after loving so hard on peanut butter jelly time, i was uncertain that i wanted to do another public market house vendor review right away. but as they’re rapidly filling up their brand new 2nd floor, they’re also rapidly becoming both the best and cheapest place in town to get lunch. case and point, new kid in town, kamasouptra. that’s right, they made a sexy joke about soup. their totally adorable and slightly dirty tagline is actually hot. steamy. soup. and they don’t lie.
i like simplicity. if i could make one criticism (a loving criticism) of PB&J time, it would be that he has A LOT going on. like today, i realized that he sold belgian waffles. which is not to say that i don’t appreciate a fresh belgian waffle (because i certainly do), it’s just that it seems a bit cluttered up there and like there are too many choices. kamasouptra is exactly the opposite. they offer soup, the complimentary bread that comes with the soup, and a few drinks (i may have also noticed a few breakfast items). it’s all very minimalist in a way that i really enjoy. the soup is the main attraction, and that’s the end of the story.
and what an attraction it is. served in mismatched ceramic bowls (which is a lovely homey touch), they had a really wide selection including lots of vegan & vegetarian options (not just the standard 1 choice that most places have), as well as gluten free. they also offered 3 price levels (i’m assuming based on ingredients), $4.95, $5.95, & $6.95, and only one size. so streamlined!
i chose the $4.95 mushroom barely soup, and my fabulous date got the $5.95 vegetarian chili. each bowl came with a WARM crusty wheat roll (freshly baked according to their website), roughly the size of the bowl that the soup was in. seriously, it was some HUGE BREAD, and exactly the right size for dipping & eating the amount of soup that they give you. my soup was really good, a little on the salty side, but flavorful and totally busting with fresh vegetables. my friend’s chili on the other hand was AMAZING. as close to veg chili perfection as i have ever encountered. my entire meal with $1.50 bottled water was $6.81, and i was definitely full (although that didn’t stop me from stuffing down a tony’s donut from the rock city coffee).
you might think that a year round soup is a misguided plan, but i say that really delicious and good quality food knows no season. also according to their website, they’ll be adding some cold fruit soups and dips come the hot season. in the meantime, if you’re needing a little steamy lunchtime action, kamasouptra knows tricks that you have only seen in videos. so practice your come hither look, and get your ass down there now (you don’t want to keep them waiting).
broke 207 
I am fortunate enough to sample almost all offerings and they are all winners! I have found food groups that I LOVE that I never even knew existed before they opened! They should get a 5 star review from the GO! Section 🙂
And sorry about the clutter! It seems as though customers think that I don’t offer enough choices, as I had 2 customers make up their own menu for me today. One ordered Ham and Cheese and the other Chicken Salad. Had to send them to the first floor for such things!
Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!
they really seem to know what they’re doing. i think some soup and a samoon would be AMAZING. i could double dip! but that’s exactly my point about the clutter, you offer so many crazy and incongruous choices, i never even noticed the samoon was there. i think that if it was more clear what you were offering, less people would be likely to ask you for ham sandwiches. i love what you do, and i’m gonna be a repeat customer no matter what, but it is a little overwhelming with all the stuff. i’ll be back soon! (gotta defend my mayorship)
I am so glad to hear the soup place is now open. A few weeks ago I was in town and took my little one to lunch at the PB&J place and while she was happy to have a jelly sandwich (excellent prices I might add especially when feeding a picky preschooler) I felt there were too many choices. It did appear cluttered and I ended up getting a pizza at the other place (sadly not so good in my opinion).
Yet I love soup year round, back in Chicago we had a place that was called the soupbox/icebox. In the winter months they had 12 soups daily (yummy) and were called the soupbox. In the summer they scaled down to a mere 6 soups daily but offered italian ices and were called the icebox.
Your review makes me want to run to town and try them out immediately but seeing as how I am still recovering, I may have to delay that plan for a while.
you know, i’ve heard mixed reviews about the pizza but i haven’t tried it. PB&J time is great, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed. apparently there was a secondary sandwich menu that i’d never even noticed before because there was so much bullshit going on. as soon as you’re feeling up to it, you’ve got to get out to the kamasouptra! i heard they’re rolling out a gouda soup next week, and i do love my cheese. plus, their bread is killer. get well soon!
Can I put in a plug for the grilled samoon at PB&J time? It’s like if grilled cheese and garlic bread had a gigantic baby. mmmm….
done and done. ate one over bananagrams with kristina yesterday. why didn’t anyone think of this before?!
Also, they do this deal where you pay $35 and get your own bowl with your name on it that no one can use but you, you get $1 off each bowl of soup for the year, and at the end of the year they give you your bowl to keep and you get a t-shirt. Just sayin’. Also, tell me more about this fabulous date of yours! She sounds divine.
that’s totally awesome. maybe if i’m feeling proactive this weekend i will go back and update my post with that sexy little tidbit. as for my date… she’s kind of a whore but i hang out with her out of pity. she has good taste in soup though.
That is so typical: whores always know soup. That’s probably where the expression “soup whore” comes from.
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