SOUPer Bowl IX on Saturday, Feb. 6, was packed with hundreds of hungry visitors ready to taste the delicious soups from local restaurants. The annual event was held at the Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church and is sponsored by the Port Washington Chamber of Commerce. Fifteen local restaurants offered samples of delicious soups and everyone was able to vote on their favorite.
The winners of this year’s SOUPer Bowl were:
Judges’ Choice:
• First place: Ayhan’s Shish Kebab for Turkish Red Lentil Soup
•Second place: Yummy Gyro for Chicken Lemon Rice Soup
• Third place (tie): Port Thai for Thai Chicken Soup and Port Washington Diner for Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
People’s Choice:
• First place: f.i.s.h. on Main for Louisiana Crawfish Crab Corn Chowder
• Second place: Wild Honey for Jamaican Sweet Potato Soup
• Third place: O’Haras Ale House & Grill for Beef Barley Soup
Unlike last year, when the Judges’ Choice was the same as the People’s Choice, this year different soups won the two contests. The panel of judges included two community-spirited local celebrities: Emmy-winning sports anchor Len Berman and celebrity chef Julian Phillips. Rounding out the judges’ panel were Steve Remington, a deaf-blind client from the Helen Keller National Center; Anne Arter of Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty (Commissioner Sponsor) and Joe Canigiani of Joseph N. Canigiani, Inc. (Commissioner Sponsor). All the soups were outstanding and it was very difficult to choose a winner.
The room at the Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church was creatively decorated with football balloon bouquets donated by S.F. Falconer Florist. The Chamber of Commerce had asked for donations of nonperishable food and collected several cartons to donate to the Our Lady of Fatima Food Pantry. 
This was the first year the event was held at the Archangel Michael Greek Orthodox Church. The Chamber of Commerce was fortunate that one of its members, Norman Glavas, was also one of the architects of the Church and he organized tours of the beautiful new facility during the SOUPer Bowl.
Chamber Copresidents Warren Schein and Mitch Schwartz were very pleased with the success of the event and they want everyone to reserve Feb. 4, 2017, the Saturday before next year’s Super Bowl, for Port Washington’s SOUPer Bowl X.
The participating restaurants were:
Ayhan’s Mediterranean Marketplace
Ayhan’s Shish Kebab
Bosphorus Café Grill
Finn MacCool’s
f.i.s.h on Main
Frank’s Pizza
Gino’s Pizzeria & Restaurant
Harbor Q
O’Hara’s Ale House & Grill
Port Thai Place
Port Washington Diner
Rosso Uptown
Sullivan’s Quay Wild Honey on Main
Yummy Gyro
The Chamber of Commerce is grateful to the sponsors who make this event possible. The Commissioner Sponsors of SOUPer Bowl 2016 are Joseph N. Canigiani, Inc. and Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty. Head Coach Sponsors are Gold Coast Family Dental, Inform Fitness, Laffey Fine Homes and Roslyn Savings Bank: a Division of NYCB. Assistant Coach Sponsors are Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa and wit & whim. Fan Sponsors are Dime Savings Bank, Long Island Boat Rentals, Massage Envy, Servpro of Great Neck/Port Washington, Sherwin-Williams and Zimbardi Financial Group.
