This is the first in a series of five posts about places to eat lunch in the city of Richland. I figured that right now, with the holiday (read: shopping) season upon us, is a great time for it because you never know when you’ll be out and about, ready to pick up that very last bargain scarf , and be overcome with hunger pangs so intense you cannot possibly wait to eat until you get home.
Let’s start with Stone Soup Cafe, located at 703 The Parkway in Richland. The easiest way to get there, if you haven’t been before, is to take George Washington Way to Knight St. Immediately turn into The Parkway, which runs parallel to GWWay. If you’re a Richland native then go ahead and hop on Lee and negotiate the roundabout.
They have a different soup every week day, and a soup of the week. You can check out their web site to find out what soup they’re offering. As an fyi, the soup of the week this week is Chicken Barley. I am not a fan of the Chicken Barley, or the Creamy Tomato with Pasta. I do, however, love the Chicken Enchilada, and many people do. It is their most popular soup and has won an award or two. The Baked Potato soup is decent, and I like the Southwest Corn Chowder. I’ve never liked Clam Chowder, so I’ve not tried theirs, and they have Broccoli Cheese soup which might be good, but I haven’t sampled it.
In addition, they make terrific sandwiches. I love just about anything as long as it’s on the marble rye bread.
The service is pretty good – they never get flustered or impatient if the line behind you is long and you’re taking a while to place your order. They smile when they hand you your to-go order or bring your meal to your table.
When the weather is nice, go early to snag a table outside. They go quickly but they’re very pleasant places to eat and catch up with a friend.
It’s a popular place, so it can get crowded at times, but it’s never been obnoxiously loud when I’ve been there.
Desserts are brownies, marshamallow/crispy rice squares and this other thing that looks like some kind of peanut butter fudge bar, but I haven’t had it, so I’m not sure. It’s not a place you go to specifically FOR the desserts, but what they offer is just enough to take the edge off your sweet tooth.
Hours are 8am -4pm, Monday through Friday.
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Their sandwiches & soup are pretty tasty. I, too, dig the chicken enchilada soup.
For some reason the little cookie you get with your meal always tastes like bubblegum to me, though. No matter what flavor it’s supposed to be.
Ha! I forgot about the cookie, and you’re absolutely right. I always give mine to someone else!
Stone soup is my wife’s favorite place! Being vegetarian, soup is a major food group as it is more likely to not contain meat. I also enjoy eating there, and with the weather getting colder, soup is sounding better and better!
My office used to be a stone’s throw away (ba-dump-ching). Great sandwiches and AWESOME cookies. I’ll most likely be going there again soon now that you’ve reminded me about it.
Jeremy — If she’s concerned about a strict vegetarian diet, make sure to ask if they’re using vegetable stock/broth… because chicken stock is a favorite and widely used soup base.
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