A grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup

The soup and sandwich combination meal consists of a soup accompanied by a sandwich. It has been a popular meal in the United States since the 1920s. Some U.S. restaurant chains specialize in the meal, and it has been mass-produced as a prepared frozen meal.

Overview

The soup and sandwich combination meal is common in the United States.[1][2] Depending on the intended size of the meal, the sandwich might be either half or a whole sandwich, and the soup may be served in either a cup or bowl.[1] The combination of a grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup is a common example in American cuisine,[3][4] and has been described as a comfort food.[5][6]

History

The soup and sandwich combination became a popular lunch dish in the United States in the 1920s, and remains as a common dish at American luncheonettes and diners.[7] It was also a common lunch dish in some earlier U.S. department stores that had dining rooms.[1] In contemporary times, it is sometimes consumed as a light dinner.[2] Some soup kitchens, outreach organizations and churches routinely provide the dish to the needy.[8][9][10][11]

Restaurants

A soup and sandwich meal, served with chips

Some American restaurants specialize in soup and sandwich meals, such as the Panera Bread Company, Hale and Hearty, and Zoup! restaurant chains.[12][13][14] In September 2016, the fast casual restaurant Panera Bread had a total of 2,024 stores at North American locations, some of which go by different company names.[15][16] Panera plans to expand its product delivery availability, which began in early 2016, to include 35% to 40% of its store locations by the end of 2017.[16] In October 2016, Zoup! has a total of 96 stores in the United States, with 93 franchise stores and three company-owned ones.[14]

Prepared meals

The soup and sandwich combination has been mass-produced in the United States and purveyed to consumers on a national level,[17][18] the Campbell's Souper Combo frozen soup and sandwich meal being one example.[17][18] Initially, the product realized promising sales revenues, but consumer interest later tapered off, with the initial high sales attributed to consumer curiosity about the new product and "one-off" purchases per this initial interest.[17] The Souper Combo was a short-lived product, and was eventually discontinued.[17][19]

A Stouffer's frozen prepared soup and sandwich meal after heating

The Corner Bistro is a line of mass-produced frozen prepared soup and sandwich meals marketed under the Stouffer's brand.[19] The sandwiches are manufactured as stuffed melt sandwiches.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Siple, M. (2009). Low-cholesterol Cookbook for Dummies. For dummies. ReadHowYouWant.com. p. 233. ISBN 978-1-4587-3661-1. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Hoffman, S.; Wise, V. (2013). Bold: A Cookbook of Big Flavors. Workman Publishing Company. p. 68. ISBN 978-0-7611-7863-7. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  3. ^ Freehof, I.; Catton, P. (2005). The Comfort Diner Cookbook. Clarkson Potter/Publishers. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-4000-8108-0. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  4. ^ Lean, L.; Bastianich, J. (2011). Made in America: Our Best Chefs Reinvent Comfort Food. Rizzoli International Publications, Incorporated. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-59962-101-2. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  5. ^ Gunst, K.; Duivenvoorden, Y. (2016). Soup Swap: Comforting Recipes to Make and Share. Chronicle Books. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4521-4851-9. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  6. ^ Zinczenko, D.; Goulding, M. (2014). Cook This, Not That! Skinny Comfort Foods. Random House Publishing Group. p. 290. ISBN 978-1-101-88446-1. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  7. ^ Elias, M. (2014). Lunch: A History. The Meals Series. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-4422-2747-7. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  8. ^ McKinley, Jesse (July 16, 1995). "Neighborhood Report: Villages East & West; Soup Kitchen Draws Hungry -- And Trouble?". The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  9. ^ Kershaw, Tayla (September 6, 2016). "Salvation soup and sandwiches". The Star. Archived from the original on January 27, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  10. ^ Brimer, Justin (December 8, 2014). "Volunteers, supplies needed for annual homeless count". Archived from the original on January 16, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  11. ^ "Church on the streets". Christian Today. May 3, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  12. ^ Halzack, Sarah (September 13, 2016). "Panera comes out swinging against Happy Meal-style kids' food". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  13. ^ Johnson, Hollis (December 3, 2016). "This New York City-based soup-and-sandwich chain should make Panera nervous". Business Insider. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  14. ^ a b "Zoup! hires outside company to keep its strategic plan focused". Crain's Detroit Business. October 9, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  15. ^ "Our History" Archived 2015-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. Panera Bread. Accessed January 2017.
  16. ^ a b "Panera is rolling out delivery at restaurants across America". Business Insider. January 11, 2017. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  17. ^ a b c d Haig, M. (2005). Brand Failures: The Truth about the 100 Biggest Branding Mistakes of All Time. Kogan Page Series. Kogan Page. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-0-7494-4433-4. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
  18. ^ a b Hodock, C.L. (9 September 2010). Why Smart Companies Do Dumb Things: Avoiding Eight Common Mistakes in New Product Development. Prometheus Books. p. 227–. ISBN 978-1-61592-178-2. Retrieved December 23, 2016. (subscription required)
  19. ^ a b c Wyman, Carolyn; Leblang, Bonnie Tandy (February 15, 2011). "Supermarket Sampler: Sandwich, soup combo is not so hot". Deseret News. Retrieved December 23, 2016.

External links

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