Peanut Soup is Getting Closer

I’ve picked up the trail of The Levee’s Peanut Soup. OK how cool is this, Phil Hartman (co-owner of The Levee, founder of the HOWL festival and currently king of the Two Boots Empire) actually emailed me back. Like right away. First of all, he and Rich Krasberg are still friends, which is just kind of awesome,. He gave me the name of the chef, Karen Haglof, and gave me one crucial key to the magic of that Peanut Soup. He said he would touch base with Rich and see if he has any insight into the true nature of the soup. Apparently, Rich and Karen were an item at the time of the soup’s creation, which explains the excitement and passion that was translated into the soup. It all seems crystal clear to me. The death of the soup was the end of the relationship. The sad bowl of thin, bland soup that served to me on my last visit did resemble peanut-scented tears. And the haughtiness of the New Chef, so eager to assert their place as First Chef, well it all makes sense if one adds an imaginary screen of sexual tension to the already hot and steamy Southern-style kitchen. I don’t know that any of this ever happened, but it was a Cajun restaurant in the East Village in the 1990’s and I’m quite sure that something sultry was going on!
Oh yeah OK so present day, as it turns out Phil Hartman is himself a major soup aficionado, preferring it to coffee in the morning, even. And he’s suggested several off-the-beaten-path destinations to pursue a Soup Fix. I’m so excited, now that’s an article with real promise I think, Phil Hartman is an amazing restaurateur and businessman, who doesn’t want to know where he goes for soup?