Soup for you! and meat for me

Whenever I’m cruising to Sugarloaf from the coast, I have two must stops: Whitewater Farm, in New Sharon, and Soup for you! in Farmington.

Whitewater Farm doesn’t look like much from the road, it’s a ranch-style building with a bunch of truck-trailer boxes facing the parking area; on Route 27/2, between the 27 split south and the blinker in “downtown” New Sharon. Those trucks are for local farmers, who stock up on animal feed here. Many of those same farmers sell their meat, poultry, eggs, cheeses, and produce to the shop, which retails them to the public.

Now don’t go expecting some fancy market. Inside, freezers line the walls, each filled with specific products, including pork, lamb and goat, beef, veal, chicken, turkey, cranberries, rabbit, blueberries, ice cream and butter. In the refrigerator are the eggs, cheeses, milk, etc. Also here are dog chows and treats. Here’s a hint: the local chicken pot pies are really delicious, ideal to keep in the freezer or those what am I going to whip up tonight nights; and the maple sausage is really yummy.

Now, on to Soup for you!, a few doors up from Reny’s (another must stop, I must confess). Em Reeve concocts six fresh soups daily, including (and clearly noted) vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free ones. I rarely get past the soups, but there also are made-to-order sandwiches and wraps, smoothies, and coffee drinks–including a full page menu of them.

Back to those soups, buy hot and fresh and dine in (or take out, sizes range 8 to 32 ounces, prices $3.39-$9.39). You can always ask for a sample taste, too; a nice plus. If the Thai peanut chili or mushroom marsala are on the menu, both are divine; love the chicken barley, too. Soup comes with fresh bread. Just note: cash only.