Following Edge

This is the story of how a promise of garden vegetable soup turned out to be a lie, deception and a farce!

Lauren and I visited Cafe Yumm this week. We go there often as it has plenty of comfortable seating, coffee, and plenty of vegetarian goodness. I ordered a sandwich and gazed at the soup board. I often get the Chilean Zuchini soup, but today, just above that was the promise of "Garden Vegetable" soup. Mmmmm... garden vegetably goodness... I'll have it!

A short time later, one of the staff (a Yummie?) brings the sandwich and a bowl of yellowish-brown mud-like soup.

"Uh... I don't think this is the right soup. I ordered the [rushing out to look at the soup list and back, just to be sure] Garden Vegetable soup."

"This is the Garden Vegetable soup. The vegetable is lentil. That's lentil soup."

What!? Despite the singular form of "vegetable", "Garden Vegetable" means a selection of vegetables that one might expect to grow in the garden. Let's see... tomatoes? squash? carrots? even cabbage or even kohlrabi, I suppose. You don't say "garden vegetable" if the only vegetable is peas and you're serving split pea soup. The same goes for lentil soup. If you've got lentil soup, you say "Lentil Soup", not "Garden Vegetable", for god's sake.

Anne Marie suggests that lentils and peas are legumes anyhow and shouldn't be stuck in with vegetables. I'm not so sure, but I don't think it affects may basic argument that "Garden Vegetable" is not lentils.

And, after a bit of a wait, Cafe Yumm did give me a bowl of Chilean Zuchini soup instead, so they are redeemed. I do highly reccommend them. But, remember, if you see them offer garden vegetable soup, be sure to ask "Which vegetable"?