Most nights the Dining Facility has 2 piping hot cauldrons of soup on the buffet bar. They are never labelled, you have to investigate and put your best deductive reasoning to work to assess their true nature. Clam chowder, chicken and rice, vegetable, vegetable beef, vegetable with extra vegetable, seafood chowder, chicken noodle, chicken dumpling. All worthy soups indeed. But up until last night never chili. Not once.
I am a chili lover. the warmth it can provide on a cold night in your tummy. Of course, there's not much use for the stuff in sunny South Carolina, except for the 5 Points chili cookoff and on hotdogs with mustard and onion a la Jimis Mart Hotdog Heaven (That's the real name and I have the t-shirt to prove it, they go beanless though).
It's safe to say I've been looking forward to a killer bowl of chili in Alaska.
I had a long day with the early morning drive to Fairbanks and the drive back, so when I stumbled into the dfac last night, I failed to investigate the soup options. I grabbed a plate of the hot brown offering, in this case hamburger stroganoff over flat egg noodles and headed to a booth, grabbing a rootbeer along the way. I scarfed down the stroganoff and could feel the noodles expanding right away towards blissful fullness. However, I wanted dessert and sometimes they have pudding or moose (chocolate, not the herbivore) on the buffet bar. Out of curiosity, I peeked in the soups. CRUD!!! Chili. Hot. Tomatoey. Meaty. Full of that warm chili pepper fragrance. And there I stood, full to the gills on hamburger stroganoff. I thought about an instant case of bulimia but instead manned up and decided to cram a bowl of goodness in on top of the stroganoff. I filled a bowl to the top, threw in some shredded cheddar and fresh onions from the salad bar and a few drops of hot sauce for good measure. It was delectable.
Lesson learned, always check the soups first.
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