There aren’t many things in Chicago that can keep up with the extreme weather changes. The Soupbox/Icebox, 2943 N. Broadway, comes close.
For the winter months, the cozy Lakeview restaurant is named “the Soupbox” and offers a simple-yet-delicious selection of 12 different soups each day. Beginning in late spring, however, all that stays the same is the location. The restaurant is cleverly renamed “the Icebox” and serves more than 20 kinds of Italian ices, called Icyfruit, every day.
The complete Soupbox menu rotation offers a total of 64 soup varieties, all made fresh and cooked right in the kitchen each day. Types include everything from good ol’ “Homestyle Chicken Noodle” to more adventuresome flavors like “Beer, Cheese and Smoked Bacon.” There are also multiple vegetarian types to choose from.
The restaurant is simple. It has a few tables for diners and a long counter at the back that is covered by 12 labeled Halloween-esque cauldrons, each filled with a different soup. Customers walk right up to the counter and pick a soup, or can even mix two.
Ordering is easy, even though deciding is next to impossible. Sampling is a must; friendly servers patiently offer their suggestions despite the usual hustle and bustle.
“The choices are overwhelming, but in a good way,” says Hayley Friel, 20, a visitor from Arlington, Mass.
The back wall, which has a unique chalkboard surface, displays prices and the current menu. Soups cost $4.50 for a regular bowl (12 oz.) or $5.50 for a large (16 oz.), and each comes with a generous piece of bread for customary soup-sopping. For $6.50 you get a large soup in a bread bowl, plus a free can of soda or bottle of water.
During the spring and summer, the Icebox sells 20 non-dairy, fat-free, all-natural Icyfruits daily in an array of flavors which include cantaloupe, IcyChocolate, and raspberry.
The Soupbox/Icebox is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and only accepts cash. The second location is at 50 E. Chicago Ave., and it serves soup (and 12 kinds of salad) year-round. The online menu is updated each morning at www.thesoupbox.com.
– Deena Bustillo
