Jambo best at Souper Bowl XIX

In what might be best described as lines on an ant hill at a benefit that raised $60,000 for The Food Depot, a diverse march of humans sampled soups in four categories prepared by area restaurants. An hour of burning more calories than ingesting walking from entry to entry proved to be both a tribute and a grand display of species cooperation.

Adele Oliveira writes in The Santa Fe New Mexican:

For the fourth year in a row, Jambo Café won the coveted Best Soup award for its tangy, smooth spiced coconut cream guava lime soup with crispy plantains. The restaurant has now won in all four categories: savory, cream, seafood and vegetarian. This year, Jambo’s soup (which also won in the cream category) was velvety yet light, dominated by citrus notes and a balance of sweet and savory flavors. Each soup cup was topped with a cilantro leaf and a smattering of fried plantains cut into matchsticks.

The longest line snaked its way to Mr. Obo's Jambo entry: we knew why instantly after tasting. Sweet potato fries draw us to his dining room regularly.

Our Lady of the Arroyo and this interested party agreed on all the winners except savory: she liked Pasqual’s squash soup (it won) while I liked the lamb soup from Dinner for Two. We picked winner Luminaria for best vegetarian (sweet and smoky roasted red pepper potato soup with pineapple and mango salsa) and Santa Fe Culinary Academy's seafood entry: a lobster bisque with tiny cheese biscuit.

Special mention to the talented chef at Kingston Residence of Santa Fe and his beet soup with a tiny dollop of sour cream with a hint of horseradish.

Every offering was delightful beyond description.