Kel and I got into a habit during the long hours in the car on a recent road trip. As mealtimes approached, I’d use my phone to begin the hunt for vegan-friendly restaurants in whatever large city was coming up along the highway. On the second day of our drive back through Florida on our way back to Oklahoma, Kel and I hit the lunchtime jackpot and were treated to the best meal of our trip. Once inside the doors of End of the Line Cafe in Pensacola, there was no need to explain veganism, no asking for the mayo/cheese/sour cream to be removed from a dish – it was straight-up, 100% plant-based manna.
End of the Line Cafe sits right along the railroad tracks (hence the name) and not far from the waterfront. It’s a humble setting and I’m not sure I’d be lingering in the area after dark. No matter, it was a bright and warm day and our stomachs were loudly protesting their emptiness. End of the Line was serving up a prix-fixe brunch that Sunday and the place was full – all of us clutching forks and knives in anticipation. The meal started out with little cups of rich and flavorful creamy tomato soup. After slurping our first sips, my eyes met Kel’s and in hushed tones we both murmured, “Wow.” I have no idea what they put in there, but whatever it was, I want to bottle it and sell it. The rest of the meal was also outstanding (photos below).
I have to admit, I didn’t even come close to End of the Line’s version, but this is still a tasty, easy soup. For this recipe, I used the last of 2012’s homegrown tomatoes that Kel had cut into slices and put into the freezer. They were real beauties and part of me hated to use them all up, but since we have new tomato plants starting in the greenhouse, we should be buried in the red beasts by July. Canned tomatoes will work just fine in this recipe.
- 2 large onions, sliced
- water and/or Bragg Liquid Aminos, for sautéing
- ~8 cups tomatoes (peeled), or two 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 head garlic, roasted and the cloves squeezed out
- 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp. white miso
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp. curry powder
- ~1/2 cup nut milk, optional
- orange gremolata, recipe below
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup or so of parsley, finely chopped
- zest of one orange
- 1/4 cup or so of raw walnuts, chopped
- In a large pot, slowly and patiently caramelize the onions in splashes of water and Bragg Liquid Aminos. For buttery, soft and brown onions, this should take about 30 minutes. Don't skip this step - it gives the soup its rich flavor.
- Once the onions are caramelized, add the tomatoes and cook down for about 10 minutes. Stir all of the remaining ingredients, except for the nut milk, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the soup for 30 minutes or so, tasting to adjust the seasonings.
- Using a blender or a stick blender, puree the soup. Stir in the nut milk, if using, and heat gently while you prepare the gremolata.
- Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Divide the soup between bowls and top with gremolata.
Brunch at End of the Line Cafe:
Two salads plus rice and tofu migas at End of the Line Cafe.
And for dessert: a luscious macaroon.
This food looks delicious, and this place sounds amazing! I want to goooo!
I want them to move here!
The food looks great & very appetizing too! Your soup sounds special to me with the miso & soy sauce in there! This sounds very strange to me! I must try it to see if it works for me!
I know that the rest of the ingredients work for me because I love to use them a lot too! 🙂 x
The miso and soy sauce add that umami thing!
Ahaaa!
Ah, you can’t beat a nice creamy tomato soup, especially one made with homegrown tomatoes. What a highlight it must have been finding The End of the Line, great name too.
I remember drooling over that macaroon first time I saw your pic, awesome!
And I can’t imagine a soup sounding or tasting any better than your version here? I love the white bean addition. I have a bunch of canned toms just waiting to become a pot of this tasty soup….you know I can’t go a week without a batch of some veggie soup (or two)….Can’t believe how great your pics came out in the restaurant either. They look just as beautiful as your own kitchen ♥ YUMMM.
There was something about their soup…cannot put my finger on it, but it was wonderful. A really rich flavor.
I snagged a seat right by a window so I’d have good light for photos :-).
ooh that roasted garlic is totally calling my name!!! what a lovely addition to your soup! 🙂
One can never have too much roasted garlic ;-)!
Everything looks so great.
Thank you – – and I wish End of the Line Cafe were closer to me!
This all looks so delicious!
Thanks, Barb!
The roasted garlic and caramelized onions just put this on over the top. So good! So comforting! I’ve never even heard of gremolata! It’s gorgeous!
Wow, Looks amazing. I am enterring this into my travel book for when I get me RV to travel . I love the area around Pensacola !! Went there a long time ago.
Make sure you stop at End of the Line Cafe! And happy travels ;-)!
Such a relief when you find a decent eatery. Gorgeous looking soup.
Bridget.
Right? Nothing worse than a disappointing meal :-).
Its funny how life hands you little experiences when you aren’t expecting them…sounds like “never judge a book by it’s cover” was this amazing place’s lesson for today and you got an amazing meal to remember. Love the story and the recipe is wonderful too. Going to harvest the last of our tomatoes today and I think I might just pay homage to that little cafe in Pensacola that the odds say I am NEVER going to set foot in but through the magic of the blogosphere I can have a go at recreating some tomatoey magic 🙂
I like that idea, Fran! Clink a couple of glasses of something delicious to a little cafe in Pensacola, FL.
I would love to go to a restaurant like that! I am used to it now, but it is a pain to always have to make adjustments to meals when going out to eat.
I love tomato soup and yours looks divine. I love the gremolata on top!
I know – gone are the days of just walking into a restaurant and ordering something straight up! I wouldn’t go back, but sometimes it gets old!
haha, SNAP! Somer is making creamy tomato soup today too! I love how different your recipes are – so creative! This looks divine, as does that macaroon!!
I know! I swear we didn’t pre-arrange our posts! I want that grilled cheese sandwich she served up with hers! Wow!
Wow all that food looks just amazing! What a good idea, looking up vegan friendly places in the area on a road trip, need to try that! and that macaroon….be still my beating heart!
Your soup looks delicious 🙂
It can be a real challenge to find vegan-friendly eats on the road – especially if you’re trying to stay close-ish to a highway.
What a beautiful meal – your soup looks delicious Annie! I love that you add miso too – yum!
wow! this is such a beautiful vegan blog! it’s winter now, so soup is definitely on the top of my list! 😀 I’m ganna try it out 😀 and I Just have to follow you because your recipes are on point 😛
Hey there! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. It FEELS like winter here – argh!!
haha! Winter is amazing! come on, when else do you get to dress warm and sit by a hot fire?? unless you’re cold 😀 it was a pleasure! your blog is uber cool! 😀
I’m always cold! But I do love to sit by a fire :-).
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I think that soup is tomorrow’s dinner
Something so comforting about tomato soup, isn’t there?