Baltimore, MDSoups

Soup's On is a small Midtown-Belvedere soup shop owned by Kevin Mullaney, who with his twin brother Keith first sold soup in California in the 1990s. The room has chalkboard menus, window seats and hand-painted tabletops modeled on the soups. The lineup changes almost daily, with a sizable vegan and vegetarian selection beside soups like Maryland crab and cream of crab, and it is sold by the pint. Order the French onion, which is always on the menu, or the cream of tomato with mascarpone.

Atwater's is a local bakery-cafe whose soups are a specialty, and its Belvedere Square shop is where it sold its first bowl, a shrimp and sausage gumbo, in 2003. The daily soups rotate and vary by location, sold by the cup, bowl or quart with the house's fresh-baked breads, in varieties like sweet potato bisque and creamy broccoli and cheese. Order a quart of whatever is on with a loaf of bread and a slice of cake, and take the gumbo whenever it turns up.

Sophia's Place is a Polish deli in Fells Point's Broadway Market, which Thomas Pons took over from its founder, Zofia Para, and its soup is sold by the quart. The top sellers are a red beet borscht, a vegan carrot, ginger and turmeric soup and a mushroom soup, and there are smoked meat soups for heartier appetites. Order the borscht, and try the bigos, a hunter's stew of cabbage, sauerkraut and sausage.

Lenny's Delicatessen is an Owings Mills deli with cafeteria-style service and paper placemats, a standby for breakfast platters, overstuffed sandwiches, fried chicken and soup. The soup line runs to classics like split pea, chicken noodle and lumberjack vegetable. Order the chicken matzo ball soup.

Stone Mill is a Green Spring Station bakery-cafe whose soups are made from scratch, for a bowl in the dining room or a quart to go. The regular pots include a non-fat vegetable and a classic chicken noodle, and they come with the bakery's fresh-baked breads. Order the tomato-basil soup the bakery is known for, with a loaf on the side.