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Florida Restaurant Has One of the 12 Best Soups in America

Author Jeff Gorra

Columbia Restaurant in Florida has been selected by Mashed for having one of the best soups in America. Located In Ybor City, Columbia Restaurant’s history goes back 117 years. It opened in 1905 by Casamiro Hernandez Sr., an immigrant from Cuba. Since that time, it has been well-known for its flavorful Spanish-style cuisine.

Soup Menu

Soup gets its own category on both the lunch and dinner menus at The Columbia. Atop the list, you will find their infamous “Spanish Bean Soup.” This is immediately called out on Mashed’s list. In fact, of the 12 restaurants selected, this is the first soup discussed. To this day, it still is made from following the original recipe of Casimiro Hernandez, Sr.: Garbanzo beans simmered with smoked ham, chorizo sausage, and potatoes in a delicious broth of chicken and ham.

Another Columbia is a vegetarian option. The “Black Beans Original” is described as a large bowl of black bean soup, topped with Florida tomatoes and dressing, tossed with julienned sweet onions.

Furthermore, Columbia Restaurant offers a Caldo Gallego soup, a Gazpacho, and a Cuban Black Bean soup. If you’re having trouble deciding, a half Cuban Sandwich, half soup combination is available to you as well.

Cooking Up The Best Bowl

To compile their thorough list, Mashed looked for the most flavorful soup options nationwide. A criteria here was that soup needed to be a menu mainstay as opposed to a seasonal selection or special. Mashed describes the perfect bowl by describing soup as, “simply a perfect way to kick off any meal at a restaurant before the entrees make their appearance. While the other guests in your party might opt for a salad or some other handheld munchable to start their meal, you just can’t go wrong when you see a great selection of soup on the menu.”

At Columbia Restaurant, the soup is hearty enough to enjoy as your main meal or it can accompany another dish. Either way, the restaurant takes pride in crafting and delivering freshly prepared options. Each is available in cup or bowl portions.

This Florida restaurant that was named one of the 12 best soups in America now has six additional locations. The greater Tampa region has the most with the original Ybor restaurant, one in Clearwater, and a Columbia Café at the Tampa airport.

10 Florida Players Were Drafted By NFL Teams

The 2023 NFL draft is officially in the books. The seven round event, which is a massive spectacle, wrapped up Saturday afternoon in Kansas City. In total, 10 Florida college players were drafted by NFL teams.

The University of Florida had the most players drafted. Six Gators were selected. Two of them were in the second round. Next, the University of Miami had three players drafted. Finally, the Florida State Seminoles had one player selected, early on the last day.

Although the big three Florida teams typically lead the way in delivering NFL talent each year, there is usually another Sunshine State school that has a player picked. That was not the case this year. Division one programs like the University of South Florida or University of Central Florida did not have anyone selected. It is likely they will have players who are offered a tryout, however.

Who’s Going to the NFL?

Quarterback Anthony Richardson from the Florida Gators was the fourth named off the board. It was well-known coming into the draft that Richardson would be a high pick. With his natural size, speed, and athletic ability, Richardson was projected to be a highly sought-after prospect for the past year. He only started 13 games in college. Nonetheless, the Indianapolis Colts clearly loved what they saw and started the run of Florida student-athletes entering the NFL this year.

To break down the draft class further, four of the 10 players are offensive positions, and six of the players are defenders. To start, Richardson was the only quarterback of the group. Furthermore, Richardson’s teammate, Ventrell Miller, will be the only one staying in-state. The Jacksonville Jaguars selected him in the fourth round, and subsequently, will only have to move about 75 miles north.

In short, here is a complete rundown of the 10 Florida school players that were drafted by NFL teams in this year’s event.

Jeff Gorra is a Boston-based writer who has been with Beasley Media Group since the beginning of 2023. He writes about restaurants and food, as well as sports and rock music. His experience also includes show hosting and in-depth creative writing in rock and reggae dub music. Jeff’s an avid surfer, New York Giants, and Pearl Jam fan, however, if you make unforgettable pizza, he is sure to find you.

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Author Jeff Gorra
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