Concerning Soup

Querey? Today at lunch with my 84 year young friend at 11 City Diner I asked the waiter what the soup of the day was. Before the waiter could respond my friend said, "Its Tuesday so it is Lentil dummy." Sure enough it was Lentil and I promise you my friend had never been to 11 City. So how did he know before the waiter told us?

Answer....There is apparently a standard soup of the day formula that every traditional Jewish deli follows. While it makes sense and i know that on Sat I can always get Mushroom Barley at Max's in Highland Park, I never really thought about the possibility of a standard line up of soups of the day. So, I ask, is my friend senile? and if not what is the lineup...here is my closest aproximation while I try to puzzle out this question of universal importance. Please make your corrections and help fill in the blanks.

MONDAY
Navy Bean

TUESDAY
Lentil

WEDNESDAY
?

THURSDAY
?

FRIDAY
Vegetable and/or Clam Chowder?

SATURDAY
Mushroom/Barley

I'm just guessing here, but what about a split pea soup? And borsht?

Chicken noodle?

David Hammond wrote:Chicken noodle?

Silly Hammond. In a Jewish deli, that's available EVERY day

At Shapiro's, it's Bean&Barley on Wednesday and Split Pea on Thursday.

Soup list/schedule at Manny's Deli, N.B. the absence of lentil on Tuesday or any other day:

DAILY
Chicken Broth
With matzo ball, kreplach, noodles, or rice.
Cold Beet Borscht

MONDAY
Navy Bean

TUESDAY
Split Pea

WEDNESDAY
Mushroom/Barley

THURSDAY
Cream Broccoli or Sweet & Sour Cabbage

FRIDAY
Vegetable

SATURDAY
Mushroom/Barley

I'd be surprised to find clam chowder as the Friday soup of the day at a Jewish deli, but is certainly standard elsewhere.

Here's what the Bagel offers:
Monday - Vegetable
Tuesday - Lentil or bean
Wednesday - Split Pea
Thursday - Vegetable
Friday - Mushroom Barley
Saturday - Potato
Sunday - Mushroom Barley

FWIW, my undergrad school in Boston contained a sizable Jewish contingency (it ran pretty even between Jews and Roman Catholics, religious-affiliation-wise) and the university cafeterias generally adhered to the rotation of navy bean-lentil-mushroom barley described above except that clam chowder would always be offered on Fridays as well for the minority of RCs who didn't eat meat on Fridays. To further add to the confusion, two types of clam chowder had to be offered (Manhattan and Boston-styles) to satisfy the both sizable NY and the sizable Boston population. I wouldn't want to be the director of the cafeteria there - truly thankless job.

I've eaten more meals in delis or Jewish-style restaurants than I care to admit and I never knew that tuesdays were standard lentil days.

Mushroom barley on friday, on the other hand, is something I always expect to see.

rlguffman wrote:I'd be surprised to find clam chowder as the Friday soup of the day at a Jewish deli

I guess you are right i just threw it in because it is served on fridays at most greek/other places.

BTW Chicken, Cabbage and Borscht are everyday soups