As “That Guy Who Likes Soups,” I’m often asked my opinion on various types of the food. One that seems to come up pretty often is taco soup. I try to be charitable, but man, I really dislike taco soup. In my mind, it’s the shitty, trashy cousin of the far better tortilla soup. It’s one of those foods people who don’t know how to REALLY cook make in crock pots and then brag about on social media as if we’re supposed to be proud of their culinary prowess. Taco soup is the casserole-topped-with-chips of soups. In addition to finding taco soup boring and trashy, it usually seems to upset my stomach. Do. Not. Want.

Naturally, with the knowledge that I dislike taco soup, the Toups on Soups crew decided to bring me to Sunshine Health Food’s Taco Soup Tuesday. I’ve been told on more than one occasion their taco soup is so much better than the low bar I have in my head and that I should give it a chance. Being a fan of Sunshine’s Cafe, I reluctantly agreed. Their chicken salad sandwich is especially delicious, so I figured, “What the hell?”

Apparently Taco Soup Tuesday is A Big Deal. Taco Soup Tuesday is such a big deal, in fact, that we had to call ahead to reserve some lest it all be sold out before we arrived for filming that afternoon. As I was handed my soup, I looked at it thinking, “Yep, I’m really trying taco soup.” I’m pretty sure I audibly sighed.

Looking into the bowl, I saw the standard ground meat, beans, corn, and pieces of tomato. You know… taco accoutrements…. Upon first taste, I wasn’t sure what to think. It was certainly better than any taco soup I’d tried. I wasn’t hit with an overwhelming “I really like this!” sense, but I didn’t dislike it. Positive signs. As I ate more, I still couldn’t really form an opinion. It definitely wasn’t bad. I could see how someone would like this soup.

It had been arranged that my friend’s young son, Campbell, would help me decide what I thought of the soup. (How fortuitous that I happened to know a super cute kid who loves soups and whose name is Campbell?) We sat Campbell down at the table and let him get after it. A few minutes later, when his bowl was two thirds empty and his shirt was slightly browned from soup that missed his mouth, he enthusiastically declared the soup was, “GOOD!”

I finished my bowl, eventually. It was definitely the best taco soup I’d eaten, but winning that crown is beating some pretty low competition. I don’t think I’ll ever purposely have the taco soup there again, but I suppose I understand why people who like taco soup really like Sunshine Health Foods’s Taco Soup Tuesday.

Two quick side notes:

  • The soup was served in a nice glass bowl, but with a plastic soup spoon. I really hate eating from plastic utensils, both because of their flimsiness and because I know they’ll be thrown away rather than reused. (Perhaps they recycle. I didn’t ask.) C’mon Sunshine—the bowl was glass, so there’s already dishes to wash. Surely it’d be cheaper in the long run to use real silverware than having to replenish plastic-ware supplies.
  • I mentioned above that taco soup seems to hurt my stomach. I’m happy to report that Sunshine’s had no ill effects.

To connect with Toups on Soups, email him at toups.heliopolis@gmail.com.