I had big chunks of fresh lobster with every spoonful! And some of the chunks were big enough that I could tell that they came from the claw!

 
The large portion was just right for lunch on a cold fall day. I think it definitely hit the spot. Throw in a thick slice of white baguette, some strawberries, grapes and a Lindt Lindor chocolate, and you've got yourself quite a hearty lunch. I won't deny that I was a bit skeptical about having just a soup for lunch. I thought I'd be hungry by 3pm. But no, that soup proved to be very satisfying. On a cold blustery day, nothing hits the spot like a rich hot soup that warms you from the inside.