It isn’t super-frigid yet, but fall is definitely in the air and that’s been causing me to have daily cravings for a bowl of hot soup. (I’m kind of known as a soup connoisseur and tend to bypass green salads or french fries if there’s a tasty soup on the menu.)
And for the past two days, I’ve had lunch at one of my favorite soup spots: 5TH AVENUE DELI.
Here’s what I wrote for On the Menu back in December 2006:
These days, the real-feel temperature seems to be hovering right around ridiculously cold, which means it’s time to fill yourself with food that fights the frostbite.
And that means it’s time to make a visit to the 5th Avenue Deli, a place that rekindles memories of those chilly afternoons when your mom would greet you at the door with a steamy bowl of soup. (Even if this never happened to you, just imagine how warm and fuzzy it’d make you feel.)
A simple shop with a straightforward menu — not to mention decor that blends wooden lattice, watercolor paintings and vintage vinyl records — the 5th Avenue Deli is the perfect place to sit down and thaw out over one of the best lunch combos ever invented: soup and sandwich.
Here, you grab a tray and move cafeteria-style through the sandwich station — choices include turkey, roast beef, a Reuben, French dip, club, bacon with avocado and cream cheese, and even peanut butter — then on to the self-serve salad and soup bar.
Every day there are potato, macaroni and Italian pasta salads plus a specialty salad of the day. Daily soup selections vary, but during a recent trip the offerings included chicken gumbo, cheddar and broccoli, and beef stew.
Once you’ve got your food, take a seat by the window, select a book from the adjacent lending library — make sure to ask about the policies regarding borrowing or exchanging books — and settle in as the rest of the world goes by.
RECOMMENDED MEAL: The $5 lunch special. It gets you half a sandwich of the day and an eight-ounce bowl of soup or salad.
However, if beef stew or clam chowder are on the menu, you might want to consider getting a big bowl ($2.90 for 12-ounce and $3.50 for 16-ounce) and pairing it with some cornbread (95 cents).
• The 5th Avenue Deli is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays at 415 W. Walnut Ave. Call 452-2332. (For those in a hurry, phone orders are welcome.)
— Kim Nowacki