It is the peak of soup season, with the air crisp and the snow slowly melting. Even though soup has been a hot commodity throughout the year, it has now become a must-have on nearly every student’s to-do list. 

Through SubConnect, Sodexo provides a variety of seven different soups, and of course, we can’t forget mac & cheese Monday. But, sometimes, these soups stay full in their colanders until the end of the day, and others, they may even refill if demand is high enough. 

I have taken it upon myself to rank these soups based upon the students’ fulfilled supply and demand of these soups and provide an analysis of each to see what is a hit or miss. 

Roasted Red Pepper Gouda: 9.75/10 

A fan favorite. Immaculate in every facet of the word. Perfect texture, not too chunky, but still provides more than adequate sustenance. It would be good without the gouda chunks, but they truly set the bar high. They have even set aside two days on the schedule for this masterpiece, and it runs out early every time. 

Chicken Tortilla: 8/10 

While not as popular, the depth of flavors brings this higher up on the list. It has everything a soup should have: good broth, taste and various textures. Its spice is what truly sets it aside and makes it indeed a top-tier option on a cold, snowy day. 

Loaded Potato: 7.75/10 

Your typical potato soup. It has a good consistency; it’s not too thin, nor too thick. It tends to be somewhat on the salty side, though tolerable. The potatoes can have varying textures, which is a little off-putting but that is easily made up for by the depth the bacon adds. 

Broccoli Cheddar: 7.5/10 

Exactly what you should expect from broccoli cheddar soup: creamy, tender broccoli. It’s a perfect cup of soup on any given day, with the exception of it being a bit overwhelming with the amount of broccoli not quite being in proportion to the cheese. 

Chicken Noodle: 6/10 

Another soup that is exactly what is expected. It’s chicken noodle soup—it’s hard to mess up. The only miss on behalf of Sodexo is the type of noodles used: they get soggy early on in the day and therefore are usually still sitting on the counter half-full when they close shop. The size and cook of each vegetable is perfect, and the chicken is okay, but the noodles really hold it back from its full potential. 

Butternut Squash: 4/10 

This is not a favorite of most students. It’s very autumnal, and that has long passed. It’s sweeter than what a typical soup should be, and the texture is a little off for more students than not. Overall, it’s a decent soup, but again, it is always left on the counter at the end of the day. It needs a deeper flavor other than the squash itself — it should be a base, not the star of the show. 

Wisconsin Cheddar: 3.5/10 

Honestly, it tries too hard. It’s essentially broccoli cheddar without the broccoli. It’s just cheese sauce. It has good flavor, but it needs more than just pure cheese to be a hit instead of a miss. 

Off-Case mention: 

Mac & Cheese Monday: 2.5/10 

With a whole day set aside for macaroni and cheese, it felt necessary to include it in some manner. 

To be completely honest, more times than not, the mac is a miss. It is either far too loose or far too thick. The noodles used vary week to week, and the texture of the cheese is never consistent enough to declare it as a “comfort food.” Completely edible but has so much wasted potential.