Soup Friday: Hofbräuhaus - Potato
Today’s review begins at a magical place unlike any other location in the world, a Pennsylvania Turnpike rest stop. I originally planned on having a special Double Soup Friday Extravaganza today. Unfortunately, the only plaza I stopped at on my drive to the Steel City, the North Midway Service Plaza near Bedford, only had one soup option available. The 7-Eleven convenience store had one can of Campbell’s Chunky Chicken Noodle left on the top shelf of a display rack. A fitting brand of soup given that Penn State hired Matt Campbell as its football coach earlier in the day. However, this short alumnus was unable to access the chunky chicken noodle not only because of a height disadvantage, but also due to a few carts blocking the aisle in front of the can. The only employee available to aid this soup reviewer in his time of need was behind the cash register serving a line of six customers. Due to already being in a time crunch to get to Pittsburgh, I decided it would have to be just a single Soup Friday. One day, I promise there will be both a proper turnpike Soup Friday and a Double Soup Friday Extravaganza!
Eventually, I reached my soup destination along the Monongahela River, Hofbräuhaus. My group of friends gathered there to celebrate another Soup Friday and our friend Tyler’s 30th birthday as well. To all of my friends who have also turned 30 this year, here’s to another decade of beers, buds, and bowls of soup! Prost! And that evening, we started off our next decade right. Glasses filled with lager, hefe weizen, and even blue raspberry-flavored hefe weizen were clinked and swung around to the finest polka yinz’ll hear in Allegheny County. Nothing makes me feel more connected to my predominantly German heritage than liters of beer and an accordion.
A blue raspberry-flavored hefe weizen watches over the potato soup carefully.
The only soup I recall seeing on the menu was potato soup. Luckily by the time the soup came out, a trip to the urinal provided just enough room for more liquid in my stomach. Unsurprisingly, the bowl’s contents tasted like your typical creamy spud-based soup. Its smoothness and subtle yet savory bacon flavor did help it stand out in comparison to its counterparts. I also appreciated how it didn’t feel too heavy for a creamy soup. If I ever order this soup again, I’d like to order a Bavarian pretzel in a cracker-type role on the side and dip it into the soup to soak up all of its delicious flavor. My primary issue with the soup would be the lack of an additional element to complement what the potato flavor provides and enhance the bowl’s overall flavor. Nevertheless, I would recommend this soup to anyone who ventures out to a Hofbräuhaus location. Whether if it’s in Vegas, Cleveland, or Munich, I think you’ll agree that die suppe ist gut!