# Soup or Salad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569 "2017-05-28T00:44:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/21 "2017-05-28T16:06:50Z")
Usually salad, but it depends on what kind of soup is offered. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/22 "2017-05-28T16:12:38Z")
Why not both? šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/23 "2017-05-28T16:18:12Z")
Generally I go with soup in cold weather and salad in hot. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/24 "2017-05-28T16:23:07Z")
Unless the place is known for their soups, Iā€™m going for the salad every time. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/25 "2017-05-28T16:33:23Z")
Salad by default, but I could be won over by a nice soup on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/26 "2017-05-28T16:38:34Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Iā€™ll almost always go for French Onion or New England Clam Chowder. I admire your spirit of adventure; the worst bad soup in the world is a bad New England clam chowder. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/27 "2017-05-28T19:14:37Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I admire your spirit of adventure; the worst bad soup in the world is a bad New England clam chowder. Iā€™ll take an indifferent NE clam chowder over the best Rhode Island clam chowder. Bleah. Hot clam juice with a few things in it. Now THATā€™s bad soup. I do go for a good ā€œredā€ clam chowder (aka Manhattan) when itā€™s offered. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/28 "2017-05-28T19:42:30Z")
Salad. Soup invariably ends up spotting the tie. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/29 "2017-05-28T20:00:21Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Ah, but the places I go have salad bars with unlimited trips. Thereā€™s one just down on the corner from our home, the 24-hour [Wailana Coffee House](https://www.facebook.com/Wailana-Coffee-House-140400426440/). There, dishes often come with soup or salad ā€“ one bowl of soup or the unlimited salad bar. I detest salad bars. Usually I do, I have seen some nice ones. But even then I feel like the restaurant has tricked me into doing their job for them, just like the self checkout lines. People get paid for making salads and checking out groceries, but if I do it I have to pay them. I canā€™t encourage that kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/30 "2017-05-28T20:05:51Z")
I love salad bars myself. Prefer that most of the time over what you get from the kitchen, even if itā€™s a single trip. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/31 "2017-05-28T20:35:07Z")
Ditto. With a salad bar you can customize your grazing and skip all the chefā€™s lawn clippings they try to serve at most places. Beats ordering a salad and spending 5 minutes telling the waitron what _not_ to put on it. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/32 "2017-05-28T20:38:54Z")
Salad. I donā€™t get any at home (I canā€™t keep salad mix around enough) and I really donā€™t like soup at all. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/33 "2017-05-28T20:41:53Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Beats ordering a salad and spending 5 minutes telling the waitron what _not_ to put on it. [Iā€™ll have the chef salad, but Iā€™d like the dressing on the sideā€¦](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnlm2e3EN78) ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/34 "2017-05-28T21:19:38Z")
Until restaurants get over their obsession with arugula, Iā€™ll have soup. Salad bars, on the other hand, can be good or not. There, I get to choose what to put in my salad. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/35 "2017-05-28T22:00:10Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > If I dislike the soup, I simply abstain from pre-meal appetizers. No sense getting a salad if I know I wonā€™t enjoy it. I actually like salads and eat them quite often. I had a salad for lunch today. But I find that the salads that restaurants offer as a side are usually pretty sad; generally iceberg lettuce, a couple of slices of cucumber, and a slice of tomato. So the soupā€™s usually a better bet. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/36 "2017-05-28T23:36:59Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Why not both? šŸ˜ƒ Because many restaurants offer a choice of soup OR salad. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/37 "2017-05-28T23:48:37Z")
Salad every time. Soup is not food. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/38 "2017-05-29T00:22:04Z")
Both! No, it really depends on how warm it is outside. If itā€™s cold, I want soup and a garden salad. If itā€™s warm, I want a green salad topped with well-cooked cold fish or chicken or steak. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/39 "2017-05-29T00:27:48Z")
It will almost certainly be one of the two. Variety is good. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2017, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569/40 "2017-05-29T00:55:05Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Iā€™ll take an indifferent NE clam chowder over the best Rhode Island clam chowder. Bleah. Hot clam juice with a few things in it. Now THATā€™s bad soup. > > I do go for a good ā€œredā€ clam chowder (aka Manhattan) when itā€™s offered. Donā€™t want to derail the thread with a clam chowder discussion, but I always order the local variety when I visit Rhode Island. No milky or tomatoey distraction from the clam broth, salt pork, onions, and loads of clams. If you love clams a lot, this should be the choice. A lousy New England clam chowder can be stodgy with excess flour, bland with an overabundance of milk and/or potato, and weak from a skimpy cookā€™s hand with the clams, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. I agree that a good Manhattan clam chowder is a fine alternative, but it rarely shows up on New York menus. And is utterly absent anywhere to the northeast of here. The urban legend of New Englandersā€™ complaints that tomatoes and clams together in a pot is sacrilege was debunked years ago by food historian John Thorne, who pointed out that Italians started mixing them as soon as the tomato arrived from the New World. Waiter, bring me _vongole alla posillipo_, with extra bread for dunking. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/soup-or-salad/787569.md?page=3)