I Ate This: Delicious Soup!

What: A bowl of delicious soup, an apple, and a roll for lunch.

Where: M Street Grocery, 801 Madison, 254-0805. 7 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

When: Yesterday, after walking downtown from Virginia Mason, I popped in this cute neighborhood grocery for a comforting little bite. Twice before I've been drawn in by the bright colors, fresh-looking produce, and wide soup selection. My previous bowls were a so-so clam chowder and a mind-bogglingly good red pepper/curry/chicken concoction. Today: cream of chicken with wild rice--or more specifically, "a buttery herb-scented veloute with onion, celery, carrot, cabbage, and long grain wild rice." The choices I passed up: Louisiana red beans and rice, cream of broccoli, Wisconsin cheddar, Manhattan-style fish stew. I wondered what "Manhattan-style" meant, and while half of the ingredients were chopped off the placard, I could read "tomato, black cod, salmon..." Hmm. Two of them were 'Truesoups' brand, the rest 'M Street' brand.

Price: $4.99 for 16 oz. With my Cameo apple and roll...ok, and a bag of chips...the total was $8.01.

Official tasting notes: My cream of chicken soup was indeed buttery and herb-scented. Also bouyant. It had a pleasing thickness, if not very much chicken. In short, it fulfilled its soup-like duty of making me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I would highly recommend this sunny grocery and its myriad soups if you're walking down Madison and need to pick up some grub. Or if you're on the way home and need a great bottle of wine, some olives, a veggie samosa, what have you... They've got all the frou-frou stuff you might find elsewhere, minus any distinct feeling of an overbearing 'high-end' or 'organic' gameplan. It's just a bunch of stuff you might want in a really cute store. Which is a reaction they probably paid some interior designers good money to generate. How do I love thee, M Street Grocery...Let me count the soups.