9 places to get a cozy bowl of soup in Tucson

5602 E. 22nd St., 748-1032.

El Sur believes in variety: It offers 10 soups.

Albondigas, caldo de pollo, pozole and caldo de queso are all on the menu. But owner Isela Mejia says the most popular are the chicken tortilla soup and the cocido, a beef soup. El Sur also serves menudo seven days a week.

“We like to have different choices,” Mejia says.

When Mejia made the decision to become vegan last month, she introduced El Sur’s first vegan soup, made with tomato broth, pasta shells, zucchini, carrots, corn, potatoes, brown rice and beans.

“It’s very hard to find vegan soups because most soups have chicken or beef bases,” she says.

Mejia says the restaurant makes about three gallons of each soup every day in the winter season, and each is made with recipes passed down from Mejia’s mother and aunt, who are from Sonora. Soups are $7 for a small bowl, $8.50 for large.

421 W. Ina Road (461-1111), 3026 N. Campbell Ave. (322-9965), and 6260 E. Speedway (747-7477).

Beyond Bread doesn’t abandon the bread with its soups: they are served in a bread bowl (or a slice of bread, if you prefer).

The daily soup offerings are chicken tortilla and tomato basil soup. Seven other soups rotate on a daily schedule. All soups are $5.75.

“We’ve had the same soup schedule since 2002,” says owner Shelby Collier. “We have a lot of people who come in on particular days just for a specific soup.”

Collier says the tomato basil, which is vegetarian, is the most popular.

“We’re in the southwest, so the chicken tortilla is really popular, too,” he adds.

The soups are made daily and can take anywhere from 2 to 4 hours to make.

“It’s all made from scratch,” Collier says.

3242 E. Speedway, 327-8321.

Lemon lovers head to Fronimo’s Greek Cafe for the Avgolemono soup ($4).

The traditional Greek soup is made with chicken broth, egg, lemon and rice. Fronimo’s serves the soup with pita bread.

“We chose the Avegolemono soup because Americans like lemon,” owner George Fronimakis says, adding that the chicken base is what really makes the soup come together.

“The amount we make depends on the weather,” he says. “It changes big time in the winter — we make quite a bit in the winter.” The soup is made from scratch daily and comes from a family recipe.

Fronimo’s only offers one soup. Fronimakis says that having only one soup is how he’s able to ensure the best quality. He says there are no plans to add additional soups to the menu.

If the above restaurants just aren’t enough to get you through the winter, have no fear. Tucson is home to many restaurants with delicious soups to try. Among them:

326 N. 4th Ave. 740-1541 — Five bread bowl soups are on the menu: cream of potato bacon, cream of broccoli, Wisconsin cheese, Boston clam chowder and chili. All soups are $7.50.

1800 E. Fort Lowell Road, 795-0888 — The restaurant offers more than 10 soups, including hot and sour, wonton, seafood tofu and barbecue pork. Prices range from $1.75 to $9.50.

2829 E. Speedway, 319-2467 — The soups here include a vegan and gluten-free vegetable soup, chicken noodle, roasted garlic tomato, roasted corn chowder and broccoli cheddar. All soups are $2.60 for a small bowl, $5.20 for large.

250 S. Craycroft Road (269-6899), 47 N. 6th Ave. (884-4778), 1072 N. Campbell Ave. (320-9511) — The soups here are hefty meals in themselves. There is the pho made with beef broth and rice noodles, hu tieu made with chicken broth and rice noodles and mi made with chicken broth and egg noodles. Soups range from $5.99 to $8.49.

350 E. Congress St., 485-3590 — You’ll find six ramen choices here. Prices range $11.50 to $12.25.

4520 E. Broadway, 777-5407 — Here you’ll find a beet soup, a pickle soup and Zurek, which is a sour rye soup. $4.50 to $5.90.