Soup and salad, a solid combo. Not quite soup and sandwich, but it’ll do, especially during a wet week.

Why, specifically, Cobb salad? I don’t know; it just popped into my head. Plus, I’ve never been entirely sure what constitutes a Cobb salad. So I looked it up. Here are the basics: lettuce, tomato, bacon, hard-boiled egg, and chicken or turkey. After that, restaurants tend to freelance.

The dish dates back to the late 1930s at the Brown Derby in Hollywood, and was named after the restaurant’s owner, Robert Howard Cobb.

This week’s rain made me think of soup, so I added it to the competition.

Our contestants are: Bare Naked Kitchen in South Tampa and Stone Soup Cafe & Pub in St. Pete.

BARE NAKED KITCHEN

Yes, those really were raindrops on Tuesday afternoon. We needed an umbrella to enter BNK at 3:30. Predictably, business was slow. The fast-casual restaurant — founded by Outback Steakhouse co-founder Bob Basham and high-profile chef Chris Ponte — opened in February 2022 and is located in a stand-alone building on a busy stretch of Henderson Boulevard.

We ordered at the counter in the large, well-lit space and sat at a window booth so we could look out on the rain. Bland pop music of the sort you hear in malls pumped through the sound system, but at a merciful volume.

The Naked Cobb ($13) was naked of bird meat, so we added herb chicken for $3. We also got bowls of seasonal soup — cauliflower cheddar ($7) — the only one available.

Appearance

Big kalera lettuce leaves formed a vibrant green shell, which held a fetching melange of Cobb stuff, although the chunks of chicken concerned me.

I liked the sight of scallions in the cardboard bowl of creamy soup.

Texture and Taste

I was right about the chicken. Eaten on its own, it was dry-ish, without much if any herbal flavor. Obligatory protein morsels. Its blandness didn’t matter much when blended with the bacon (not too crispy), pickled onions (not too strong) and other materials.

The salad came dressed. I like my Cobb salad — my salads in general — wet, but not soggy. I almost asked for some extra buttermilk herb dressing, but ultimately there was enough on there. Crumbles of gorgonzola cheese added some tang. The grape and heirloom tomatoes were kinda meh. Overall, the ingredients meshed well, with some coming to the aid of others.

Near the end, I got innovative — using lettuce leaves to make Cobb wraps. Hey, an extra dose of leafy greens.

I dug the soup. The cheddar was medium-sharp, which added some zing, and chunks of cauliflower required chewing. Besides tasting good, it was the ideal thickness.

STONE SOUP CAFE & PUB

The place has been fixture in the Allendale area of St. Pete since 1992, but somehow I’d never been.

It was raining again on Thursday afternoon, and Bonnie had to circle the parking lot a couple times to find a spot. Stone Soup was busy, but there was no wait. Most of the tables were occupied, and the dining room was loud with conversation. A dark-wood bar stood to the right of the entrance, beckoning. But it was 1:30 — too early for me. I made a mental note to come back with some friends and tip a few.

Women servers of varying ages bustled about, and they all seemed in a good mood. How to describe our server, Debbie? Perky, but with an edge. “Hope ya hungry, ’cause you’re not gonna leave here hungry,” she said in a New England accent. She was spot on.

In all, Stone Soup had an inviting neighborhood feel.

I got ranch dressing (on the side) with my Cobb salad ($12.65). Of the four soups on order, I chose Loaded Baked Potato ($6.95), which Debbie steered me toward.

Appearance

Stone Soup’s Cobb presentation was very traditional, with turkey, egg, bacon, tomato and bleu cheese crumbles assembled in rows, obscuring the lettuce beneath. The salad was enormous. Add in a couple of mini-muffins and it bordered on daunting.

The soup looked luscious.

Texture and Taste

Not paying attention, I took my first bite of the salad and was overwhelmed by the bite of bleu cheese. I don’t dislike bleu cheese, but I’d rather not to be attacked by it. Then my idiot move: I called Debbie over and apologetically informed her that I had ordered ranch, not bleu cheese, dressing. She patiently explained (with a wry grin) that I had just shoveled in a mouthful of bleu cheese crumbles, then brought me a plate so I could scrape some of it off.

I had to engage in considerable smooshing to find the salad’s optimal balance of flavor and texture. In all, Stone Soup’s Cobb was a step above one you’d find in a diner. I ate, slowly, for about a half-hour and never came close to seeing the bottom of the bowl. The remainder came home with me, although whether I’ll eat it remains an open question.

The soup was terrific, thick and rich but never cloying. I consumed it all, which is one reason I didn’t make much of a dent in my Cobb.

And the Winner of the Rainy Afternoons Clash of the Cobb Salads (Plus Soup) Is …

Stone Soup Cafe & Pub.

The decision comes with a significant caveat: I preferred the Cobb salad at Bare Naked Kitchen. It gets points for creativity, especially those big lettuce leaves, and sensible portion size.

Stone Soup, living up to its name, handily won the soup contest. (Can you imagine the embarrassment if they didn’t?) The St. Pete restaurant also took honors for atmosphere. Its homey, friendly vibe — not to mention proximity to home — will bring me back, especially for a few drafts at the bar.