Sassy soup for a worthy cause

Rob Klink, executive chef of The Oceanaire Seafood Room, was recently presented with a challenge: Create a soup, and make it “sassy.”

He immediately thought spicy. So he created several different soups, one of which incorporated red chili peppers, red pepper flakes and a pinch of Old Bay crab seasoning. He sifted these ingredients into a tomato broth with onions, celery, carrots, green beans, peas and corn.

And there it was: Susan’s Sassy Maryland Crab Soup.

“It’s light. It’s good for you,” said Klink.

It’s also in honor of a good cause. Throughout December, the restaurant will serve the soup and donate proceeds to the Capitol Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Former Wizards President Susan O’Malley, whose nephew was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 8 years old and was found in a diabetic coma, came together with Klink to create the soup.

O’Malley was delighted to have a soup named for her. “Well, Caesar took the salad, Diane took the steak, Oscar grabbed the veal dish and Johnny took the scotch,” she said. “All that was left was soup for Susan.”

The Oceanaire Seafood Room has been creating soups for the cause of juvenile diabetes for the past seven years. Past soups have included crawfish bisque, acorn squash with poached oysters, and chicken curry.

“If you’re going to get soup, you might as well get that [the sassy crab soup] over the chowder and give to someone who needs it,” said Klink, who, of course, assured that “the chowder does very well.”

Susan’s Sassy Maryland Crab Soup costs $5.50 a cup and $6.95 for a bowl. The restaurant is located at 1201 F St. NW.