In a town where there are so many chain restaurants, from McDonald's to Chili's to Outback, we have always tried to find the hidden treasures of Charlottesville. Often, restaurants that are tucked off the beaten path offer unique and inventive dishes that combine local flavors and local culinary talent. We thought that Revolutionary Soup would be just the place. For years, its prominent sign on a side street of the Downtown Mall has been beckoning, and our interest was buoyed by the idea of a restaurant specializing almost exclusively in soups.
Unfortunately, we were disappointed.
When we stepped into their spare, minimalist, underground space, we were heartened by the plethora of soup options available, from the traditional (tomato-basil) to the unique (Senegalese peanut tofu). We loved that they offered garnishes like yogurt, cilantro and scallions, as well as numerous vegetarian options. For those craving heartier fare, the menu boasted sandwiches, wraps and salads.
Upon the recommendation of the server, we chose three of the house specialties: spicy Senegalese peanut tofu, crab & lobster chowder, and lamb curry with rice, yogurt and cilantro. We supplemented the soups with rosemary chicken salad and the fresh mozzarella salad.
Although none of the soups were inedible, all were missing key elements. The chowder had no obvious chunks of shellfish in it and was far too watery to fit even the loosest definition of a chowder. The curry suffered from the same problem: It was conspicuously short of both lamb and curry flavor. Our favorite was far-and-away the peanut tofu, a big surprise for these two avid meat eaters. It was hearty with many visible chunks of tofu and peanuts, and the flavors and textures were rich and satisfying. It was also the only soup hearty enough to put a dent in our appetites.
Our taste buds bored, we turned to the salads for sustenance. Both were completely serviceable if not particularly interesting. The combination of tomato and basil as well as rosemary chicken and apples is difficult to mess up. We were put off, though, by the sloppiness of the presentation: We certainly didn't expect white linen and wineglasses at Revolutionary Soup, but haphazardly plunking salads into flimsy plastic containers with no regard for looks only emphasized the mediocrity of our salads.
We noted a similar lack of care and attention to detail with the sides. We tried each of the three bread options that come with every soup (white bread, wheat bread or a corn muffin) and were surprised that a place that specializes in soup would dare to serve such flavorless, textureless bread. Although advertised as "fresh-baked," it looked and tasted anything but. The corn muffin tasted good, but like the other offerings, was far too small.
We left feeling unsatisfied and a bit cheated. Five dollars for a medium cup of soup isn't ridiculous if it is delicious and filling, but it's too much for the watery, unflavorful soups that we were served (especially since we thought their cups were a bit on the small side). So the next time you want a quick bite after a Downtown movie, head to Christian's or Marco & Luca's -- Revolutionary Soup may be hidden, but it's certainly not one of Charlottesville's many treasures.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
