Stew In The City?

Soup and sweater weather has arrived.
Fall has made its presence known for the past several mornings. Although there wasn’t a frosty sheen on my roof and hood this morning like there was yesterday, there was (and still is) plenty of water out there. And this, friends, is not some refreshing cascade; it’s not the kind of rain you welcome because it will break the humidity or quench thirsty plants. This is fall rain — cold, raw, fall rain.
Got your sweater?
As I was driving to work this morning, in addition to thinking that Rhode Islanders drive waaaaay too slow on the highway when any sort of precipitation is falling from the sky or evident on the ground, I started thinking about soup.
These cool mornings have me on a soup kick.
In general, I’m not much of a soup person but when I am in the mood for it, I want something thick and hearty (i.e. creamy, fattening and don’t forget the meat). For our honeymoon, my husband and I went to St. Lucia, where we stayed at Ladera Resort on the island’s southwest coast. The resort’s restaurant, Dasheene, made the most incredible soups I have ever had — carrot soup, dasheene soup, a cappuccino cream soup. They were smooth, colorful and unlike any soup I’ve tasted before or since. I don’t recall any of the soups having meat or fish, but the velvety texture and the fresh flavors made each one truly satiating.
Five years after the fact and still inspired by the soups at Dasheene, I tried making a butternut squash soup last year for Thanksgiving. After hours of peeling, chopping, pureeing and simmering in the kitchen, my great expectations ended with orange hands and a nearly full pot of soup that no one (including myself) really liked.
From here on out, I’ll leave the soup to the folks that really know how to make it. Bagelz in Wickford occasionally features a roasted red pepper and smoked Gouda soup that makes me want to lick the bowl when I’ve finished eating. On Monday, not really knowing where to go in this northern neck of the woods, a co-worker suggested I try Olga’s Cup and Saucer to slake my soup craving. I did, and ordered the broccoli and sesame soup (meat and dairy-free). It had a nice flavor (I ate it all) but I’m too much of a cream and cheese loving carnivore to be satisfied by a vegetable and tofu soup. I did get my meat fixe by ordering the half-sandwich and cup of soup deal, but my quest for the perfect fall soup (in the Allens Avenue area) continues.
Suggestions?