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12 Soups to Help You Forget That Winter Sucks

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It's cold out, you guys, did you get the memo? Also, is everyone you know sick? Well, winter can be the worst, and there's no solution but time — and soup. Have you heard about soup? There's all sorts of kinds, and you can even buy it in restaurants, as long as you brave the cold to get to one.

To help you ditch whatever brand of funk you're currently in, here's a list of some favorite spicy, stewy, brothy and shroomy concoctions, available all over town. So, stop complaining, put on a scarf, and go get yourself a bowl. Good talk.

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418 Public House

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Do you know about Birria de Res? You should. A hearty, slightly spicy red chile beef stew is just the ticket on these winter days. And with avocado, rice, and hot tortillas on the side, you’ll be back daily to brighten up your life. Not a beef fan? Try the pozole. It’s muy sabroso!

[Photo Credit]

'Tis the season for wild mushrooms, and few restaurants get their wild mushroom soup as shroomily delicious as Smith’s is. The Derschang joint’s bowl is served with bone marrow croutons and has the perfect texture: at once textured and smooth, without being weighed down by copious amounts of cream. Get it while you can.

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Korean Tofu House

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When the weather outside is frightful… Heck, when it’s a Tuesday in the middle of August, it’s always the right time for the U. District institution’s kimchee tofu soup with pork (sundubu). This seriously addictive stew is served in a clay pot, as is the tradition, with some of the best banchan (sides) in town.

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Pestle Rock

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Thai food is everywhere in Seattle, but Isan Thai is a little on the rare side. The food from northeastern Thailand is full of spice and sour flavors, and the Guay Tiow Tum Yum is among the best offerings at the Ballard restaurant. With thin rice noodles, Carlton Farms ground pork, crunchy green beans, ground peanuts, and rendered pork belly garlic, it’s all the things you need to recover from a cold or warm up your inside parts.

[Photo Credit]

Chef Liao

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Whoever decided that soup should be sour sometimes should get a really big medal. The hot and sour soup at this Phinney Chinese spot boasts fans from all over town who head on over for bowls of this goodness. Mushrooms and addictive broth are just the start, and the low price means you can eat it every day until tanktop season.

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Little Uncle Pioneer Square

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The menus at Wiley and P.K.’s little Pioneer Square and Capitol Hill spots are always changing, but if you see the braised beef stew or pork noodle soups on the menu, jump on em. The former is a gingery, spicy, noodle soup that will fill you up right. The latter, called Dom yam wun sen, features cellophane noodles, ground pork, sliced pork, and bok choy in broth. Both are amazeballs.

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TanakaSan

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There are lots of place to get ramen, but most bowls taste like disappointment. The TankaSan ramen features shoyu broth, pork belly, tons of mushrooms, a whole soft egg, miso smoked schmalz, and green apple for acid. The smoky flavor is just right with the fatty slabs of pork and apple bite.

[Photo Credit]

Toulouse Petit Kitchen & Lounge

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Too much richness in a soup is a terrible thing. Okay, that’s not true at all, and the cauliflower and white truffle soup with dungeness crab and chervil proves that. Creamy cauliflower, funky, decadent white truffle, and fresh crab keep this favorite on the menu for eternity, which is good, because there’d be a riot if it left (take note, TP).

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Szechuan Noodle Bowl

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Love tendon? Noodles? Beef? Soup that is so spicy, your own tears will salt the broth? Perfect, because the several Szechuan beef noodle soup varieties at this ID spot will keep you experimenting until you find your perfect level of spice, meat, and noodleness.

[Photo Credit]

Ba Bar

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Everyone loves pho, and many people love spending ten dollars for it — at least, as long as they’re getting the pho at Ba Bar or Monsoon. The Painted Hill oxtail and brisket/london broil varieties are the favorites, but the chicken sort gets plenty of followers in its own right.

[Photo Credit]

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418 Public House

Do you know about Birria de Res? You should. A hearty, slightly spicy red chile beef stew is just the ticket on these winter days. And with avocado, rice, and hot tortillas on the side, you’ll be back daily to brighten up your life. Not a beef fan? Try the pozole. It’s muy sabroso!

[Photo Credit]

Smith

'Tis the season for wild mushrooms, and few restaurants get their wild mushroom soup as shroomily delicious as Smith’s is. The Derschang joint’s bowl is served with bone marrow croutons and has the perfect texture: at once textured and smooth, without being weighed down by copious amounts of cream. Get it while you can.

[Photo Credit]

Korean Tofu House

When the weather outside is frightful… Heck, when it’s a Tuesday in the middle of August, it’s always the right time for the U. District institution’s kimchee tofu soup with pork (sundubu). This seriously addictive stew is served in a clay pot, as is the tradition, with some of the best banchan (sides) in town.

[Photo Credit]

Pestle Rock

Thai food is everywhere in Seattle, but Isan Thai is a little on the rare side. The food from northeastern Thailand is full of spice and sour flavors, and the Guay Tiow Tum Yum is among the best offerings at the Ballard restaurant. With thin rice noodles, Carlton Farms ground pork, crunchy green beans, ground peanuts, and rendered pork belly garlic, it’s all the things you need to recover from a cold or warm up your inside parts.

[Photo Credit]

Chef Liao

Whoever decided that soup should be sour sometimes should get a really big medal. The hot and sour soup at this Phinney Chinese spot boasts fans from all over town who head on over for bowls of this goodness. Mushrooms and addictive broth are just the start, and the low price means you can eat it every day until tanktop season.

[Photo Credit]

Little Uncle Pioneer Square

The menus at Wiley and P.K.’s little Pioneer Square and Capitol Hill spots are always changing, but if you see the braised beef stew or pork noodle soups on the menu, jump on em. The former is a gingery, spicy, noodle soup that will fill you up right. The latter, called Dom yam wun sen, features cellophane noodles, ground pork, sliced pork, and bok choy in broth. Both are amazeballs.

[Photo Credit]

TanakaSan

There are lots of place to get ramen, but most bowls taste like disappointment. The TankaSan ramen features shoyu broth, pork belly, tons of mushrooms, a whole soft egg, miso smoked schmalz, and green apple for acid. The smoky flavor is just right with the fatty slabs of pork and apple bite.

[Photo Credit]

Toulouse Petit Kitchen & Lounge

Too much richness in a soup is a terrible thing. Okay, that’s not true at all, and the cauliflower and white truffle soup with dungeness crab and chervil proves that. Creamy cauliflower, funky, decadent white truffle, and fresh crab keep this favorite on the menu for eternity, which is good, because there’d be a riot if it left (take note, TP).

[Photo Credit]

Szechuan Noodle Bowl

Love tendon? Noodles? Beef? Soup that is so spicy, your own tears will salt the broth? Perfect, because the several Szechuan beef noodle soup varieties at this ID spot will keep you experimenting until you find your perfect level of spice, meat, and noodleness.

[Photo Credit]

Ba Bar

Everyone loves pho, and many people love spending ten dollars for it — at least, as long as they’re getting the pho at Ba Bar or Monsoon. The Painted Hill oxtail and brisket/london broil varieties are the favorites, but the chicken sort gets plenty of followers in its own right.

[Photo Credit]

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