If you’re looking to change up your late-night snack routine, the Feed’em Soup Community Project has got your back.

The local community kitchen recently introduced its Feed’em After Dark Benefit program. What exactly is it? From 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, small food items are offered for $1 to $2 at Feed’em Soup’s restaurant-style kitchen and dining room space.

A hop, skip and a jump away from popular night spots like Otto’s, Lord Stanley’s and the House Cafe, Feed’em After Dark is hoping to become the new “It” place to grab a quick bite.

The project is known for many services for the hungry. Its Soup of The Day program has local restaurants offer a signature bowl of soup on a “pay what you can, if you can” scale daily. Feed’em Soup also hosts popular community meals every Wednesday evening, where locals in need of a hot plate of food–or just some good conversation–can stop in and be served for free. The proceeds from Feed’em After Dark directly benefit food and supply costs for the Soup of the Day and Community Meal programs.

On Feed’em After Dark’s menu is, of course, soup. Just like the Soup of The Day program, a single bowl of soup is available for whatever the customer can pay, even if it’s nothing at all. What will your donation get you? December offered Loaded Baked Potato Soup, while the star of weekends in January is the popular White Chicken Chili.

When you think of “free” you may have visions of cheap canned soup heated in a giant pot. Instead, Chef Alex Smith and his kitchen aides knock it out of the park with hearty soups filled with ingredients like freshly made chicken stock, poblano peppers and four different varieties of beans.

The rest of the menu boasts $2 sliders of all kinds. The Classic Slider is a perfect sample of the quintessential hamburger, with cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion. The Ahuaca Chicken Slider boasts tender chicken breast with chipotle pepper sauce and avocado. Other favorites include the Bacon, Black and Bleu with bacon and bleu cheese and the portobello mushroom slider for the vegetable enthusiast.

A popular and unusual snack is the Mississippi Truck Driver, a slider bun stuffed with bacon, peanut butter and grape jelly.

If you’re in the breakfast mood, silver dollar pancakes are offered at $1 a piece. And when they say “silver dollar,” what they mean is “the circumference of a large grapefruit.” The pancakes come in all varieties, but a particularly delicious choice is the Cinnamon Roll Pancake. A fluffy pancake covered in cinnamon, maple syrup and sugary icing, this dish will have you coming back for seconds (or thirds, or fifths. They’re only $1!).

Other dining choices include bacon-wrapped jalapeno peppers and potatoes with peppers and onions.

When it comes to beverages, free glasses of water are available to all who need to rehydrate. The team hopes to install a bar-style fountain beverage gun in the coming weeks – these will be sold at $1 a glass.

It must be stressed that these cheap eats are not skimped on. While some may expect to see a decline in food quality as the night wears on, After Dark’s offerings are freshly prepared until closing time. Everything from the slider buns to the pancake batter is made in-house by a team of volunteers.

It’s a rare experience to be full, happy and thoroughly impressed for under $8; anyone interested in breaking their regular routine of greasy gyros and subs should stop in and give the place a try.

 

 

Feed’em Soup After Dark is open from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Feed’em Soup is located at 122 S. First St.