One of the greatest comforts when you’re sick and far from home is food that tastes (and feels) like home. Whether that’s Campbell’s chicken noodle straight from the can or your mom’s sick day specialty (mine makes a killer matzo ball soup), we all crave that comfort during moments of vulnerability, and a large chunk of Emerson’s undergraduate student body was feeling rather vulnerable at the start of this fall semester. Between the widespread colds and bouts of COVID-19, Emersonians—myself included—needed a big dose of childhood comfort food. 

With a positive COVID test in hand and four days alone in my dorm room, I had the time for quite a bit of thinking. There should be a word for feeling sick and homesick at the same time and an instruction manual for how to get over it. When you are at your weakest, the last thing you want to do is think of solutions, recipes, or anything else. 

In a place where independence is the norm and the desire to curl into a ball and have your mom take care of you, for most, is far-fetched, if not impossible, how do you survive sickness when you’re all by your lonesome? Is it by binge-watching hours of Gilmore Girls or New Girl in your coziest, oldest pair of fuzzy polka-dot pajamas? Hanging out with childhood stuffed animals that may be missing an eye or two and laughing at their… questionable appearance on the phone with your mom? Sure, these niche distractions play a role, but all of my avenues of thought kept landing me at food—more specifically, soup. But in kitchenless dorms, starved of necessary equipment and pantry essentials, how can we recreate the universal penicillin that is a bowl of our mother’s soup? 

The hard truth is that we can’t. We can only hope for passable alternatives. But I’m happy to report that—while it’s not quite my mom’s recipe—Mamaleh’s matzo ball soup comes pretty damn close. 

With a broth that delivers rich, chickeny flavor and a hearty yet pillowy matzo ball, the soup packs a powerful nostalgic punch. While relatively new on the scene, opening their doors in 2016, Mamaleh’s serves up bowls of soup that go back (and forward) through generations. 

Mamaleh, a Yiddish word that roughly translates to “little mama,” is a term of endearment for children. Ironically enough, that’s exactly when we get hooked on this kind of food, as every time we show up at Bubby’s house for a holiday or happen to sneeze, a bowl of the soup materializes.  

That homey vibe is steeped into the fabric of the restaurant. At its three Boston-area locations in Cambridge, Brookline, and downtown, Mamaleh’s makes New York delicatessen classics like egg creams and pastrami with a modern twist. The orange lacquer booths and classic deli counter stools connect you with an always-friendly face, creating a feeling of community that makes you feel at home, no matter how far away that really might be. 

And fear not, if COVID or general exhaustion has you confined to the four walls of your dorm, Uber Eats will deliver a lukewarm, yet still delicious cup (or quart, if you’re feeling splurgy) of their soup to your door. With the help of your microwave, the home-adjacent vibes are not out of reach. Transfer the broth and matzo balls into your bowl without spilling half down the side of the container, then take the miracle fluid up to your lofted bed, get cozy under the covers, and call your mom. 

The steam from the soup and the rich, herby smell of the dill may even have the power to unclog your stuffy nose. It worked for me, and for a few perfect minutes, I felt like I was home.