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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The Art of Good Soup: Oh, ginger!

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Graphic art for "The Art of Good Soup" column is pictured.

This week we went home. A place that loves us and cares for us and sometimes does things to us like making us fall asleep in our friend’s bed across campus and walk home at five  in the morning because you swore you would just take a nap. No? Just Ellie? Anyways. 

Home for us is O Ginger in Davis Square. In our long history, the inside has changed. The walls are now a cheerful teal. We forget what they were at first, but we swear they have changed. 

We’ve known the staff nearly as long as we’ve known each other. We are dear friends, us and them. Or maybe we just like to think that. Though they did give us free crab rangoons. Goonies, if you will. 

We’ve had our ups and downs, but O Ginger is a constant. So, we thought why not stop by for a bowl of soup before our coming adventure of the night. 

As we entered O Ginger, the sky was still bright with late afternoon. It was a little empty, but we didn't mind, because we had the place to ourselves. We sat down and admired the classic Chinese zodiac menus that were placed on every table. It reminded us of the anime about the zodiac that we were watching, because anime is cool — really cool — and not something to make fun of. Sometimes you’ll make fun of anime, and then, through a random series of events, you will find yourself watching it and enjoying it because it’s actually quite emotional and reminds you of paper menus in O Ginger, something you also love.  

Sadie ordered the vegetable udon soup and Ellie ordered the vegetable ramen soup. Ellie was upset because of her milky broth. She’d made this mistake before and didn’t learn. As it turns out, size really matters, when it comes to noodles at least. Get your head out of the gutter. 

Size determines slurpage. Sadie’s udon noodles made for a smooth and efficient slurp, while Ellie’s smaller ramen noodles made her upset. Why? They were not as easy to slurp. And their crimped texture caused milk broth to be splattered. Milky white liquid all over her face. We never want that. 

Luckily, the scallions were back to save the bowl, along with some asparagus. There was a bit of confusion at first, because we thought it might’ve been a green bean. That would’ve changed the whole dynamic. 

Our bowls came with comically large broth ladles. They made us feel like giants. Ellie then proceeded to use said comically large broth ladles to slurp down Sadie’s broth while she was in the bathroom. It was salty and delicious and not at all milky. When Sadie returned, she was alarmed but not really surprised at the carnage. 

We rate this soup 17 bowls after Peach Pit’s song, “Seventeen” (2016). Because we were headed to their concert. And because we might be in love with them. We definitely are. Kidding. But wait, the hair flips though.