Help, Help! There's a Reindeer in My Soup!

Where the wild things nom* . . .

Help! Somebody, help! That reindeer is trying to stick its nose into my French onion soup!

And then things got even worse . . .

A pair of hungry hippos (not pictured, but lurking just beyond the edge of the frame) arrived, and they tried to climb INTO the soup bowl. Perhaps they thought it was some kind of nice, toasty-warm watering hole, on what was assuredly a cold and wintry day.

Hmm, come to think of it, that sounds toasty and comfy and inviting. But I think if we try the hot tub onion soup thing, we'll need a much bigger bowl! And I don't think the waiter will be any too pleased . . .

Wherefore and why the wild creatures? This reindeer is a Christmas tree decoration. And why did I take it out to lunch with me? Am I strange? (Second thought, don't answer that.)

A word of quick explanation: I had just bought several of the wild creatures mentioned (two reindeer from Colombia, one purple cat from Kenya, and two hippos from I'm not sure where, plus several pairs of sparkly, dangly earrings from India and Peru) at a little display at the HUB on campus, run by a student group.

There had been several tables just chock full of little animals, jewelry, and crafts from all around the world, courtesy of Ten Thousand Villages (a popular fair trade retailer; more info here).

The soup is the Corner Room's famous French onion soup that I have raved about on these pages before. I have photographed it many times, but this is its first blip - I am thrilled to finally show you how beautiful it is!

The soup itself is robust and flavorful, the onions done just right (not too crisp, not too soggy). And on top? A delectable pile of cheese, browned to a perfect texture, slightly crispy on top but gooey on the spoon. I actually eat it with a spoon AND a fork!

This is a treat I usually reserve for days when I have meetings or events on campus around lunchtime, and/or days when the weather outside is frightful (which it wasn't yet on this day at lunchtime, but later in the day, the weather pulled out all the stops, giving us a real winter smorgasbord: first rain, then sleet, then ice, then snow).

In fact, at this point in the day, the rain had stopped briefly and the sun was trying to come out. No hint yet of the wintry weather that the forecasters had so direly predicted. But I had the soup anyway.

I sat inside in a prime spot: in a booth by the window. And I watched the people passing by on the street, at the corner of College and Allen. And the soup was delicious and hot and tasty. And the company was good. And for that half-hour, I was perfectly happy and content! Long live the Corner Room's French onion soup! *brandishes spoon in the air in salute*

The soundtrack: Lynyrd Skynyrd and .38 Special perform the Chuck Berry hit, Run Run Rudolph.

*Nom is an Internet slang word for "eat." To nom = to eat. Conjugated: I nom, you nom, he/she/it noms, they nom, we nom. A food that is particularly tasty might be said to be "nommalicious." And you're welcome for the Internet lexicon entry for the day! :-)