Beat the Soldotna winter chill with a cup of scratch-made soup from a local diner, restaurant or bakery. Odie’s is known for their soup, sandwiches, cookies and caffeine. Located at 44315 Sterling Hwy., the homemade soup changes daily, but you can keep up on the café’s Facebook page. It goes perfectly with a sandwich you can customize from the type of bread (try the jalapeño cheddar!) to the fillings.

Buckets Sports Grill at 43960 Sterling Hwy. offers a soup, salad and sandwich combo deal. Try their homemade clam chowder, chicken noodle soup or chili in a cup or bowl. Top-rated sandwiches include the Champ, a half-pound burger with sautéed mushrooms, onion and Swiss. Get a special house sauce to dunk it in, or try the Alaskan Halibut sandwich with tangy tartar sauce.

By the Bowl or By the Cup?

Taste the offerings at Fine Thyme Café, located at 43965 Sterling Hwy. B. Soup comes as a side with the hearty sandwiches and changes daily. Popular sandwiches are the Reubenski, a European-style rye with Swiss, sauerkraut, thousand island dressing and tender cornered beef. The Kona Ciabatta is also a favorite, with coconut-lime chicken breast, mango mustard, avocado and pineapple on ciabatta.

At St. Elias Brewing, located at 434 Sharkathmi Ave., you can visit the full restaurant and get a cup or bowl of their daily soup—hearty enough to be a meal in itself, or get it with a sandwich-salad combo. Steak and cheese, ranch bacon, and the Grecco are all local favorite sandwiches.

Where will you get bowled over?