The Soup Meister

It was another gorgeous day in the GVRD, much like the last 2 weeks. I had just finished up an early morning game of ice hockey at Brit and was a bit hungry since I didn't have a chance to grab a bite. I originally was planning to pay a visit to Pizza Garden which is nearby on The Drive; but they had closed the street and it was full of people. It was another car-free day celebration; but as you know, I'm not fond of lines and crowds, so I drove on by and headed home. We really needed to pick up some groceries for the week; thus we headed out to Costco for some Sunday brunch (if you don't know what this means, it's all the samples they dole out). After that, we had to head over to Michael's again, since Viv wanted to get some stuff and she could not use all the coupons at once yesterday. Being on the North Shore, we decided to head over to Lonsdale Quay for some more food. On a beautiful sunny day, we opted for soup. Yes, that's right, hot soup on a warm day. It's just like that time I had hot chocolate from Mink's on a warm day. In fact, I played ice hockey too; I must have my seasons all messed up.

Right at the entrance to Lonsdale Quay is The Soup Meister. We've been here several times and their soups are pretty good. They do not use any of that artificial or preservative stuff in their soups, just natural ingredients. The selection today was Boston Clam Chowder, Chicken Noodle Soup and Tomato Basil. It was easy for me to decide since I love creamy clam chowders. Viv had the same and we got a small chicken noodle soup for our daughter. All the soups come with a bun. I'm not really sure what the difference in size is between the large and the small because they looked very similar to me, despite the large costing $6.00 vs. $4.50 for a small.

I was really satisfied with my bowl of clam chowder as sweat was beading down my face. It was extremely creamy and buttery chock full of clams, potatoes and celery. The chicken noodle tasted very much like home cooking. The vegetables were fresh and there were big chunks of chicken throughout the soup. The broth was very light flavoured with the natural sweetness of chicken and vegetables. The soups at The Soup Meister are really good and are so full of ingredients, it is a meal in itself. Combine that with a lovely setting such as Lonsdale Quay, you can just relax and enjoy a bowl of soup soaking in the surroundings. Just don't do it on a warm day because it's quite warm in the Quay.

The Good:
- Fresh, non-salty soups
- Packed with stuff
- Great venue

The Bad:
- It's warm in the eating area, not a great place to have hot soup (take it to go and eat outside)