Souper Bowl: Taste 35 local restaurants in support of Roadrunner Food Bank

Make your fantasy soup and dessert lineup at the Roadrunner Food Bank’s annual Souper Bowl.

“(Souper Bowl) started as a way to bring the community together to raise funds to help our neighbors experiencing hunger, while featuring local restaurants and local flavors,” Diana Sanchez, Roadrunner Food Bank events and communications manager, said.

The fundraising event will be held Saturday, Jan. 31, and will feature soups and desserts from 35 local restaurants.

Participating soup restaurants will bring 20 gallons of their soup of choice, and participating dessert restaurants will bring 1,000 to 1,200 sample servings.

Sanchez said there is a mix of traditional soups, some featuring green chile, a New Mexico’s favorite, along with other creative options.

“We love to have traditional sort of representation here,” Sanchez said, “but the chefs also like to have fun.”

“This year, we’re really lucky to have the Indian Pueblo Kitchen joining us, and so they'll be offering up a feast day soup,” Sanchez said.

In addition to fundraising, the event also has a Critics’ Choice award judged by food critics and local personalities, and a People’s Choice award with several categories to vote for the top three in overall soups, vegetarian soups and desserts.

Last year’s winner, Old Town Catering Co., won both the people’s and the critics’ choice awards with a roasted cauliflower and apple soup.

Mike Tafoya, Old Town Catering chef, said they have been participating for years and always bring a meat soup and a vegetarian soup.

“For the Critics’ Choice, we’re going to be entering a creamy green chile chicken soup with crispy tortilla chips,” Tafoya said, “and for the People’s Choice, we’re going to be entering a vegetarian soup, but it’s going to be a ratatouille soup.”

The event has several returning participants, including Slate Street Billiards Bar & Grill, which Sanchez said is among the first to sign up each year. It also has new participants, including Tula’s Kitchen and Soo Bak Seoul Bowl.

Sanchez said she thinks restaurants are drawn to participate as a way to do what they love while also supporting the community. Sanchez said the event is an opportunity for people to visit the Roadrunner Food Bank warehouse.

“It’s a fun way to welcome the community in and just have a lot of fun, especially when we’re an organization that deals with things that aren’t so fun most of the time,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez said the Souper Bowl has been going on for 20 years and would not be possible without the restaurants.

“They all donate their efforts and ingredients, and their staff are all working here, all because they believe in supporting this mission,” Sanchez said. “So we’re always just extra grateful for all that work that it involves.”

Elizabeth Secor is an arts fellow from the New Mexico Local News Fellowship program. You can reach her at esecor@abqjournal.com.