When I have a cold, I need soup. When I am cold, I’m definitely craving soup. While it’s not the most exciting meal out there, people aren’t going around saying pizza or burgers will cure what ails ya’. The healing properties of soup are universally recognized and yet, I find myself regularly scratching my head as to where to find a decent bowl when I need it.
Seeking to establish a solid soup repertoire in Fairbanks, The Alaska Current did some crowd sourcing. Responses were fairly unanimous: Yes! Noodle Soup, The Chowder House, and Lulu’s Bread and Bagels.
Over a couple cold December work days, I took my noon-hour outside walk in search of vitamin D, then headed out for some early afternoon soup to warm back up as the sun set.
Yes! Noodle Soup
The most common suggestion by our internet friends, Yes! Noodle Soup opened in spring 2022 by a Thai family that prepares Thai street food, soups, as well as Chinese, Japanese, Korean dishes, and “Mom’s burgers” and other American fare.
Their three recommended soups, in order, are Khao-Soi (curry noodle soup), Tom-Kha (coconut milk soup) and Tom-Yum (sour and spicy soup). We ordered Kiao num (wonton soup), the Khao-Soi, and took a page out of my mom’s Thai-restaurant playbook, which is to request spicy food, and an order of mango sticky rice to be served with the entrees.
Mango sticky rice is a traditional Thai dessert where sticky rice is cooked with coconut milk and served with fresh sliced mangoes on top. This way, you get to enjoy sweet, carby deliciousness without having to wait until standard dessert-eating time when you’re already too full. And, it helps cool your mouth down from the spice-burn at the same time. Win-win.
The Yes! wonton soup has a hearty number of homemade wontons, which are filled with ground pork and ground shrimp, in a light, sweet and savory broth. The dish is served with bean sprouts, green onion and cilantro. It was a great contrast to the Khao-Soi, which is a deeply flavorful and umami curry egg-noodle soup with coconut milk that is topped with crispy noodles and served with shallots, pickled cabbage, a lemon wedge, and choice of protein.
I had that familiar experience of becoming both extremely hot and very full halfway through my massive bowl of soup and dish of mango sticky rice, but not wanting to stop eating either of them. So I would say the mission was a huge success and in this case, the internet was totally right.
Not only was the food a perfect winter warm up, the staff was friendly and the atmosphere was casual and pleasant. It was a definite Yes! for me.
The Chowder House
As soon as the internet suggested a place that has a form of soup in the name, I knew we had to go.
I learned that the restaurant has been owned and operated by the Jiang family for 24 years. They serve three types of chowder daily—New England clam, smoked salmon, and halibut corn; a rotating soup of the day; along with a large menu of salad and sandwich options, quiches, entrees, and desserts, which are all made in house.
We tried the New England Clam chowder, the chicken philly cheesesteak, the crab roll, and a slice of apple pie. Our server said halibut corn chowder is probably their most popular, except for with tourists, who mostly order the smoked salmon (which I learned is made with Alaska sockeye).
My friend, who is from Maine and has a high and quite specific standard for the term, “chowder,” found this one to be too thick and lacking in flavor. Though I will say the spoonful I tried featured a salty, creamy, and thick broth; with chunks of potato and vegetables; and decently-sized bites of clam. I was not mad about it, but I wasn’t particularly exhilarated by it, either. Sometimes soup be like that.
The sandwiches on the other hand, were exhilarating. Both were served on tasty white rolls with a toasty exterior and pillowy, buttery interior. The crab roll actually comes with two crab rolls that are positively overloaded with sweet, tender crab and served with lemon, and a ramekin each of butter and ranch. The chicken cheesesteak had ample seasoning, tender meats, and melty cheese. The apple pie comes with a unique pecan crust top-layer, which is rich and delicious. All together, the meal definitely satisfies the winter warm up mission.
Even though the chowder was a bit of a miss for our group, The Chowder House is a solid lunch option, and I want to go back for that crab roll and to make my way through that enticing dessert case.
Lulu’s Bread and Bagels
I can’t share a list of lunchtime soup stops without a call-out to this Fairbanks lunchtime go-to.
Lulu’s serves a rotating vegan and non-vegan soup daily, and full menu of sandwiches, salads, quiches, full espresso bar and lots of baked goods. Last time I was there, I ordered the Turkey Cranberry sandwich (think, Thanksgiving vibes plus cream cheese. Yum.) and a cup of black bean soup.
I always pair my soup with their whole wheat sourdough, which is dense, nutty, with a crunchy exterior — the perfect vehicle for dipping. Unless you ask them not to, they spread the soup-accompanying bread with the amount of butter you want, but never actually administer to yourself (or is that just me?), and toast it. Yes, please.
By the time I have my latté, soup, and sandwich at Lulu’s I’m a happy, carb-filled camper ready to get ready for bed. I mean, ready to get back to work.
Jenny Weis writes for a variety of Alaska nonprofits and causes in between keeping up on Alaska's doughnut scene, sliding on snow, and gawking at cool plants and rocks along local trails.
