As the leaves change color and the breezy fall days begin, a warm bowl of comforting soup is the perfect addition to this season.
If you have ever watched “Seinfeld,” you may recall the 1995 episode “The Soup Nazi,” which was inspired by Al Yeganeh, the chef and creator of the famous soups found in “The Original SoupMan” locations across the country.
The first SoupMan, originally named “Soup Kitchen International,” opened in 1984 in midtown Manhattan. Since then, it has become a franchise with various city locations across the U.S.
Along with brick and mortar stores, SoupMan soups are available in grocery stores next to big name brands like Campbell’s and Progresso. SoupMan has also entered the food truck business with the help of Marcus Crawford, the founder and visionary behind lifestyle brand Amongst Elite.
In 2011, Crawford worked his way from the bottom up at “The Original SoupMan.” While working there, he thought of new opportunities for SoupMan to grow.
“I pitched the concept of putting the SoupMan products onto food trucks in order to help build brand awareness,” Crawford said. “By putting the soups on trucks and franchising out, we can touch a larger demographic.”
Currently, the SoupMan food truck is operating as a “soup-mobile” trailer that has traveled to Baltimore, Maryland, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and major cities in New Jersey.
Crawford has plans to launch a Kickstarter within the next month to raise funds to operate a fully equipped food truck with more menu options.
The SoupMan truck offers up to six different soup flavors a day. The menu changes daily but will always have seafood, meat and vegetarian options. According to Crawford, signature soups include lobster bisque, jambalaya and mulligatawny.
The lobster bisque is a rich, creamy soup made with 100 percent real North Atlantic lobster blended with onions, celery, potatoes, cream and sherry wine.
I tried the chicken gumbo soup, which consisted of chunks of chicken breasts, red pepper, okra and carrots. I was pleasantly pleased by the meat-to-soup-to-vegetable ratio, as every element was perfectly balanced.
Although I found the chicken to be slightly dry, the vegetables were well cooked and not overly soft. The soup also had a nice kick of spiciness that added a depth of flavor.
The tomato basil soup, which was the vegetarian option of the day, had finely diced carrots, red and green peppers and onions. It was one of the best tomato soups I have ever had.
Unlike most tomato soups where the texture is solely smooth, the vegetables created texture in SoupMan’s version.
They serve all soups with oyster crackers to soak up the flavors of the soup and add a crunchy bite.
To go along with your soup, I recommend also ordering the lobster roll, which consists of chunks of lobster sitting on top of a soft, toasted bun. I liked that the lobster was not heavily coated with mayonnaise. Instead, a small amount of mayo was spread on the bottom of the bun with thinly sliced iceberg lettuce. The lobster’s light seasoning allowed the true flavor of the lobster meat to shine.
“It’s a specialty seasoning — I’m not at liberty to tell you the secrets!” Crawford said.
Rice bowls are also available every day and consist of long grain wild rice with a choice of soup on top. Crawford recommends the chicken chili soup to create a “real hearty quick meal.”
Along with serving delicious soup, Crawford hopes to inspire entrepreneurship among students. After graduating from Florida International University in 2010, Crawford found himself unemployed like thousands of other graduates. He always knew he wanted to be a business owner but was not sure what kind of business to enter.
Since then, he founded Amongst Elite and is working to bring SoupMan to more customers across the nation.
“We can relate to the students and their possible future ambitions. We want them to look at us, see some young guys trying to build a solid business and hopefully gather some inspiration to go seek their entrepreneurial dreams,” Crawford said.
With so many food trucks competing for business, SoupMan is confident its specialization in flavorful, hearty soups will set it apart from other trucks.
“Hopefully, we can become the ice cream of the winter,” Crawford said.
Originally published in Inside Beat