San Diego Soup Shoppe

Earlier this month, I was finally able to meet up with Cathy...

we both decided on this little soup place in North Park, one which I'd overlook while driving by on the Boulevard...

but no longer. Now that this place is on my radar, I totally want to go here again with Bert and TC.

It's a tiny little place, taking up a sliver of the building.

Cathy and I got there right when they opened at 11 am.

It was nice being there without any other customers too. No lunch rush, at least not yet.

At first we thought we'd end up spending at least $14 each on our lunch ($6 soup and $8 for a sandwich), but the friendly gal at the counter said there was an $8 lunch special where you get half of a sandwich and a bowl of soup. Well now, that's much better. Plus in our foodbloggy minds, that meant we could each order something different and end up with four different things!

Cool ceilings by the way.

Inside it is very tiny. There's only standing room to order. If you wish to eat your food, then the side patio is out there waiting for you.

We both knew what we wanted....


and waited outside on this overcast but slightly muggy day. The clouds overhead muted the usually harsh sunlight and made picture taking a breeze.

Our lunch choices on a Jeff Spicoli worthy tissue paper.

Cathy's soup - Mushroom with Brie

Her Prosciutto Caprese (with balsamic oozing out of the grilled bread):

Just look at that prosciutto - that was a generous amount...

And the sandwich tasted as good as it looked of course.

I paid an extra dollar for my soup, the Lobster Sherry Bisque and it was SO worth it...

My soup had luscious bits of lobster within.  Both of our soups were creamy and delicious and stood out on their own.

My sandwich was the Turkey and Cheddar with Wild Blueberry Preserves:

I didn't realize that this was their "signature sandwich", the one sandwich that won them accolades for "Critic's Pick Best Sandwich" (banner seen at end of post). I only wanted it because it had blueberry preserves!

I loved the combination of blueberries with the turkey, cheddar and arugula. The bluish color looks so cool when oozing of that perfectly grilled bread.

We really enjoyed what we had here. Our soups were excellent. Our sandwiches had total quality ingredients that were fresh and creative.  I can imagine that this place can get quite busy during lunch time. As we left, it was starting to pick up.

These "UBE" stickers are everywhere in North and South Park as well as Normal Heights.. I believe it's a local street artist's moniker.

The alleyway behind the building which houses the San Diego Soup Shoppe. We saw a sign that said parking out back but when we drove through, couldn't figure out which lot it was because it seemed to be residential parking for the apartment/condo dwellers.

If you are fortunate enough, you can find street parking like we did on the side streets.

Thank goodness the folks at San Diego Soup Shoppe aren't like this infamous character from "Seinfeld":

I'm happy that we tried this place out. It was even better knowing they had a soup and sandwich lunch special. Now we need to eventually work our way through their menu!

San Diego Soup Shoppe
2850 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 795-3870

sdsoupshoppe.com

Other reviews:
"Soup's on in North Park" - Thrillist (10/23/12)
San Diego Urbanist Guide (10/31/12)
"Soup Shoppe" - SD Reader (12/19/2012)

Up next was dessert, but first, a little detour back to Tomboctou...