New and improved vegan butternut squash soup at Santa Cruz restaurant Charlie Hong Kong
Santa Cruz restaurant Charlie Hong Kong has news to share on two topics: soups, and benefits for veterans.
First, the veterans’ benefits news. Restaurant owner Carolyn Rudolph was moved by a documentary viewing/panel discussion event that she attended a couple weeks ago at Santa Cruz’s Vets Hall. The Veteran-to Farmer documentary film is called ‘Ground Operations.’ “It inspired me to offer support for Vets to farmers programs,” says Rudolph. “It’s a positive offering for the suffering of war, to do something related to creating and nourishing after so much destruction.” A few days ago, Rudolph donated a percentage of proceeds from Charlie Hong Kong’s sales that day to The Farmers Veterans Coalition, which offers educational retreats in sustainable agriculture for county veterans. She’s also donating ten percent of sales from today, Nov. 20, and next Wednesday, Nov. 26.
Next is Charlie Hong Kong soup news: if you’ve tried the restaurant’s soups in the past, you already know that Rudolph and her staff brew up delicious creations—like their Vietnamese Chicken Noodle—that are perfect for fall and winter. Now, they’re even better. Rudolph recently transformed the Thai Coconut Mushroom Soup recipe; it now features housemade vegetable stock instead of mushroom-infused water (it uses coconut milk, too). The Thai Butternut Squash Soup still includes delectable, dry-farmed Windmill Farm heritage heirloom squash, but now it uses BOTH vegetable stock and coconut milk instead of all coconut milk. It also features a hint of star anise and cardamom. Trust me, you want to get yourself a bowl of this as soon as possible. I happened to order some at the restaurant a couple weeks ago, and thought, “this tastes even better than I remember!” A few days later, I learned about the soup changes–no wonder it is so wonderfully rich and full of flavor. As is the case every year, the squash soup is available from late fall until January or February, whenever the local squash harvest ends.
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Location/Hours: Charlie Hong Kong, 1141 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz (831) 426-5664, Open 11 a.m. – 11 p.m. daily.