The Stew Pot Kitchen
 Akron, Ohio        Date of Visit  02/06/13      
 http://thestewpotkitchen.vpweb.com/default.html 

My wife is actually home for a day and after getting some work done at home we decided to check out a little spot that is never open when we are both free. According to the website the place opened a couple of years ago after a stay at home dad was looking for vocation after getting all of his charges at least as far as kindergarten. The place looks much sharper inside than I would have expected and having seen some of the soup options on the menu for the week I was excited to see how they would turn out.
 

Weeks Menu
 

We ordered BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Soup, Roasted Pork & Apple Soup and the Stew Pot Signature Chili. We also split the Giant Slovenian Kielbasa sandwich with sauerkraut. The service is close to cafeteria style with a number of round kettles holding the eight soups and a shelf full of condiments, mostly hot sauces. The sandwich did consist of a large squasage which was fine but could have used a bit of jazz. The soups were another matter.

The chili is signature. I’ve never had one like it but it is far from my favorite. What I did enjoy was the dusky spice that was deeply imbued into the darkly hued broth. The sausage was also a nice touch. I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the complete spice profile but there was something which didn’t quite work, for me, at least. The texture of the ground beef also reflected some suffering on behalf of the meat as it was tough and chewy. The other two soups were special.
 

The roasted pork and apple soup appeared devoid of apple. There was plenty of celery and other veggies but no noticeable apples. Then you tasted the broth. Sweet tangy apple saturated the broth along with the succulent roasted pork which made for a great spoonful. The cheeseburger soup was not what I was expecting. Instead of being somewhat chili like it was a thinner cheese soup with ground beef (this time far from tough and chewy), a little bacon and a hint of smoky sweetness. The thinness of the soup hid the thick cheesy flavor which, while not exactly cheeseburgery, was delicious.

We asked about the desserts and they turned out to be Little Debbie snack cakes so we went without and ran up the street to try some cookies from Insomnia. There were five soups we didn’t try and apparently many of them change on a weekly basis. Oh, they deliver downtown as well. It’s a good thing we don’t work near the place, I don’t think I should be trying 5 soups every day at lunch.
 

Didn't Expect This Mixture But Burger Soup Is Cheesy Goodness