A long, long time ago...

Across the street from the old office there is a deli called The Food Factory, owned and run by Jimmy and his wife-- I want to say her name is Sue Lisa, but right this second I'm drawing a blank. I can say it opened up about ten years ago because I know it was open on 9/11. They came from New York and had family and friends in the NYC Fire and Police Departments. The deli became a gathering place for workers in downtown Cary on that horrible day.

(I looked it up on their website -- the restaurant's 10th anniversary is November 15. And while I was there I stole that picture to the right.)

Anyway, back in the day we spent a lot of time over there. You could get a good grilled cheese sandwich and they would let you customize it-- my favorite was swiss on rye, but american on white with tomato was a staff trend at one time. Ann started that. Or you could get just a few slices of turkey or some cheese or little side servings of a variety of deli salads. Their designer sandwiches, wraps and paninis could be pricey, but we learned to improvise.

In those days, I had a partner-in-crime up at the front desk-- Dee. Dee turned me on to their Cream of Mushroom soup. It was a real treat-- so rich and creamy it was hard to finish-- so when they did offer it, we always had a discussion about should we or shouldn't we. And then hours of anticipation if we decided that we should. I can still remember how that soup used to make me smile.

I thought that Wednesday was Cream of Mushroom day and didn't even check before heading over there today, but alas-- there was none to be had. It may not be offered anymore (gasp) or they may have run out. They were busy so I didn't ask about it then-- but I will. Instead I settled on Chicken Orzo with Spinach.

I was a little disappointed thinking it would be similar to yesterday, but it was like apples to oranges. This soup is broth based and beautiful-- snow-white slices of chicken, bright orange carrots and deep green spinach with a decent amount of orzo swimming in a light broth.


The second reason I decided to hit The Food Factory today was that I knew I wouldn't be able to look up food values and obsess. It's a really lovely soup-- I'd say my favorite so far. It had the most meat and no processed flavor at all.

So I'm going to give it 3 spoons for love and 3 spoons for nutrition-- 6 out of 8 for Chicken Orzo with Spinach soup from The Food Factory. This bowl of soup cost me $3.99.

And I'll be back again someday soon,
looking for the Cream of Mushroom.