Where to order chicken soup when you get Covid this winter

By Gabe Friedman

Winter is here and so, still, is Covid. New variants are popping up as often as vintage stores in Greenpoint. And even if you dodge the coronavirus, there’s always the flu — or the common cold, for that matter. 

While there’s not much you can do once you’ve gotten sick, aside from rest (and maybe an FDA-approved antiviral treatment — contact your local pharmacy!), there is one time-tested homeopathic cure that will always be there for you: chicken soup. They don’t call it “Jewish penicillin” for nothing. It’s warm. It coats the throat and reduces phlegm. And studies have even shown that it can reduce inflammation. 

Unfortunately, ordering good chicken soup while sick is not so easy. Not only is it hard to rally from your sickbed, it’s just not as available as tacos or pizza or Chinese dumplings. And it’s hard to transport. 

But there are several options that probably aren’t in your Grubhub favorites right now and could be. Enjoy them all while staying cozy at the same time. 

The no-frills winner 
The Soup Bowl of Park Slope used to set up shop only in the winter. But it has clearly won over its local clientele and now sells over a dozen varieties — including several specials updated daily — year- round on Seventh Avenue between Seventh and Eighth Streets. 

The Bowl’s “Chicken Vegetable Soup” was the most straightforward of all the soups we tried but also one of the best. Using “vegetables” plural is a stretch, because it’s mostly chicken and carrots and broth — no rice or noodles — but besides being very tasty, this soup stayed extremely hot after a 20-plus minute ride on a chilly day. It includes a heaping amount of parsley and comes with a baguette slice for dipping. 

The matzah ball variety 
Brooklyn is of course home to old- and new-school Jewish delis alike, and several of them offer all year-round the Ashkenazi classic that is normally served on the Passover holiday: matzah ball soup. 

None of the following were miles away from one another in terms of taste, or amount of matzah balls per order, or matzah ball fluffiness. All were soothing and on the light, digestible side, without an overpowering amount of dill or pepper — nice for a sore throat. 

There’s Mile End Delicatessen at 97 Hoyt Street in Boerum Hill; Frankel’s Delicatessen and Appetizing at 631 Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint; A Taste of Katz’s, which is an outpost of the famed Manhattan Katz’s located in the Dekalb Market food hall (which does deliver, in more ways than one); and Shelsky’s, which sells the soup by the quart. It has locations at 141 Court Street and 453 Fourth Avenue but also ships across the borough (and the country!). 

The Greek lemon twist 
When you get bored of the dill-parsely- thyme flavor profile — Covid can last a long time — there’s avgolemono: the classic Greek soup that adds a creamy egg and lemon sauce into the broth. 

It’s not as easy to find this heavenly mixture in Brooklyn as it is in Astoria, but Yia Yia’s Taverna at 1035 Flushing Avenue in Bushwick delivers a rich one. 

The affordable consommé 
Consommé sounds like one of those French words that could refer to an aspect of highbrow bistro cuisine. But it’s just a broth that has been clarified — or rid of the fat that rises to the surface — through straining, sometimes with the help of an egg white mixture. 

The result is a very light, elegant broth that is extra welcome in the middle of a virus fight. Purbird, a chicken-focused restaurant at 82 Sixth Avenue, on the border of Boerum Hill and Prospect Heights, delivers a simple version, with hearty chunks of carrot, a lot of chicken and macaroni noodles. (They also offer an egg and lemon chicken soup option.) 

The secret weapon: congee 
Different Asian cuisines offer a variety of delicious soups that could work nicely for combatting a bout of Covid, but they also feature something that remains underrated in the States as a sickness soother: congee. It’s just rice slow-cooked with water and chicken stock, which after an hour or two turns not quite into a soup or a porridge, as it’s usually described. It is its own delectable category of comfort food, and incredibly revitalizing (or sleep inducing, whichever you’re going for). 

Oh Dumplings at 6 Bergen Street in Cobble Hill offers a basic version with some sesame oil. The hearty types who want a little more flavor could opt for the many spiced-up varieties served at Maya Congee Cafe at 563 Gates Avenue in Bed-Stuy. The “breakfast” version, with chicken, a soft-boiled egg and a bit of smoked cheese mixed in, is a standout.