Soup Friday: Cornerstone Coffeehouse - Minestrone
To celebrate the recent public launch of EvDogBlog.com, I decided to head back to an important place in its creation, Cornerstone Coffeehouse. Located in the heart of Camp Hill Borough, this coffee shop is where I purchased the domain and built the first iteration of the website. Let’s hope that when this blog does become the revenue-generating commercial success that we all know it will be one day, the 2025 Cornerstone guest Wi-Fi agreement didn’t have a stipulation that requires me to give the coffee shop 50% of my blog income. Folks, always remember to read the fine Wi-Fi print and always agree to a prenup with your café.
I took my place in line and noticed that Cornerstone has two soup options today: Minestrone and Italian Wedding. I was relieved to see one option at all as many coffee shops offer baked goods as the only possible food accompaniment to your drink order. On top of that, I was elated that I would actually have to deliberate over my soup choice and not have to settle for chicken noodle or some chowder of the day.
As I waited in line, I checked my blog-related social media and suddenly my mood shifted. My recently-created Threads account had been suspended. Despite my only account activity being adding the blog website link to the proper Links section on my profile, I apparently violated the user agreement and did not follow community guidelines. At first my indignation soared as I was forced to file an appeal, but after a minute I ignored the injustice and took pride in being a soup renegade. Zuckerberg and the other tech billionaires are frightened by Ev Dog Blog and its soup counterculture influence. Certainly, this was the reason my account got suspended and not poor AI flagging mechanics. Either way, Zuck, hear this: I am ushering in the next generation of soup zealots whether you like it or not.
VIVE LA SOUP RÉSISTANCE!
In my impassioned state, I splurged on a large vanilla latte and a soup and sandwich combo meal that came out to $20 with a gracious tip included. After careful consideration, I decided to go with the minestrone and a chicken salad sandwich. While Italian wedding is one of my favorites, I continued the Soup Season challenge of trying soups with which I have less past experience. Plus, I like to imagine the Medici family would eat minestrone after a long day of conniving and banking.
Cornerstone has two sitting areas that represent two distinct coffeehouse vibes. The front area by the register features more hustle and bustle as old friends catch up, orders get called out, and the local high schoolers walk in to enjoy their lunch hour of freedom. I opted for the back area which has more of a laid-back atmosphere that generates the perfect writing conditions for one to pen the next literary masterpiece or just type up a blog about soup. The back area also includes a kitchenette that is utilized for culinary classes and a warm Dijon yellow color that covers the walls. This immersive paint transported me to 19th century France. Perhaps in a past life, I was a soldier roaming the French countryside where I took a brief moment to get away from the brutal nature of the war I was fighting in to walk inside a random house’s salon and admire a piece of art that looks similar to the one that I am eating soup in front of today. Two realtors obnoxiously discussing how they unethically acquire leads brought me back to the present.
Despite the one character not having a mouth, I like to imagine they’re still discussing soup somehow.
A minute later, my food arrived at my table. It may have been pricy, but you do get somewhat of your money’s worth with the quantity of food Cornerstone serves you. I received a respectable bowl size filled up 90% of the way with the minestrone and a sandwich that contained a hearty portion of poultry. The steam emitted a welcoming tomatoey aroma. This was a much better smell than the Cornerstone perfume your clothes maintain hours after leaving the coffee shop. I peered down at the minestrone and quickly observed that it exhibited the best presence of vegetables so far this Soup Season.
Vanilla Latte Rating: 8.8/10
The zucchini, carrots, celery and onions all combined well with the tomato base to provide depth to the soup’s flavor. To my disappointment, the noodles had a minimal presence in the minestrone. When they did appear in my spoon, more often than not the ditalini pasta was sawed in half like a magician’s assistant in a trick gone wrong. My unexpected star of the soup had to be the kidney beans. These overachieving legumes actually showed up and shouldered the burden of being a non-veggie standout the soup desperately needed while their noodle teammates couldn’t be bothered to help. Most notably, the kidney beans’ cushiony texture aided the minestrone by meshing remarkably well with all the other elements in the bowl. The oregano and pepper subtly enhanced the soup as well. The broth itself wasn’t too acidic, however, it’d never be a part of a soup that I find irresistible enough to devour in seconds. The seeded wheat bread that was served with the soup came in clutch at the end as it soaked up the remnants of the minestrone that my spoon could no longer scoop up.
“Ahhh, dat’s one spicy-a kidney bean!” - Lorenzo de’ Medici
Overall, Cornerstone’s soup continued the streak for me of never experiencing a bad or amazing bowl of minestrone in my life. Although, given the soups I’ve tasted over the last few weeks, I’ll take a good soup when I can get it. Maybe my Soup Friday luck has changed for the better!