Sauerkraut Soup

Has anyone seen a restaurant that makes this? Not cabbage soup. It's made with white beans and saurerkraut. Soup is whitish with a sweet and sour taste. I think it has meat in it, maybe lamb. Internet recipes are not right and polish restaurants and Jewish delis don't have it. It was made by my grandmother of Jewish-Polish descent.

Hi,

Sauerkraut soup has been reported three times in the Chicago area here:

By Antonius at Laschet's

By kl5 at Szala's

and by Food Nut at Art Gallery Kafe

I'd start with Szala's.

YES! The completely delectable Healthy Food Lithuanian Restaurant (3236 S. Halsted. Their phone number is (312) 326-2724) has a fantastic sauerkraut soup. I don't know for sure if white beans are included. I only know that it is delicious. You can buy it frozen for enjoyment in your own home, too.

BH,

Not the same, but a soup I quite enjoy, which I originally thought got it's sour component from sauerkraut, is the Zurek/White Borscht at Podhalanka, a highly recommended Polish restaurant and, also, recipient of an LTHForum Great Neighborhood Restaurant Award.

Podhalanka's Zurek gets it 'sour' from flour/water/salt/garlic left to ferment and contains sausage, dill weed and small pieces of garlic all topped with sprigs of dill.

Podhalanka's Zurek/White Borscht


Highly recommended by Ann Fisher are Podhalanka's potato pancakes and I always enjoy pierogi w/sour cream or any of the lunch specials. Podhalanka is a modestly appointed inexpensive Polish restaurant catering to hearty eaters. It's a little like going to an Aunt's house for a meal, albeit an Aunt who really knows how to cook.

Enjoy,
Gary

Podhalanka
1549 W. Division S
Chicago, IL
773-486-6655

The only place I had it was Julia's Truckers Welcome on the long-ago Westernathon; Julia's is gone but since that makes two Lithuanian restaurants to have offered it, I'd take that as a clue for further exploration.

gleam wrote:I'd start with Szala's.

Szala's sauerkraut soup was a salty sour masterpiece with lots of sauerkraut, white beans of some sort and (if I remember correctly) pork ribs. It was huge as well. Looking at the menu, I now see that they offer it "cauldron" style, for two. I can't even imagine how big that must be.

Kristen