Support independence

We are on the road! Next stop: Philadelphia.

But while we’ll be crusing I-80 scarfing Cool Ranch Doritos and flashing truckers, you – dear reader – may be wondering, “What can I do to support Soup & Bread as they run off in pursuit of some demented rock and roll soup fantasy?”

Well. Here, if I may, are a few suggestions.

1) Chicagoans can buy a copy of the Soup & Bread Cookbook* direct from our sales representative this Saturday, Nov. 19, at the West Walker Art Fair, which takes place in the gym kitty-corner from Irving Park Lutheran Church at 4057 West Harding. We had a great time at this cozy neighborhood sale last year – the vendors were expertly curated and everyone was just plain swell.

2) Can’t make it to Old Irving Park, but still want to support independent media? The book is available at a range of eclectic outlets around town, such as Quimby’s, which described it recently as Soup & Bread’s “major label reissue;” City Provisions Delicatessen in Ravenswood, whose roasted beet soup is featured on page 120; and at Renegade Handmade in Wicker Park – which also has some of our prints, recipe cards, and handcrafted recipe boxes in stock.

3) Out of town? Our friends at Bloodshot Records have graciously included the cookbook in their mail-order offerings. Pick up some music to cook by and a book to boot! “Makes the perfect gift,” they say. We agree.

4) Buy the book from Amazon.com. Yes, that’s right: Amazon. We might not see much money from that sale, but you, the consumer, will get a great deal. Right now it’s listed at $14.16. And after you’ve saved all that money, and had your book delivered to your door, if you could write a li’l review for the listing we would be very grateful. Amazon reviews are, so I am being repeatedly told, a critical sales tool, and one of which I’ve so far been sorely neglectful.

And, that is all! Watch this space for updates from our travels. If all goes well we should be back in Chicago just in time for Thanksgiving,** something I, for one, look forward to with joy and, probably by then, relief.

* Pictured is a cookbook — and shelf talker — at Mockingbird Books in Seattle’s Greenlake district. A fine independent bookseller, where Soup & Bread shares shelf space with the collected works of Olivia the Pig and Paddington Bear. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop in and say hi to my mom.

* This time last year my friend Zoe Zolbrod wrote a great essay about her Thanksgiving traditions past and future, many of which I’ve been so happy to be a part of over the ever-stretching years. It’s well worth a read.