Readers' Favorite Green Restaurants: Souper Girl

Souper Girl

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. 

Houses of Worship Can Green It Up, Too

Yesterday, I attended a monthly meeting called The Baltimore Green Forum which is a monthly environmental and discussion forum held usually on the last Sunday of each month at Maryland Presbyterian Church, an eco conscious house of worship. A few of the many EASY things they do is collect the paper church bulletins after the service for recycling and have mugs available for their coffee service. They have also made sure to use native plants for their landscaping. This church understands that we need to do all we can to preserve God's creation and the smallest of efforts add up.

On a related note, while I was visiting my parents the weekend before, I went to my old church. Since I was a child, it has been my church's tradition to have a coffee hour immediately after the service. It once featured coffee, tea and lots of desserts, so I was happy so see that they have added some cheese and wheat crackers to the menu. However, it bummed me out that the hot beverages were still served in polystyrene cups. It was no surprise to me that the church uses them since the Dart Container factory, maker of foam cups, is a mere 2 miles away from the church.

I realize the church might not be able to afford the ecotainer, so I suggested to my dad that at the very least, they choose paper instead. He said, "Some people complained that the paper cups didn't insulate the coffee and was too hot to hold." Then use ceramic coffee cups, place them in the dishwasher at the end of the coffee hour and they'll be clean in time for next week! He said, "That sounds like a lot of effort." Being green sometimes takes a little bit of effort, but it's going to be a heck of lot more effort to find a home for all the polystyrene cups that won't biodegrade, pile up in our landfills and leave a not-too-desirable Earth for the generations that come after us.

We are a society of convenience. It is too inconvenient to hold a coffee cup that is a little warm. It is too inconvenient to throw some mugs (less than 50?) into a dishwasher and delay your arrival at home by 20 minutes. What will the generations that come after us think of us? I'd prefer to be known as the generation that turned things around, not the one that made things worse.