Slowly but surely the weather around San Diego has dropped a few degrees, and as the sweaters and jackets have made their ways out of storage, so has our need for warm comfort foods. This brings us to a little spot on El Cajon Blvd., where a shop opens it's doors to serve up scratch made soups and warm paninis.
The place itself is very nice, a bit smaller on the inside but plenty of seating outdoors to enjoy your warm soup and the charm of the Boulevard in front of you.
When I saw lobster bisque on the menu, I knew that had to be the first thing I was going to order. From the first time I've tried it at other spots, I've been hooked by the flavor but was always put off by salt content. SD Soup Shoppe did not disappoint. Being scratch made, it really puts things on another level. The soup is rich and deep with a great creamy flavor to finish off every bite without being close to salty. You get great lobster flavor on the front end and a bit of sherry on the back end. The kicker for the soup bowl is the fresh made bread they receive in the morning that has that little bit of crunch and chew you only get from being recently baked.
I was soo blown away by the lobster bisque, I decided the the clam chowder was a must try. The broth has a perfect thickness with a great cream-rue flavor. Again great seafood content without being overly salty. Big pieces of clam are a nice treat and the potatoes are diced small with a soft texture. One of my pet peeves with chowder are huge hard pieces of potato so this was perfect. The fresh roll of bread on the side that's made it's way through the panini press plays a nice crunchy compliment to the soup, a great dipper for those inclined.
As for the sandwich, we went with the chicken pesto with bacon and red onion. The grilled chicken breast is thick and moist, almost as if they had been through a brine before the grill. This is topped with a nice slice of fresh mozzarella and bacon with a mild olive oil mayo over top. The pesto base is nice and flavorful but not too overpowering and adds a nice dimension to the sandwich. The whole thing is your traditional chicken club kicked up with the pesto and mozzarella to create a different experience all together. Again we have a fresh rosemary olive oil bread to pack all the goodies into, nice and crunchy from the press with just enough flavor to round the contents of the sandwich out.
I can't say enough, it's one thing to make a soup from scratch but it's a whole other story to have a great recipe and make bowls of amazingness. What SD soup shoppe does is take soups you normally wouldn't have a second thought about and does them at such a high level that when you try them there, you realize you've been missing out. This place opened earlier this month and they've gotten off to a great start. Other choices for the soups are Mushroom and Brie, Roasted Red Pepper and Gouda, Mediterranean Lentil and Italian Wedding Soup. At 6$ for soups(add a dollar for the lobster bisque,) and $8 for just the sandwiches they aren't cheap. I'd love to see some combination specials in the future but hey, I'm soo enamored by the fresh philosophy of the place I'm willing to pay the premium right now.
San Diego Soup Shoppe
2850 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 795-3870
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