Souperman

[midtown guy]

Whoever makes their ice creams is a genious. 

I can't wait until souperman opens - i hope they do evening hours. 

Souperman is open!

Great soup.  Excellent panini like sandwiches.  I believe they're only open from 11-3 though...just catering to the quick in and out lunch crowd.  Good stuff though.

[loftguy]

So, where is Souperman?

[LenexatoKCMO]

So, where is Souperman?

Ground floor of the barkley evergreen garage - west side of main between 17th and 18th

[chrizow]

nice...i'll give it a try v. soon.

[DaveKCMO]

souperman -- an off-shoot of 1924 main -- is now open in the lower level of the TWA/barkley parking garage on 18th and main. it definitely deserves it's own thread. hours were previously stated to be 11-3 m-f. i picked up a menu at cellar rat tonight and decided to share a few tidbits with you (prices were not listed):

soups:
- curried pumpkin-apple bisque
- black bean chorizo chili
- boulevard cheddar potato chowder

salads:
- caesar
- mixed greens

sandittos (sandwiches, i presume):
- bbq brisket with blue cheese and carmelized onions
- portobello mushroom with roasted peppers, goat cheese, and grilled onions

...and more!

many are, of course, variations on the same fare served at 1924 during lunch.

[KCMax]

Is it casual or upscale?

[DaveKCMO]

based on what i've seen, it's casual. think cheeseheads.

[kard]

hours were previously stated to be 11-3 m-f.

But still, welcome the neighborhood!

[voltopt]

i'll check it out today!

[voltopt]

... and decent, fast, if a little over priced (but anything is if its not fast food)
we had the smoked tomato soup, a walnut & pear salad, and the portabella, red pepper & goat cheese sandito.
the soup was hearty, and warm, the salad left something to be desired, and the sandwich was a little too goat cheesey.
however, the service was fast and nice.
a sandwich and a cup of soup costs 7 dollars, so take that into account.

definitely a cafeteria feel to it, very much a downtown lunch type place. 
the salad was pretty weak (and premade & packaged)

[chrizow]

sounds good to me!  i'll go there next week. 

$7 for soup and a panini sounds pretty good after the $8.50 i paid for a grilled cheese and crappy tater tots at Cheesehead.   :?

[butter_breath]

Cheeseheads is pretty crappy, their tots blow!

The Pastry Goddess has a killer lunch for the same price also, half panni, salad or soup, dessert & drink for $7.5

[KCMax]

Souperman now open at 1724 Main

Rob Dalzell gets his 15 minutes of fame in a January issue of the weekly Nation’s Restaurant News.

After Dalzell became a chef, he dreamed of opening his own place before he was 30, according to the magazine. He missed it by nine days. His 1924 Main, which opened in September 2004, is now a popular fixed-price operation with a menu that changes weekly.

Now Dalzell has added a new fast-casual concept, Souperman, which opened this week at 1724 Main St. The lunch-only menu includes curried pumpkin-apple bisque; Thai coconut chicken soup with red lentils; hot sandwiches called Sandittos, a cross between a sandwich and a burrito; and chipotle chicken salad with bacon.

“In a fine-dining place you only have 100 seats and you can only turn them twice so there is a ceiling,â€

[DiggityDawg]

$7 for soup and a panini sounds pretty good

Yeah, that's not bad at all. Same price as a chain like Panera, really.

Wish they were open on weekends - that'd be my best chance of tryin' 'em.

[mean]

I picked up a flier for Souperman at Cellar Rat the other day, and the dorks forgot to put their address on it! I was wondering where the hell it was...

[KCLofts]

We went there for lunch yesterday.  I was really disappointed.  As mentioned, the salads were a joke.  The Caesar (about 1.5 cups of romaine, some grated parmesan and an ounce of dressing) was $3.50.  The plastic container that it was pre-packaged in probably cost more than the ingredients themselves.  If they have more than 50 cents in the whole thing, I'd be shocked.

Soups are $3.50 and $5.00.  It wasn't too bad.  However, this is billed as a soup place, yet they don't give you a soup spoon!  You have to eat your soup with a tiny, cheap plastic teaspoon with sharp/rough edges that hardly holds any soup.  So the salad and small soup were $7.00.

I had a pork and ham sanditto (sandwich wrapped in a tortilla and then grilled on a panini press).  The sandwiches are $5.  The pork was pretty dry.  Oh, and all of the sandwiches are pre-made so you don't have the option of making any changes.

We each had a bottle of water with our meal.  I didn't see any prices posted and I forgot to check the details on the receipt.  But from the total meal cost, I'm guessing they hit me up for $2 for each private labeled 16 oz bottle of water.  Again, a substantial markup.

So, value-wise and quality-wise, I wasn't really impressed.  But the thing that really bugged me is that everything is pre-made or pre-packaged and disposable.  It's all very sterile and uninviting.  You can only choose from bottled drinks with no mainstream brand or diet choices.  You pull your pre-packaged salad out of the same refrigerator as the drinks.  You get your soup in a coffee cup.  Then they slap it all together in a cardboard drink tote like you'd get at Wendy's with a napkin and your pre-packaged cutlery (with the really tiny spoon).  There were no cups for the drinks.  No ice.  No straws.  You get what you get.  We got one napkin for two people (the napkin was quite nice, though).  Then you go throw it all away.  It's great from a cleanup standpoint because there is absolutely nothing to wash.  But I think it cheapens the whole experience.  It's like everything is To Go, even if you're dining in.  They have bins set up to recycle the cardboard drink carrier that you use for 5 seconds, but everyone just throws all of their trash in there too, so I can't imagine anything getting recycled.

The space itself is minimal, but done nicely.  You don't get the feeling that you are eating in a parking garage.

[butter_breath]

Tried lunch today, quick, tasty combo's. Over all not a bad addition to downtown. Got a cool fridge magnet, didn't opt for the tee shirt.

[chrizow]

i tried this today and give it a HUGE thumbs up!

the place is much larger than i thought it would be.  there is more seating in this restaurant than many places in town - probably 8 decent sized tables and individual countertop-style seating for probably 30!  i also think it is very tastefully done - minimal, stark, clean, in keeping with the garage it's in and the Barkley/TWA building next door.  it has character, unlike a lot of places.  it reminded me of The Mixx in that regard - cool and crisp and not fussy.

most importantly the food was awesome.  i got the curried pumpkin bisque and a salad and they were both phenomenal.  as stated above, the salad was pre-made and in a fridge, but it tasted quite fresh (and, indeed, was likely made an hour before i bought it).  the salad was spinach, goat cheese, dried cherries, pecans, and balsamic vinaigrette and it was a stellar value at $3.50 (there was probably $1.50 in goat cheese alone on there).  the soup was fantastic as well.  my compadre got the potato soup and absolutely loved it.

i feel the pricing is pretty good, although i guess the bottled water was pricey.  the only thing i don't get is that while there is a combo for a sandwich + soup there is no combo for soup and salad.  boo!

if you want gourmet soup and salad (didn't try a sandito, but soon will) for Panera prices, this is your place.  they don't have coca-cola or anything, but i find that omission quite refreshing.

[Souperman]

We went there for lunch yesterday.  I was really disappointed.  As mentioned, the salads were a joke.  The Caesar (about 1.5 cups of romaine, some grated parmesan and an ounce of dressing) was $3.50.  The plastic container that it was pre-packaged in probably cost more than the ingredients themselves.  If they have more than 50 cents in the whole thing, I'd be shocked.

Soups are $3.50 and $5.00.  It wasn't too bad.  However, this is billed as a soup place, yet they don't give you a soup spoon!  You have to eat your soup with a tiny, cheap plastic teaspoon with sharp/rough edges that hardly holds any soup.  So the salad and small soup were $7.00.

I had a pork and ham sanditto (sandwich wrapped in a tortilla and then grilled on a panini press).  The sandwiches are $5.  The pork was pretty dry.  Oh, and all of the sandwiches are pre-made so you don't have the option of making any changes.

We each had a bottle of water with our meal.  I didn't see any prices posted and I forgot to check the details on the receipt.  But from the total meal cost, I'm guessing they hit me up for $2 for each private labeled 16 oz bottle of water.  Again, a substantial markup.

So, value-wise and quality-wise, I wasn't really impressed.  But the thing that really bugged me is that everything is pre-made or pre-packaged and disposable.  It's all very sterile and uninviting.  You can only choose from bottled drinks with no mainstream brand or diet choices.  You pull your pre-packaged salad out of the same refrigerator as the drinks.  You get your soup in a coffee cup.  Then they slap it all together in a cardboard drink tote like you'd get at Wendy's with a napkin and your pre-packaged cutlery (with the really tiny spoon).  There were no cups for the drinks.  No ice.  No straws.  You get what you get.  We got one napkin for two people (the napkin was quite nice, though).  Then you go throw it all away.  It's great from a cleanup standpoint because there is absolutely nothing to wash.  But I think it cheapens the whole experience.  It's like everything is To Go, even if you're dining in.  They have bins set up to recycle the cardboard drink carrier that you use for 5 seconds, but everyone just throws all of their trash in there too, so I can't imagine anything getting recycled.

The space itself is minimal, but done nicely.  You don't get the feeling that you are eating in a parking garage.

I am the owner of Souperman, and I have a great idea for you, instead of leaving unhappy and bitter, running to your computer to trash my buisness on line hidding behind a screen name.  Please just come up to the counter and tell me how I can fix it.  Nothing is more frustrating to a small hardworking buisness owner than this type of activity.  As independant restaurants we depend on word of mouth advertising so help me help you??
Hopefully you agree and would want to be treating with the same respect??

[chrizow]

^

keep up the hard work.  it's clear youre working your ass off.  and thanks for the tasty pumpkin soup!

i know you want to keep the operation simple, but it seems like it would be cheaper and less wasteful to ask people whether they want their stuff to-go or dine-in.  that way you could use less paper products and plastic silverware.  the dining room is far too spacious and inviting for a mere "to-go" place!  the tiny plastic spoon really doesn't do justice to the awesome soup!