Washington, DC (Takoma)
Submitted by: Geoff Chesman, Geoff Chesman Visuals
Souper Girl is Sara Polon, a former government contractor and stand-up
comedienne who decided to get involved with the local food movement after
reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’sDilemma. A friend prompted her to do
this by making soup since she had a reputation for great soup (which was actually
made by Sara's mother). At first, Sara started
with just deliveries, but eventually opened her storefront last September.
When you walk into Souper Girl, located directly across from the
Takoma Metro station at the Maryland/Washington, DC line, you are greeted by
friendly staff in a bright, cheery space with large windows and
striking green chairs that hint at the store’s green mission. On Sundays, the Takoma Park Farmer’s Market
is a quick walk up the street, which enables Sara to source her ingredients from many of
those farms. What does that mean? All of
the soups are homemade with fresh and seasonal ingredients, many of which
are organic and of course local. Sara wouldn’t dare use frozen ingredients (why
do restaurants even consider this?) or have anything shipped in from across the country (Hello! Carbon emissions! Buying local = less carbon). Furthermore, the soups only contain ingredients that your grandmother would
recognize -- fresh veggies, grains and
beans. Each day, you can choose from
several soups and taste them before you purchase them!
Geoff Chesman, writes, “What’s not to love?!?! Not
only is the soup nutritious and delicious but I love that Soupergirl sources
local ingredients and supports area producers. I don't mind stopping in to the
shop to see what's new but I also love the convenient pickup spots around town.”
Before you visit,
you might want to check out Souper Girl’s web site to see what is “in the
kettles”, usually 3 very varied selections of soup. The site also lists what is pre-packaged in
the fridge, so you can plan your menu and eat soup all week long!
When I went to visit, the features that stuck out for me were the additional offerings of fruit,
salad, fresh bread and filtered water.
In addition, I love the fact that if you eat in, your soup is served in
a real bowl (not an evil polystyrene container that never biodegrades when it
goes to the landfill), but if you take your soup to go, Souper Girl provides
an ecotainer® which is made from renewable resources,
sustainable wood fiber and plants and is therefore compostable (which means it’s
not going to stay in the landfill until the end of time). Sigh.
If only more food purveyors followed Souper Girl’s lead.
Souper Girl is open Monday through Thursday from 8:15 a.m. – 8:00
p.m., Fridays from 8:15 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. and Sunday’s from 11:00 a.m. – 5:00
p.m. They are closed on Saturdays and
Jewish holidays and will be closed this Sunday, May 27 and Monday, May 28 in
honor of Shavuot. 
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