I picked up my dear ol’ Mom last Friday after she’d spent a few days at my brother’s not far away. She’d come down with a nasty cold like the rest of us. We’d no doubt contaminated her. I’d intended to take her out to lunch for soup, but she wasn’t feeling well enough to do that. Still, soup was a good idea, and I wanted to do a review - so, time to think outside the box. And I thought, if I can’t bring Mom to the soup, how ‘bout I bring the soup to her? And, why not give her a choice? This is America after all.

So, I took a short drive to our local Westborough, MA Super Stop & Shop. I’d seen fresh soup available at their takeout bar right near the front door before. I scooped up a fresh steamy cup of both New England clam chowder and Italian Wedding Soup, which sell equally for $3.99/pound. I got the soups home, poured them into real cups and warmed them again just briefly in the microwave. My Mom wanted the wedding soup. I got the chowder.

Mom said the wedding soup was mild but flavorful and not salty at all. Most of the flavor came from a mildly herb accented chicken broth. Parsley was the only herb I could readily pick out. The others were more finely chopped. There were also small pieces of chicken and equally small pasta pieces. Mom had the soup just as it was straight from the store.

My clam chowder was creamy but not thickly spoon-coating gooey. It was full of potatoes and chopped clams and, like the wedding soup, was appropriately mild in flavor. I even saw a little butter swimming at the top, which I like with chowder. And though I appreciated the flavor for what it was, I couldn’t let an opportunity to spice it up a bit go by the board, especially considering the spice cabinet was only a few short steps away. And all I added was just a little freshly ground black pepper - clam chowder always needs that, at least for me - a healthy dash of McCormick’s Bayou Cajun Seasoning and a squirt of Balsamic Vinegar, which added just a hint of spice and a satisfying sweet and sour to the soup.

Mom and I took our time enjoying the soup as we talked and laughed a lot on the living room couch. I highly recommend the soups, especially as a last minute solution to “gotta’ get something good and quick to eat NOW!” I also liked the idea of going outside the box - that’s been my life - and plan to do it again somewhere else.