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!

'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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.