Tired of winter? Grab a spoon and tuck into these hearty meal-in-a-bowl soups, and you won’t care what the groundhog sees.
El Cuscatleco
4212 Garrett Road, Durham
919-401-5245
Cuisine: Salvadoran, Mexican
Soups: mariscada (Salvadoran seafood soup in a mild, creamy tomato broth); also sopa de rez (beef rib), modongo (beef tripe) and sopa de camarones (shrimp in the shell).
Jalisco
1600-107 Ronald Drive, Raleigh
919-790-1999
Cuisine: Mexican
Soup: birria (spicy goat stew) is the specialty (and my favorite); seven other meal-in-a-bowl soups range from pollo to pescado to pozole (pork and hominy).
Papa Mojo’s Roadhouse
5410-Y Highway 55, Durham
919-361-2222
Cuisine: Cajun/Creole
Soups: Roadhouse gumbo (pork, chicken and andouille sausage); keep your eye peeled for other gumbos offered as seasonal specials.
Tom Yum Thai
685 Cary Towne Blvd., Cary
919-463-5523
Soups: Yen-ta-fo is a delightful Thai noodle soup with fish balls, pork and watercress in a spicy broth; other variations include beef, duck and Tom Yum (ground pork and fish balls in chicken broth punctuated with lime, chiles and crushed peanuts).
Vallarta
3177 Capital Blvd., Raleigh
919-790-2696
Cuisine: Mexican
Soups: Four variations on the Mexican seafood soup theme, including my favorite, Siete Mares (mixed seafood).
Vit Goal Tofu
2107 Allendown Drive, Durham
919-361-9100
Cuisine: Korean
Soups: A dozen variations on Korean tofu soup (delivered furiously boiling in a hot stone bowl) from vegetable dumpling to mixed seafood; I’m partial to the kimchee beef.
