Ploughboy Soups
If, as Campbell's says, soup is good food, then this is really, really good food. For us, soup is nearly the perfect food: mixing together meats, vegetables (sometimes fruits), starches, spices, making for a nourishing and, if done right, delicious meal in a bowl. And the folks at Ploughboy--basically, a lunch/dinner counter within the larger Atwater's bakery/cheesery at Belvedere Market--do it right. Now that summer's over, Ploughboy has stopped serving its refreshing cold gazpacho concoctions, but don't forget about them next year when it might seem too hot for soup. As far as what's on the burners now, we've recently been raving about the curried cauliflower soup ($3.95), which we've ordered on three recent visits. Of course, it's reminiscent of Indian soups, but what makes this savory, spicy blend stand out is the surprise at the bottom: sweet apples. Ploughboy also puts those apples to good use in one of its lunchtime-only sandwiches, grilled Gruyère cheese, apple, and onion on mouth-watering peasant bread ($6.50), which goes on our short list of Great Baltimore Sandwiches. The shrimp and crab bisque, Ploughboy's most decadent offering, gives us petite shrimp but big chunks of tasty crab ($5.70). And a mix of butternut squash soup and smoky bacon is topped with pecans ($3.95); it works.