Photo Credit: Mark Lentz. Viewpoint: 55th St. near 8th Ave., looking north; 1/13/02 12:32 PM.

Notes (Roving Rube): Here is the Soup Man store made famous by Seinfeld, with the usual long line out front. The Soup Man himself is just visible at the far right.

There are three cardinal rules written on a blackboard as you approach the counter -- 1) know what you want; 2) have your money ready; and 3) step ALL the way to the left after placing your order.

It is the last rule that causes people the most problems, as people go all the way to the right to place their order, and then basically have to double back beneath the line to receive it. The Rube thinks it would be more logical to have them order at the left, and then they should move all the way to the right. But he's never wanted to risk the famous "no soup for you" from speaking up.