Snack: Wonton Soup

The City is in the throes of a wicked cold epidemic. In the past two weeks, nearly everyone I know has succumbed. Coughs echo through the BART stations; financial district germaphobes scurry from bus to office to lunch and back with surgical masks wrapped across their mouths. Hand-washing is in. Once stung by the virulent bug, wise residents put their immune systems in the capable hands of bed-rest, cable television, and soup, preferably delivered by a fast, cheap, and clean Chinese restaurant of reasonable repute. I generally prefer spicy soup when I’m ill, like the molten, sinus-shattering Indo-Chinese-style hot-and-sour chicken made over at Spicy Bite. Shot through with sharp ginger accents, coriander, fresh red chili, and garlic, the slightly thick melange of diced vegetables and succulent chicken chunks takes well to a few spoonfuls of rice, a big strip of naan, and about 3 gallons of cold water. One order will widen your eyes and make you sweat; two will reduce you to a puddle on the floor — numb, warm, and incapable of language or swift movement. For those with an aversion to masochistic spice-levels, wonton soup is also a tried-and-true balm for mid-January miseries. Lately, I’ve been a fan of the green vegetable-heavy version at Jasmine Tea House. Jasmine is one of the best Chinese places in the Mission, which isn’t saying much. If you live in the Richmond, the Sunset, or within striking distance of Chinatown, you’ll be in even finer shape. Get better soon.

Spicy Bite

3501 Mission St.

San Francisco, CA

415-647-0436

Jasmine Tea House

3253 Mission St.

San Francisco, CA

415-826-6288