Combination meal of a soup and a sandwich popular in the United States
A grilled cheese sandwich with tomato soup
Thesoup and sandwichcombination meal consists of asoup accompanied by asandwich. It has been a popular meal in the United States since the 1920s. Some U.S.restaurant chains specialize in the meal, and it has been mass-produced as a preparedfrozen meal.
The soup and sandwich combination meal is common in the United States.[1][2] Depending on the intended size of the meal, the sandwich might be either half or a whole sandwich, and the soup may be served in either a cup or bowl.[1] The combination of agrilled cheese sandwich withtomato soup is a common example in American cuisine,[3][4] and has been described as acomfort food.[5][6]
The soup and sandwich combination became a popular lunch dish in the United States in the 1920s, and remains as a common dish at Americanluncheonettes anddiners.[7] It was also a common lunch dish in some earlier U.S.department stores that had dining rooms.[1] In contemporary times, it is sometimes consumed as a light dinner.[2] Somesoup kitchens, outreach organizations and churches routinely provide the dish to the needy.[8][9][10][11]
Some American restaurants specialize in soup and sandwich meals, such as thePanera Bread Company, Hale and Hearty, and Zoup! restaurantchains.[12][13][14] In September 2016, thefast casual restaurant Panera Bread had a total of 2,024 stores at North American locations, some of which go by different company names.[15][16] Panera plans to expand its product delivery availability, which began in early 2016, to include 35% to 40% of its store locations by the end of 2017.[16] In October 2016, Zoup! has a total of 96 stores in the United States, with 93franchise stores and three company-owned ones.[14]
The soup and sandwich combination has beenmass-produced in the United States and purveyed to consumers on a national level,[17][18] the Campbell's Souper Combofrozen soup and sandwich meal being one example.[17][18] Initially, the product realized promising sales revenues, but consumer interest later tapered off, with the initial high sales attributed to consumer curiosity about the new product and "one-off" purchases per this initial interest.[17] The Souper Combo was a short-lived product, and was eventually discontinued.[17][19]
The Corner Bistro is a line of mass-produced frozen prepared soup and sandwich meals marketed under theStouffer's brand.[19] The sandwiches are manufactured as stuffedmelt sandwiches.[19]
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