Only at 7-11The addition of a 7-11 to Greenpoint meant only one delicious thing to me – coke slurpees!! These frozen indulgences bring me back to my adolescence when mom would drive my sister and I to the 7-11 on 8th street in Colorado after school. It was a pleasure to be able to walk up the street for this long lost treat and it’s a yummy as I remembered.
131 2nd AvenueGem Spa, a corner over-sized bodega, cluttered with cheap sunglasses and trinkets doesn’t strike one instantly as the very best place to find anything, but they boast, in their signage at least, to have the best egg cream in New York. Having not tested every egg cream out there, but having had my share of separated ones that have that strange tongue coating plastic-ness caused by incorrect balance of ingredients. I can say that this one, offered in a paper cup with no fanfare or even a smile is pretty excellent. I’d definitely go back to get an egg cream fix- Brooklyn (vanilla) style of course. It’s such a temperamental though simple drink that you want to make sure you get one that’s made right, plus Gem Spa’s a bit of old New York and one of the few places left to get the native beverage.
from Radish, 158 Bedford Ave, BrooklynRadish is a fairly new charming Neo-olde-timey food store that popped up pretty quickly in the old home of no good cupcakes, Pennylicks. The comforting space features a really nice staff, lots of local imported food specialities and home made take home foods like meatballs and pasta salads. However I was drawn in by a sign that read “Maple Cream Soda”. Just the idea was mesmerizing, and the reality is quite delicious. They use soda from their own tap and the cream is a handmade mixture that’s sweet and thick. It’s like a newfangled egg cream and worth a visit to try.
Lemonade and Ice TeaThe Arnold Palmer has always been a splendid beverage. The sweet tartness of the lemonade is tempered by the refreshing iced tea with wonderful results… but let me tell you, when you’re pregnant, it’s that great times a million.
from Suite 101Not sure about the inclusion of vanilla extract, it gave this Sparkling Vanilla Float a bit of a chemical taste, but otherwise, this is float with less sticky sweetness because it uses seltzer instead of soda. I also used frozen yogurt in place of ice cream.
at Hampton ChutneyFair warning, I have to let you know that the adjective “flowery” is not a bad thing to me when it comes to food and drink. It tastes like a perfume, i am probably right as rain with it. So, yes, Hampton Chutney Co’s Orange Blossom Lemonade is flowery but in my opinion, also incredibly amazing and lovely to drink any day the sun is out.
Make Your Own SeltzerGenius!! It seemed like all my friends had some sort seltzer maker that I would gaze at with envy and now I’m keeping up with the Joneses and with my very own Soda Stream. It’s easy to use, if a bit loud, and makes fizzy perfect seltzer every time.
I am in love with a product that may very well be the fondue fad of our time.
5702 York Blvd, Los AngelesIn a town rife with nondescript strip malls, Galco’s Soda Pop Stop is amongst the most nondescript and strip mally. Its bare bones appearance would never necessarily compel a visitor or local to stop by unless they had inside knowledge that this place is completely awesome (I owe this insight to my friend Shaun and this week’s book pick, LA Bizarro). The soda pop super store has been family owned and operated for over a hundred years: a wild achievement in our world of chain super-stores.
Inside you can find almost every kind of soda pop known to man. Jim guzzled a molasses Root Beer from Rhode Island while Laura and I found bliss in a cucumber soda that the owner told us would change our lives. Not surprisingly, the beer selection is also impressive and they boast quite an array of olde timey candies. Jim dared the Idaho Spud (a coconut and chocolate covered grayish marshmallow that tastes better than I just described it). I was thrilled by a plastic-wrapped tube of just the innards of my beloved Butterfinger as well as the famed (at least in my home) Cup of Gold, a coconut/chocolate cup filled with gooey marshmallow creme: the one thing my mom craved while pregnant with me.
Click here for the rest of Galco’s Soda Pop Stop
My mom sent a pack of the deliciously citrusy SporTea and we've been enjoying pitchers of iced tea ever since. I?ad the energizing beverage often growing up in Colorado where a “well known herbalist” developed the special recipe.
Fentimans has been making botanical brews since 1905 in the UK; their flavors include those as familiar as cola and lemonade as well as the one we tried, Dandelion and Burdock: a traditional beverage in England since the 1200's(!), the combination was exotic to me.
Aniseed, ginger, pear juice and of course dandelion burdock make for an herbal and refreshing beverage. Our friend Mike found the soda at a local super market.