One of our local date spots, South of Nicks, has a pretty typical Tex-Mex menu. The silent star (maybe that is my bias because I never order soup at a restaurant), is their albondigas. It’s a Mexican soup made of rice filled meatballs in a savory broth. It traditionally has carrots and potatoes, but I add zucchini or chayote squash to get more vegetables in there. My guess is that the broth at Nick’s is wonderful because it is bone broth, or at least something homemade and long simmered. Bone broth is at every grocer now, so perhaps reach for that over a standard boxed broth for a richer broth option.

If you happen to be delivering this to a friend, I would package the meatballs separately from the broth, and advise them to reheat them together. They are delicate and can completely fall apart if they sit in the broth for more than a day. Vegetarians, the lentil meatballs can work here, just push the seasoning to the Mexican side versus the Italian as listed in the original.