u/TexturesOfEther

It seems that soup had a massive cultural moment in 1990s New York.
Why did soup become so popular? Was it a quintessential yuppie lifestyle trend that died with it? What defined those soups that is uniquely 90s, and why did it eventually burn out?

The 90s saw the publication of James Peterson's comprehensive Splendid Soups (still highly regarded), Barbara Kafka's Soup: A Way of Life, and Arthur Schwartz's Soup Suppers, all heavily associated with the New York food scene. The Daily Soup Cookbook might be the closest we get to 90s Manhattan soup restaurant-style recipes. Vegetarian soup books from that decade include titles from the Moosewood Collective, Nava Atlas, and Solomon Jay. Again, all heavily associated with the New York scene.

Al Yeganeh, the real-life inspiration for Seinfeld’s "Soup Nazi", withdrew from a lucrative St. Martin's Press book deal because he refused to let them mention the sitcom on the cover, leaving his recipes unpublished. Decades later, Larry Thomas, the actor who played him, wrote a biography, Confessions of a Soup Nazi, which included soup recipes.

I'm interested to know if this trend was deeply tied to a specific 90s urban lifestyle or if it was restaurant-driven. What caused it to fade? And what defined the soups of that decade from others?

EDIT:
Thanks everyone for all the replies! It seems like most people remember this trend as purely restaurant-driven: a fast, high-volume alternative to compete with standard takeouts. This very specific, office-worker target market probably explains why some posters don't remember it at all.

Besides Al Yeganeh's Soup Kitchen International, people here have mentioned Daily Soup, Hale & Hearty, B&H, and Fifth Avenue Epicure. Given the plethora of cookbooks published at the time, I really expected to find that domestic cooking played a much bigger role in the trend and for it to have a bigger impact. Soups can be so much more than a quick desk lunch, but it is fascinating to see how fondly it is remembered by those who experienced it.

The Jason Arday and Claudine Gay situations have me wondering:
If the university administration can't (or won't) spot these red flags, can the average student actually tell when a professor is unqualified or out of their depth?
Or does a confident, charismatic teaching style trick everyone into thinking they know what they’re doing?
Be honest: Have you ever sat in a class and realised the person at the podium was completely out of their depth? 🤔
How long did it take for the cracks to show?

The Jason Arday and Claudine Gay situations have me wondering:
If the university administration can't (or won't) spot these red flags, can the average student actually tell when a professor is unqualified or out of their depth?
Or does a confident, charismatic teaching style trick everyone into thinking they know what they’re doing?
Be honest: Have you ever sat in a class and realised the person at the podium was completely out of their depth? 🤔
How long did it take for the cracks to show?

>I've recently rewatched 2001: A Space Odyssey and its lesser-known sequel, 2010: The Year We Make Contact. They are great films. I especially enjoyed those meditative, slow-motion drifts through the void of deep space. The stunning images of planets and spaceships felt incredibly immersive, like floating through the Solar System. It was sublime!
Are there other films with that specific feel? I'm not focused on narrative, but rather slow, hyper-polished visuals with an intense sense of awe.
It doesn't strictly have to be deep space. I can see this style working with undersea or other alien (or not) environments.
Please, NO Baraka,Samsara, Koyaanisqatsi, etc. I'm not looking for frenetic editing, but long, continuous takes. Plus, I have already watched them.

Euroslease films share fever-dream logic and surreal plots. I'm after the wildest, trippiest, and most insane ones out there.
Something hallucinatory, outlandish, truly unhinged and fever-dreamish.
Bizarre imagery with crazy plot twists or no plot at all, Psychedelic soundtracks and sound effects.
Drop your favourite obscure and weird titles below.

Euroslease films share fever-dream logic and surreal plots. I'm after the wildest, trippiest, and most insane ones out there.
Something hallucinatory, outlandish, truly unhinged and fever-dreamish.
Bizarre imagery with crazy plot twists or no plot at all, Psychedelic soundtracks and sound effects.
Drop your favourite obscure and weird titles below.

I’m looking for a very specific (and perhaps nearly extinct?) kind of book recommendation:

Not just a great vegetarian cookbook, but masterfully written vegetarian food writing.
Books where vegetables, fruit, seasons, appetite, gardens, ingredients, or food become subjects of beautiful prose.

Books that can live on a bedside table as much as in a kitchen.

Colin Spencer’s Vegetable Book, the book that got me into cookbooks, is full of odd histories and curiosities, and is wonderfully written. I enjoyed the reading more than the recipes lol. It made vegetables fascinating.
Nigel Slater wrote a few vegetarian books in his reflective style. And there is a collection of Elizabeth David’s vegetarian writing, with lovely photography. All were a pleasure to read.

Recommend me other vegetarian books that are genuinely good reads.
contemporary books, forgotten books, eccentric books, essay collections, seasonal books, old books, anything.

I’m looking for a very specific (and perhaps nearly extinct?) kind of book recommendation:

Not just a great vegetarian cookbook, but masterfully written vegetarian food writing.
Books where vegetables, fruit, seasons, appetite, gardens, ingredients, or food become subjects of beautiful prose.

Books that can live on a bedside table as much as in a kitchen.

Colin Spencer’s Vegetable Book, the book that got me into cookbooks, is full of odd histories and curiosities, and is wonderfully written. I enjoyed the reading more than the recipes lol. It made vegetables fascinating.
Nigel Slater wrote a few vegetarian books in his reflective style. And there is a collection of Elizabeth David’s vegetarian writing, with lovely photography. All were a pleasure to read.

Recommend me other vegetarian books that are genuinely good reads.
contemporary books, forgotten books, eccentric books, essay collections, seasonal books, old books, anything.

I’m looking for a very specific (and perhaps nearly extinct?) kind of book recommendation:

Not just a great vegetarian cookbook, but masterfully written vegetarian food writing.
Books where vegetables, fruit, seasons, appetite, gardens, ingredients, or food become subjects of beautiful prose.

Books that can live on a bedside table as much as in a kitchen.

Colin Spencer’s Vegetable Book, the book that got me into cookbooks, is full of odd histories and curiosities, and is wonderfully written. I enjoyed the reading more than the recipes lol. It made vegetables fascinating.
Nigel Slater wrote a few vegetarian books in his reflective style. And there is a collection of Elizabeth David’s vegetarian writing, with lovely photography. All were a pleasure to read.

Recommend me other vegetarian books that are genuinely good reads.
contemporary books, forgotten books, eccentric books, essay collections, seasonal books, old books, anything.