Minnesoupa!

So it's been quite some time since our first post, but during our departure I (Sarah) have traveled to some of the farthest depths of the Midwest to try a bowl of soup from the exotic city of St. Joseph, Minnesota. Why St. Joseph you ask? Located in this quaint and chilly town is the College of Saint Benedict, where my sister has recently been accepted for school. Being an experienced traveler myself, I always relish the idea of visiting a new place. As part of of our visit, we had the chance to dine on campus and enjoy some of the local cuisine. An interesting and important fact to note about this dining hall is that the University prides itself on growing most of it's own produce. While perusing the many options for lunch, I came across something that should not shock you. That's right, TOMATO SOUP, which I imagine was homemade...I poured myself a cup and could see the steam rising. The overall consistency was a bit thin, however it made up for it by containing large chunks of real tomatoes. It had a very earthy and natural flavor to it, almost like the tomatoes had been specifically picked for my own bowl. It was fresh and had a bit of tang, but most of all tasted like something you might get at a Whole Foods, which isn't bad at all. If you're ever in this neck of the woods (about an hour outside of Minneapolis) and want to creep on a college campus, check this place out and grab a cup!

Overall Ratings:

Consistency: B+
Blend of Spices: B
Overall Grade: A- (bonus points due to the fact that it tasted like something Mother Nature herself would have made).

The Black Oak Grill

Greetings everyone! This is our FIRST ever blog post and if you couldn't tell from the title, it will mostly cover the topic of tomato soup. We are on a quest to find the perfect bowl and have already scoured various restaurants to create our current list of favorites. Today's post however, will cover the tomato-basil soup that we ordered at the new Black Oak Grill in Midtown Crossing. We will be grading the various soups on three different components:

1. Consistency 
2. Blend of Spices
3. Overall Taste

When we received our bowls of Black Oak Grill's tomato-basil soup today it came out at the perfect temperature, ready to consume. The consistency was perfect, having a nice creamy, yet thick feel to it. Added ingredients and spices included fresh Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley. The combination of the two worked together to give it more of a traditional tomato-bisque flavor, but in Sarah's opinion did not work well. She is not sure if was too salty or what, but she gives this area an average rating. In terms of the overall taste, both Tyler and Sarah agree that it was good, however Sarah does not feel it goes on her top list of tomato soups. Where Tyler feels that it deserves a spot on the top list as of right now. Here is a re-cap of our ratings:

1. A+
2. C
3. B-

In the future we hope to have pictures to add in as well and eventually show our top list. Thanks for reading and eat on!

Sarah & Tyler