Soup from Raley's

I recently joined the "Try-It" program for a local grocery store, Raley's.  It sends you coupons (or loads them onto your account) to try out new products.  Since I love trying out new things, and I love freebies, this has been a lot of fun.

Soup bowl and soup spoon.

My first "Try-It" box arrived with more than just coupons, it also included a cute little soup bowl and matching spoon!  And a booklet of BOGOs.  If anyone wants some, I have a bunch!

Nob Hill Trading Co. Half Moon Bay Shrimp & Roasted Corn Chowder.  20oz.  $4.99.

The program also loaded a free soup into my account!  I could pick from any of their All Natural soups, in the 20 oz size.  I had a hard time deciding which to pick.  In addition to classics like vegetable soups, there was a temping sounding Indian curry, and a slew of seafood options, even a triple Crème Lobster Bisque!

I decided on the Half Moon Bay Shrimp and Roasted Corn Chowder, mostly because I really wanted a seafood soup, and this one used more local seafood.

The soups are all in the refrigerated section of the deli area, although they do not seem to be prepared fresh in the stores.  They are sealed with plastic in addition to the lid, and had surprisingly long sell-by dates; the one I picked was good for a month, which scared me slightly.

The soup was fully cooked and only needed to be microwaved or warmed on the stovetop.  I went for the stovetop, but also had a few spoonfuls of it cold, and it was good that way too.

The soup contained small bay shrimp, chunks of potato, kernels of roasted corn, all in a creamy chowder base.  The shrimp were a bit rubbery, but not fishy, and far better than I expected in a prepared soup.  The chunks of potato were well cooked, not mushy, not crunchy.  I really liked the roasted corn, and would have preferred to have even more.  The base was thick, creamy, and well seasoned.

Overall, I was quite happy with the soup, and it tasted restaurant quality, certainly not packaged soup quality.

The container was large, and easily contained enough for 2 large bowls.  The regular $4.99 price seemed good, although all the soups were that price, and shrimp or lobster seems far more expensive than say vegetable or lentil soup.  I'd get this soup again, perfect for a cold night!