Finally, I took the time to locate a recipe for this incredible soup, which I have ordered in restaurants several times in the past. I’ve tried it at Walzwerk restaurant in San Francisco, Pomegranate in San Diego, Veselka in New York, and Gorki Park cafe in Berlin, and loved it every time.

You can read the wiki entry for Soljanka here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solyanka

The recipe I used was a riff on the one found here: http://loykee.blogspot.com/2005/02/solyanka.html

In a pinch, I used bacon and frozen meatballs instead of ham and bottom round beef. I also added carrots. Next time, I’d skip the meatballs.