Too Much of a New Thing: The South Side Soup Contest

I have always been a picky eater. I can't remember being any other way. I try my hardest to eat like an adult, but that often means trying new things, which has always been an oddly terrifying thing for me. So far this year, I've really made an effort to try new foods when they are presented to me.

My first big foray into trying to overcome this strange fear was during Pittsburgh's first-ever Restaurant Week. I went to Habitat with friends Kate and Zack, where my options for dinner were limited, so I couldn't just fall back on the safest option. I had oxtail. It wasn't bad.

My next attempt came at Carrie's 28th Birthday Tea at the Inn on Negley. I ate every bit of every scone, sammich, and sweet that was set in front of me, and enjoyed every bit of everything.

So, with two overall positive experiences under my belt, I ordered tickets to the South Side's Soup Contest.

Let me first say that this was a really great event. After a somewhat negative experience at the overly packed Bakery Square Bake-Off a few weeks ago, the organized and well though-out Soup Contest was really fun. If I were a foodie, I would have loved it, I'm sure. But, I'm still making baby steps toward being a well-rounded eater.

The first soup we tried actually ended up being my absolute favorite of the ones I tried. It was the Charred Tomato Basil with Baby Grilled Cheese Croutons from Local Bar + Kitchen served up at Delanie's Coffee. When we started the day, we were both excited to try new soups and eagerly walked between locations or waited patiently in line. But, after trying MANY new things in a VERY short period of time (including things that I already know I don't like - like bacon or onion), I started to feel a little less eager and a lot less patient (and also kinda like my hands had frozen).

The second soup we tried that day. A Lentil Soup from Stagioni picked up at the Milkshake Factory.

Fortunately Allie started to feel the same, and so we hatched a new plan: buy slices of cheesecake and take them to Big Dog Coffee for nice hot pick-me-ups.

I learned a really valuable lesson, and it's something I'll keep in mind so long as it's 2012 and I'm trying new things: new things in moderation. I was a little ambitious thinking I would be able to stomach so many new things at once. Though I'm glad I tried, because that's a lot more than I ever would have done.