Review: Soup Spoon Cafe a delight

Five out of Five Stars

By Mallory Stiles
Editor in Chief

When deciding what restaurant to review, I was ravenous, but when I woke up Tuesday morning to embark on this food-reviewing journey, I wasn’t hungry at all. The Soup Spoon Café gave me my appetite back.

The restaurant is located at 1419 E. Michigan Ave., just east of downtown Lansing. I walked in full of dread. The parking lot was full and I was on my way to an afternoon class.

My heart sank as I realized I might have to turn around, but I then I saw an open seat at the bar and sat quickly.

My waitress and the bartender, Cassie, was incredibly kind and extraordinarily helpful. I told her that I wasn’t really hungry and she gave me this sympathetic look that made me feel a little better.

“What about a bowl of soup?” she asked.

I ordered a bowl of the Seafood Chowder for $3.99 and settled in for a wait, because the place was packed. To my surprise, my soup came up in less than five minutes and was delicious.

I don’t usually order chowders, too often they are too thick, but this chowder was really good and SO cheap. I liked the restaurant enough that I can see myself coming back for more soup on future cold days.  

I knew that I couldn’t give a full review off a bowl of soup though, so I relied on Cassie again to point me in the right direction. She suggested one of their most popular dishes, the Voodoo Pasta.

I gave it a shot and decided that, if it came down to it, I would trust Cassie with my life. The pasta again took no longer than five minutes and looked suspiciously good.

I was at a café; you don’t get gourmet pasta at a café … but apparently you do. There were tons of good-sized, detailed shrimp and peppers piled with shredded cheese and, for just a second, I was truly happy.

My total came to the low, low price of $19.06. I did a quick tour of the place to ensure that the entire space passed the vibe check; it does.

The people you may meet are almost better than the food.

Almost.