Soup #3 Moonshine... The Perfect Specimen

The tortilla soup at Moonshine is what Milla Jovovich is to the 5th Element: The perfect specimen.
By this I don't mean I've found my Holy Grail of Chicken Tortilla Soup, but I have found the perfect illustration of what Tortilla Soup should be. It should be spicy, it should have different components to tantalize the taste buds with a variety of flavors and textures, and it should be delicious.
Moonshine's soup builds on a base of chicken stock chock full of bite-sized chicken breast chunks, carrots, celery, tomatoes, onions and avocado. The soup is spicy without being overbearing and the tortilla strips add the perfect crunch.
As the perfect specimen I'm giving the soup an A. I only wish there was a bit of cheese included....

Soup #2 Galaxy Cafe.... Subservient Chicken

We're getting warmer. There's a wonderful little cafe located off West Lynn that serves up delicious fare. But their tortilla soup is still a bit lacking.
It reminds me a bit of Burger King's "Subservient Chicken" that would magically do anything you told it to. You would try to stump the chicken by putting in random things like "jumping jacks" and yet, that's what the chicken would do. And you liked the site but it wasn't amazing.
This soup is kinda like that.
This soup does everything you want it to do. But's it's not amazing.
The soup is spicy and I think this is due to the fact that a bunch of Rotel tomatoes and diced chilies are used. The soup consists of mostly broth, the aforementioned Rotel mixture, shredded chicken and then the requisite tortilla strips and cheese.
This is a short post because there's just not that much to write about it.
The Galaxy Cafe is a wonderful place with mostly wonderful delicious things to eat but the tortilla soup is a solid C+.

Soup # 1 Chapala: He Chose.... Poorly

Remember in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when the Nazi chooses the most beautiful chalice from which to drink and after he rapidly ages 1000 years and turns to dust the knight in charge of guarding the grail looks at Indy and dead pans, "He chose... Poorly." That's pretty much one of the best lines of all time.
Well, I chose poorly with the tortilla soup at Chapala (101 San Jacinto.)
Every time I brought the spoon towards my face I kept thinking about my best friend (who happens to have four legs) Paco. The soup wasn't inedible, but I quickly realized the reason I kept thinking of Paco was because the soup had an underlying smell of wet dog.
I'm pretty sure the culprit of the smell were the tortilla chips which were water logged and had to have been floating in the broth for a while.
Besides the odor of wet dog the soup was as basic as tortilla soup can get. There was chicken broth, a few pieces of large chunks of shredded chicken and the aforementioned tortilla strips. There was a sliver of warm avocado in the soup as well. It was very obvious that the soup had been sitting under a heater for quite some time.
I'll give this soup a rating of D-. I'm pretty sure it could be an F but just having started this journey I'd like to be optimistic and think there could be worse.

It's Out There

It's out there. I've had it. I've tasted the most delicious tortilla soup that has ever graced the taste buds of Austinites fortunate enough to have ordered it. I just can't remember where it's from.
It all started one cold and rainy afternoon. I went to pick up food for our clients and we had all ordered the tortilla soup. It's the perfect rainy day companion. It doesn't weigh you down like chili. It's warm and delicious. The hints of lime and jalapeno massage the throat with each swallow.
This particular cup was other-worldy. While most soups are made with a chicken broth base, this one had a red enchilada sauce base. It was magical. It was surreal. It was... everything.
And now it's gone. I've religiously ordered tortilla soup from all of our normal lunch places but it eludes me. Maybe we went somewhere new and different? No one there that day remembers where the magical bowl of soup originated. Hence the purpose of this blog. I will find this bowl of soup. And I will find the best bowl of tortilla soup in Austin. And maybe they will be the same bowl.