Great for colds and flu season, soups can also keep you hydrated and full. Almost anything edible can also be simmered from noodles to vegetables.
Plus soups can be hearty or lean.
That soup for the soul concept is behind a new exclusive soup restaurant downtown.
Kitchen Seven Six, based at 76 Cedar Street, offers everything from goulash and oxtail cabbage soup to favourites like the loaded potato and more.
Southern Ontario transplant Rob Ruthart is serving up the soup, soup flights, fresh bread and sandwiches.
Ruthart’s motto is “Soup. Bread. Bricks. Jazz.”
“With a background in music at Humber College, I wanted to incorporate my love for jazz and create a space for both my passions. My goal is to have live music here when the timing is right,” he said.
Ruthart describes the scene like an ice cream shop for soups.
“Right now, I’ve been rotating the menu to get to know the Sudbury soup palate. There are many flavours to choose from daily. Sometimes I go back to the drawing board when it doesn’t meet the interest of customers,” he said.
Ruthart said he’s been making soup since the age of 12. Around that same time, he also ventured into baking loaves of bread.
“Both soup and bread is about making something from nothing, which I’ve always admired in people. Plus, I love playing with flavour,” he said.
The fresh-baked loaves are available for sale at the restaurant. That same buttery, crisp bread accompanies soup orders.
Kitchen Seven Six also offers open-face sandwiches using the house-made breads, including the beef and brie melt, the chicken range and cheeseburger melt.
Ruthart said all the bread is made by hand without the convenience of mixing machines. It’s a simple mixture of flour, yeast and salt.
Every batch needs tender loving care.
“I babysit it. I stretch it. I fold it and let it rest before putting it in the oven,” he said.
In addition to offering a soup- and bread-based menu, Ruthart said what sets him apart is speed: he can offer busy people who need to rush back to work a very fast turnaround for fresh, nutritious lunch.
He’d also like to see more people coming after work to sip on soup flights instead of mugs of coffee.
“We’re going for a different late afternoon vibe here,” he said.
Kitchen Seven Six also offers family and office party deals with soup by the bigger batch. Kitchen Seven Six is located at 76 Cedar Street downtown, and is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
To learn more, you can visit Facebook or Instagram.
Anastasia Rioux is a writer in Greater Sudbury. Let’s Eat! is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.