Soup Nazi or Soup Bubbe?

Al Yeganeh is an enigma. Al Yeganeh is a man who does business outside the realm of cliches like "the customer is always right" or "patience is a virtue." Al Yeganeh is a man who makes rules.

Yeganeh, the real-life acclaimed soup vendor who inspired the "Soup Nazi" character on Seinfeld, has been making rules for the customer since the beginning. They are simple, really: "Pick the soup you want," "Have your money ready," and "Move to the extreme left after ordering." When these rules were enforced at his original Soup Kitchen International, located at Eighth Avenue and 55th Street, soup would be denied those who did not follow them to the tee. This did not hold true, however, at his more tempered Soup Man franchises peppered across the Northeast.

One of these franchises opened up over Columbia's winter break in what used to be Soho Cupcake at 112th Street and Broadway. The staff is exuberant and accommodating, and even offered me a 10 percent discount with a CU ID. But has the true character of Al Yeganeh been lost in our commercialized, enfranchised world?

The man himself is not unreachable, only distant. In the contact section of his original Web site, thesoupman.com, he provides an America Online screen-name followed by the words "WE DON'T RESPOND TO ALL E-MAILS" flashing in red capital letters. I took my chances and dropped him a line to request an interview.

"if you look at my web site (www.therealsoupman.com)," he replied via e-mail, "you see i do not live in united state anymore. i just stopped by at New York for a few days. i live here, in Europe working on my book and global franchising deals." I found this information both interesting and puzzling, for though my e-mail had received a response, my question concerning an interview had not.

I contacted him again regarding the possibility of a phone interview. This time the response was half-irritable in true Soup Nazi style, but maybe a little contrived.

"visit my web site..... see media rules," he directed me. "if cnn or fox news and wall street journal did it y not you ? r u any better?....." Despite this low blow, still somehow evading the question, his America Online lingo intrigued me. I felt like I was having an instant message conversation with some crazed soup world leader. And it felt good.

He signed his e-mail "AL." I felt we were getting so close.

I checked the media rules, which proscribe use of the word Nazi in questioning, ban follow-up questions, and mention once more that "[o]nly some of the questions e-mailed will be answered."

Taking my chances, I sent him a list of questions. In the tone of one of the questions he decided to answer, however, I found someone far from a Nazi-someone more like the Jewish grandmother who makes her crazed world leader son some excellent soup, kvetches a little, but still shares so much love.

In reference to the possibility of a connection between the Morningside Heights Soup Man franchise and the nearby Tom's in terms of stops on the Seinfeld fan bus tour, Yeganeh claimed no involvement with the selection of the location. He did let me know, however, that while he was running the 55th Street store, the bus tours would stop by, and the "real life Kramer," Kenny Kramer, who ran the tours, would "hide somewhere and... sent tourist to buy the soups."

"at first I was going to refuse to serve those tourist," Yeganeh explained, "but when i find out these poor innocent tourists spent so much money in this expensive new york town and paid big $ for that tour, i felt so bad and start to sell them soup and even used to give them large soup for price of small."

I then asked how the evolution of his enterprise has affected his concept of soup in a positive or negative way. Yeganeh neglected to comment "for some reason," but did mention, almost apologetically, that he is "not shy to give an interview to anybody, as long as writer is fair and balanced."

I felt as though we had bonded. I wanted to give him a hug. I wanted to eat his soup. I wanted to add him to my buddy list.

Al Yeganeh is no Soup Nazi. He is very much a Soup Man, even a Soup Mensch, who takes his soup and private life seriously and hints at mourning the changes that come with enfranchisement and large-scale profit. He tries to come off with a tough man attitude, but his love for soup shines through the facade.

Currently, Al Yeganeh is working on a book detailing his soup-life story. Al Yeganeh recommends the cauliflower and garlic soup. Al Yeganeh is an enigma with a screen-name.