The Soup Nazi

On Tuesday I ate lunch at a little restaurant that has wonderful sandwiches. I ordered a fancy sandwich, and chose the soup of the week for my side.

Pumpkin soup with cran-apple relish.

Before my order came out I was wondering if the soup would be good, and whether it would be hot or cold.

I got my plate, and felt the soup cup - it was warm. I got excited - I'm more of a hot soup kind of girl. So I tried the soup.

Oh.my.word.

I don't think I can adequately describe the soup to you. It was divinity. Mostly savory, with a little sweet, it had chopped apples and whole cranberries in it a little, but it was definitely pumpkiny, with nutmeg. I mean, this stuff was awesome.

So now I had a dilemma. I didn't want that small cup of soup to be the only one like that I ever had. I start to think about how I would love to make this soup. I asked the waitress if they give out recipes, and she said she wasn't sure - I would have to talk to the owner. She did divulge, however, that they get their recipes from the internet or from customers sometimes. So I'm guessing it isn't an ORIGINAL recipe.

So, I sit there and think about the best way to politely phrase my question so that I might be able to get the soup recipe. I decided to go with flattery first.

(SIDE NOTE: a couple of years prior to this, they had given out a butternut squash soup recipe to my mom, so I know it's been done.)

So I go to check out, put on my biggest grin, and say how WONDERFUL the soup was. I then proceed to ask if I could have the recipe, or even buy it.

What does the not-so-friendly-owner-lady say?

SHE SAID NO. Then, to add insult to injury, she said, "No, but we can make you some." She could make me some. Really? REALLY?!! I then told her that I was from out of town, so that wouldn't really help me.

I was so mad. I don't get mad that often - maybe it was just the day, but that lady really infuriated me. I mean seriously. Does she think I'm going to move to her little town, build a restaurant next to her, and only serve Pumpkin Soup with Cran-Apple Relish all year long? I mean COME ON. The other thing is, I guarantee she only serves that soup seasonally, and more likely, one month out of the year. And did I mention this is not likely an original recipe? Is she really THAT worried?

I have a cookbook from "The Melting Pot" where they actually put their recipes in there. Famous restaurants do things like that. They share, because they realize, even if people can make it themselves, most of the time they don't want to go to the trouble and expense and will just go to the restaurant.

So, I left in a huff, and called Mark. I had him google soup with that title. He probably thought I was crazy. He only found one recipe with the exact title. And you better believe I'm going to be making it and figuring out how to make it like theirs.

And, then, when I do, maybe I will mass produce it and hand it out to all the customers at her little store.

(PS - if this makes me sound like a psycho, just tell me, and I won't rant on here anymore! I just had to get it out!)

~Kathryn