Ithaca Soup Reviews

I'm on a mission to explore and enjoy all the soups here in beautiful Ithaca, NY. I'll be eating and reviewing soups, chowders, stews, bisques, etc from all over the area. Mmmm....

[ithacasoup]

Name: Manhattan Clam Chowder

Bottom Line: Savory, Spicy, Satisfying

Location: Gorgers, 116 W State St, Ithaca, NY 14850

Official Description: N/A, this was a soup of the day

Price: $4 for a bowl (I actually got mine as a soup, drink, and 1/2 sub special for $7)

Review: This soup was hearty and satisfying. It had a nice little KICK to it as well. There was a great little burn.  The chunks of vegetables made this thick soup a nice mouth full. There were a decent amount of clams, too.  This soup had a nice tomato flavor but was very savory.  It was quite filling, too. This soup is a meal. I'd recommend it. Another winner from Gorgers!

[ithacasoup]

Name: Sweet Corn and Tomato Bisque

Bottom line: YUMMARIFFIC!

Location: Collegetown Bagels Downtown, 203 Aurora St, Ithaca

Official Description: N/A

Price: $4.50 (Medium, 16 oz)

Review: This was yum!  The sweet corn and tomato had poblano chili peppers in it. It was creamy in texture and had a hint of spice. I love the flavor of poblano chili so I was definitely happy. The soup was rich and filling, but not overwhelming. The veggies were present but not overbearing, there was a nice balance of creamy broth and veggies.  I would definitely recommend this soup. The price was good, too!

[ithacasoup]

Name: Saffron Rice Soup

Bottom Line: bland

Location Temple of Zeus, Goldwin-Smith Hall, Cornell University

Official Description: Tomato, long grain rice, saffron, leeks, carrot, celery, onion, and olive oil

Price: I can't remember, sorry

Review: Maybe my expectations were too high. I have long heard tale of the magical soups at Temple of Zeus. I had high expectations. They make their soups from scratch on site. The ingredient list of this soup definitely had me excited. Saffron is so exotic and I love rice in soup.  I have to say this one felt like something was missing. I don't know if it didn't have enough salt for my taste or if it was something else but I would not recommend this soup because it was bland.

[ithacasoup]

Name: French Onion Soup

Bottom line: sweet and sassy

Location: Cafe Dewitt, 215 N Cayuga #76, Ithaca

Official Description: French onion with croutons and gruyere

Price: Came with Patricia's sandwich. I think it was about $3.50 a cup a la carte.

Review: I have to admit, I'm not generally a fan of French Onion soup. To me it is too sweet every time.  However, I am a soup blogger and Patricia ordered it so I felt compelled to taste. It was definitely sweet. There was LOADS of delicious, caramelized. onions in this. The texture of the broth was as expected and the onions were cooked perfectly.  I really loved the adornments, the croutons were nice and toasted, the cheese was delicious. Patricia noted a hint of wine. She told me in her opinion as a French Onion soup lover that this is a great one.

[ithacasoup]

Name: Tomato roasted red pepper chevre 

Bottom line: Thick, rich, and delish

Location: Cafe Dewitt, 215 N Cayuga #76, Ithaca

Official Description: None. Soup of the day written on the chalk board

Price: Came with my sandwich. I think it was around $3 a cup a la carte.

Review: This creamy tomato soup made me make all sorts of happy noises. The texture was great, nice and smooth and thick.  I loved the addition of goat cheese. The flavor was very nice, slightly sweet and definitely very tomato.  My lunch-buddy Patricia said this soup reminded her of pizza. I'd LOVE to have a slice of that pizza, for sure.

[ithacasoup]

Name: Nabeyaki Udon (Udon Noodle Soup)

Bottom Line: EXCELLENTLY SOUPTASTIC

Location: Tokyo Hibachi, 722 South Meadow st, Suite #800, Ithaca, NY, 14850

Official description: Thick udon noodles in a chicken broth served with chicken, crab sticks, Japanese fish cake, poached egg and shrimp tempura

Price: $12.99

Review: This soup was amazing. The broth was flavorful but not overwhelming. The udon was perfectly thick and chewy, amazing. The soup was served very hot and fresh. The veggies were nice and well cooked. The chicken was the weakest point but it didn’t distract from the overall amazingness of the soup. I adored the poached egg, it was perfectly poached and really added interest to the dish. The shrimp tempura was fresh and crisp and the batter was excellent. I would highly recommend this soup. 

[silverichorr]

I was just in the Nabeyaki Udon tag and I came across your post.

I was looking at your picture and I thought, “that soy sauce bottle looks familiar. So does that soup bowl. And that table…” then I realized this soup came from the restaurant I work as a waitress for.

Glad to hear that you liked the Nabeyaki Udon! I’ll make sure to tell the chefs as such; they’d greatly appreciate it!

[ithacasoup]

Oh wow!  One of the waitresses from Tokyo Hibachi stumbled upon my blog. She saw my review and recognized her restaurant from the photo. How cool! 

[ithacasoup]

Name:Osaka-Ya

Bottom Line: Savory and satisfying

Location: Osaka-Ya, 

Official Description: Udon with tempura vegetables. Udon featuring white noodles in a konbu based broth.

Price: $7.50

Review: This was a great soup and I look forward to eating it all summer long as a I work at the Farmers' Market.  The broth was heavenly, so savory and complex. The noodles were good but, honestly, I prefer thicker noodles with my udon. These were a little bit flat. They were nice and chewy, however.  The vegetable tempura selection was excellent but they got soggy before I got the chance to eat them (I walked back across the market to my booth). I love very crunchy crisp veggies so I think I will ask for them on the side next time so I can dip them at my leisure. I'll write another review after I do that!  I would definitely recommend this soup. Filling, warm, great broth, good noodles, and good veggies. They even serve it in a real ceramic bowl! 

[ithacasoup]

Name: Tomato Basil

Bottom Line: Yummy and filling.

Location: Fork & Gavel, Level B, Myron Taylor Hall, Cornell Law School

Official Description: Tomato Basil Soup. Tomatoes, onions, celery, basil, red wine vinegar, salt, sugar

Price: My friend bought so I don't remember. SORRY!! I couldn't find the price online.

Review: Fork & Gavel is run by the same folks who brought Mandible to Cornell.  They emphasize fresh, local food. This was a really nice, simple tomato soup.  It was hearty, with big thick chunks of tomato. I definitely felt nice and full after eat this and a small salad. The only criticism I have is that is was a bit sweet.  I think they could do without the sugar and let the natural sweetness of ripe, cooked tomato do the trick

[ithacasoup]

Name: Thai Green Chicken Curry

Bottom Line: Nose-running-spicy-souptastic. Not for the faint of heart.

Location: Gorgers, 116 W State St, Ithaca

Official Description: Soup du jour. No description given.

Price: $4 for a bowl

Review: WOW! Once again Gorgers proves that they are NOT afraid of flavor. This is a serious nose-running-spicy soup. It was delightful. The broth had a great consistency, slightly creamy in texture but not too thick. There was definitely a punch of hot hot curry here but it was not to hot to hide the flavor. The vegetables were great, perfectly cooked chunks of potato and nice slivers of onion. The chicken was shredded and had a nice texture. The only thing missing, in my opinion, was some rice. I think poured over rice with some raita this would have been perfection.  Great job again Gorgers!

[ithacasoup]

Name: Pho (Gau Gan)

Bottom Line: Unphogettable. Some of my phoverate soup in town. phofrakingtastic.

Location: Saigon Kitchen, 526 W State St, Ithaca

Official Description: Pho is an authentic homemade Vietnamese noodle soup, made with beef or chicken broth. All our pho is served with a side of been sprouts, basil and lime. Gau Gan is beef brother, brisket, and tendon. (I actually ordered off slightly off menu because they don't have the brisket and tendon combo on menu but that's what I wanted.)

Price: 8.95 for the largest bowl of soup you can imagine.

Review: This was an excellent soup. I highly recommend it. The portion is enormous (I've had pho here several times and never finished in one sitting). The broth is savory, complex, and very delicious. The noodles are cooked perfectly. For beef broth you have the option of tendon (very flavorful and delightfully chewy), brisket (great flavor and decent texture, it was a little tough today), steak (I forget what the steak is like), and meatball (I don't care for asian meatballs). I've never tried the chicken pho. Any other pho place I've been I added lots of sauce to liven up the broth but Saigon Kitchen NEEDS no additions. Just throw in the crunchy bean sprouts and lovely minty basil to complete your soup and enjoy. Excellent!  

[ithacasoup]

This will have to be an informal review because I neglected to get my review written down in a timely fashion.

This was a lovely curry soup at the Carriage House (305 Stewart Ave, Ithaca). It came as part of a soup, salad, and strata combo plate. The soup had a gentle curry flavor (not at all spicy) and a nice savory flavor underneath it. There were greens and chick peas in the broth. I feel certain there was some sort of meat, maybe a ham or bacon, but I am sad to report I can't remember for certain. The soup came with a pita triangle in it which was lovely to dip. Overall I'd say it was a very nicely done soup although, personally, I would have liked a stronger curry flavor and more spice to it.

[ithacasoup]

Name: Vegetarian Creamy Tomato Soup

Bottom Line: Passable but forgettable

Location: Panera Bread Company,  748 S Meadow St, Ithaca, NY 14850

Official Description: Vine-ripened pear tomatoes pureed with fresh cream for a velvety smooth flavor accented by hints of red pepper and oregano and topped with our asiago croutons. Served daily.

Price: $4.99

Review: This soup was good, but that's as far as I'd go. It was just good. It had a nice tomato flavor but not much else going for it flavor wise. I found it lacking. The texture was good and I enjoyed the bread. I got a nice sized portion and it was filling and hot. I just wish it had a more interesting flavor going for it. I have high standards for creamy tomato soup and this soup didn't meet those standards. I actually WOULD order it again if I were meeting friends at Panera because the price is good but it's not something I would go out of my way to get.

[ithacasoup]

Name: Tom Kha Tofu (Carry out)

Bottom Line: A bit bland, but good

Location: Taste of Thai Express, 209 S Meadow St, Ithaca, NY 14850

Official Description: Creamy coconut soup with galangal, lemongrass, mushroom and thai herbs

Price: $7.95 for a 'pot'. $2.95 for a 'cup'

Review: I'm a huge huge fan of Tom Kha soup generally. This one was a little bland. It didn't have the lemongrassy or galangal punch that makes a GREAT Tom Kha soup in my opinion.  The mushrooms were really nicely cooked and had great texture. The creaminess of the broth was definitely there, too.  It was good, but just good. 

[ithacasoup]

Name: Creamy Tomato Soup

Bottom Line: Delicious!! Eat this soup!

Location: GreenStar Oasis, 215 N Cayuga St, Ithaca, NY 14850

Official Description: None

Price: Varies by size. From under $2 for 8 oz to about $6.50 for 32oz. This was 12oz for, I believe, $2.50.

Review: EAT THIS SOUP. :)  Okay, this was seriously delicious. I was making 'Mmm' noises after almost every bite. It is slightly sweet (as tomato should be!), creamy, and, surprisingly, very garlicky in the best way. It felt filling and healthy! The ingredients are listed right there on the sign when you buy it at the hot bar. The texture was very nice. It was smooth  BUT also had a little bit of texture and some little nibbly bits that definitely increased my enjoyment. This soup is great. I highly recommend it!

[imadethispizzabitches]

Two of the same pizza is twice as nice! December 25, 2013. Second of two.

[ithacasoup]

This isn't soup, but it is delicious food! I made a special guest appearance on this blog. Can you spot me?

[ithacasoup]

Name: Lobster Bisque

Bottom Line: SAAAALTY

Location: Mahogany Grill, 112 N Aurora St, Ithaca, NY 14850

Official description: None. The waitress did tell me that the lobster is blended in and not to expect chunks.

Price: $8

Review: I'm sorry to say I can't recommend this bisque. It was so salty! I really like salty food but this just took away from the flavor. Under the salt there was a nice lobster flavor. The texture was good, nice and creamy. I was also disappointed in the serving size. I ordered a bowl of soup for $8 and it was such a shallow bowl, I didn't feel like it was a good value at all. 

I have had many delicious things to eat at Mahogany Grill, so I'm not saying you shouldn't eat there, but I can't recommend this bisque.

[ithacasoup]

Name: Hot and Sour Soup

Bottom Line: FLAVORPUNCHINTHEFACE and a slow burn

Location: Asia Cuisine, 126 N Aurora St, Ithaca, NY 14850

Official description: None.

Price: $2.99 at lunch (pictured above), $3.50 at dinner

Review: A friend of mine recommend this soup as the best Hot and Sour soup in Ithaca. I haven't tried any of the others but this is definitely the best Hot and Sour soup I've ever had. In the past I've had Hot and Sour soups that, frankly, had a kind of weird fake taste to them. This one was very fresh and satisfying.

You start with a big citrusy PUNCH IN THE MOUTH. This soup does NOT hold back. There are beautiful lemony notes that make this soup very tangy. I wouldn't go so far to say it is SOUR but it is definitely tangy and very flavorful. I think, for some, it might even be a little too far. I dumped rice into mine and it helped to spread the flavor out a little.

The tofu and vegetables are fine, nothing to write home about but not distracting. There is also an egg cooked into this, egg drop style. The soup has a really nice thick viscous body to it. As I was first eating it I wondered where the 'hot' was... then I got to the finish. After you swallow a couple spoonfuls of tangy delight you start to notice a very nice slow burn in the mouth. The heat is slow to come on but lasts a long time. You can still taste that nice gentle burn long after the bowl is empty. I would recommend this soup for anyone who enjoys intense flavors.