South Side Soup Contest
When: Noon to 3 p.m. Feb. 18, 11 a.m. VIP reception at The Brew House
Admission: $30 general admission tickets sold out; $100 VIP tickets available
Where: East Carson Street, South Side
Details: southsidesoup.com
Sign up for one of our email newsletters.
Updated 1 hour ago
Chefs and restaurateurs on Pittsburgh's South Side — including Stagioni co-owner and chef Stephen Felder and co-owner Cara DelSignore — hope 13 is a lucky number as they vie for top honors in the 13th annual South Side Soup Contest.
Stagioni, located at 2104 East Carson St., won the best vegetarian soup award in 2016 for its Butternut Squash Soup. A year earlier, the Italian restaurant won both best soup and best vegetarian soup awards for its Sweet Potato Soup in the annual fundraiser for South Side community programs and initiatives of the Brashear Association and the South Side Welcome Center.
It should be no surprise to soup contest regulars that 1,250 regular admission tickets went on sale and quickly sold out the same day on Feb. 3, like they have done for the past several years. There's still an opportunity to participate by purchasing $100 VIP tickets online that come with some extra incentives, including a VIP reception at The Brew House, some additional VIP soup and drink stops and a free T-shirt.
On Feb. 18, ticketholders can stroll along East Carson and a few adjoining streets and sample as many soups as they choose for three hours and vote for their favorites. Awards are presented for best soup, best vegetarian, most unique and best host. The best host award recognizes retailers who make an extra effort to attract samplers to their businesses, where their restaurant partners serve the soup.
It's not known whether Felder and DelSignore will stick with root vegetables as a key ingredient to their success, but keeping the winning streak alive for a third year in a row will be a challenge. They face some heated competition in the friendly rivalry among about 25 neighborhood eating establishments.
Last year's most unique soup winner was Lin's Asian Fusion's Mango Soup. Chef and owner Hiu Lam says the soup fit the contest well. It featured a healthy blend of fresh-cut mango, a coconut milk base and steam-cooked black rice, available in local Asian markets.
At Carmella's Plates & Pints, chef Kevin Lintelman is still deciding what he'll serve as a follow up to his Mushroom Bisque with Crispy Duck Bacon and Pickled Mushrooms, which was last year's best soup awardee.
“I was confident going into it,” the chef says of his prize-winning entry. “It was a unique recipe with house-made duck bacon” from duck breast that he cured, smoked and crisped. “The components became the wow factor for the soup.”
The chef says the South Side Soup Contest is a good way to get exposure for the neighborhood and get people out to enjoy it and try something new.
“The South Side has had some tough times and is in a process of revitalization,” Lintelman says. “It's nice to experience something different other than bars and fried food.”
Mushroom Bisque with Crispy Duck Bacon and Pickled Mushrooms
Chef Kevin Lintelman of Carmella's Plates & Pints won best soup last year with this recipe, which he's adapted for family portions.
For the soup:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 pounds crimini mushrooms, sliced
1 Spanish onion, rough chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1 quart heavy cream
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 Tablespoon truffle oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Lightly sauté onions in vegetable oil (5-8 minutes).
Add mushrooms and cook until most of the liquid evaporates (10-15 minutes).
Add white wine and simmer until reduced by half. Add 1 quart of cream, thyme and rosemary. Reduce by a quarter. Remove thyme and rosemary stems. Blend in batches, season with truffle oil, salt and pepper.
For Duck Bacon:
1 quart of water
1⁄3 cup kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
10 grams curing salt
¼ cup maple syrup
1 bunch thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon sage, chopped
3 pounds duck breast
Combine all ingredients except duck in a pot and bring to a simmer until sugar and salt dissolves.
Allow to cool to room temperature. Add duck breast to liquid and refrigerate 12-24 hours. Remove duck from brine and dry. Smoke duck at 220 degrees F until 160 degrees internal temperature. Cool duck, slice into thin strips and pan fry until crispy. Add to base.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
