Yesterday we had a surprise snowstorm, and my choice of Savor Soup House’s homemade soup (a cup of Tomato with Fennel and Orange, a vegan soup with chunks of tomatoes, garlic, fennel, and a touch of orange supposedly (I didn’t taste the orange) that was topped with croutons and parmesan, was the perfect choice to warm me up. For a tomato soup, I didn’t mind the chunkiness but I did wish it had less of a pure puree tomatoes taste. There is a thin line between a soup and what would be a great tomato pasta sauce, and I agree with some who said this leans more towards pasta sauce. A soup allows you to add more complex flavoring (like roasting the tomatoes or adding some sauteed mushrooms), and despite the chunky parts I also wanted more cream in it- though I guess then it wouldn’t be vegan anymore. Savor is very vegan/vegetarian friendly, so I can give them an out on the cream- if they would try to experiment more with this soup recipe to make the perfect mix of tomato and grilled cheese. If their grilled cheese choices are evidence, there is more potential with this standard daily soup offering they should explore.

To accompany their soups, they have a few grilled cheese standards, a grilled cheese special of the day, and a “make your own” with the ingredients they have, varying from classics like tomato or smoked bacon, to more interesting options you might not have thought of, like giardiniera or homemade pesto. Although I was tempted by their special of  a grilled cheese with the additional touches of apple slices, goat cheese, and truffle oil, I went for my own mix. It starts with the Tillamook cheese as the base, and added apple slices, caramelized onion, and apple butter. It was cooked perfectly. This is a really really good grilled cheese. As you can see, they even burn some of the cheese so it’s crispy on the grill and the caramelized onion was perfect. The apple butter and apple gave it a bit of sweetness.

I would definitely try this again- perhaps with another type of soup. Also, I would ask them to cut it in half- I personally like triangles, but I had to tear this in half down the middle since they had no knife, which was a little difficult and would have been harder if I had larger ingredients like any of the meats- the apple slices were small enough that I had to find the right break inbetween. They give eco-friendly spoons with their soup, so maybe pairing that with a knife in a cup that those who are dippers like myself can use if they are worried about contaminating their knives might be a soultion. Given the size of the soup container, these sandwiches definitely need to be cut to make them dip-able!