Here is the napkin of the place I dropped into yesterday for a bowl of soup. As you can see, it boasts of being the original "SoupMan, Yeah, it's that SoupMan."

I thought this was surely a ploy to get attention by referencing the Seinfeld episode about the Soup Nazi where you are sent to the back of the line if you take too much time ordering. But I looked it up when I got home, and sure enough, this is the guy.

According to this Wikipedia article the soup chef was terrifically insulted by the episode, and when he actually met Seinfeld, he told him it had ruined his life. But the guy has since opened a chain of his soup restaurants called The Original SoupMan. Just don't reference the "N" (Nazi) word if you meet him. Can't say that I blame him.

I had no trouble ordering the jambalya which was sooo good. In fact, the soup bar looked like it was closed and I had to ask if they had hot soup at that time of day -- it was 3 p.m.

New York City seems to pride itself on its soup. I have never had a bad soup here. I think that living here makes you crave it. The environment is so industrial and hard-edged with all the concrete, steel and glass. A bowl of soup is soothing and kind of smooths away the rough spots of your day.