Cokes Ranked

I don't necessarily agree with this listing (bottle beats can for me), but I agree there's a ranking!

Cream Soda Tasting at Blue Sun Soda

Yesterday, my boys and I headed to another free tasting event at Blue Sun Soda Shop. It was similar to the tasting the 3 of us went to 2 months ago: they just set out some sodas and some mini-cups, and you can sample them all.

The "event banner" from Blue Sun Soda's Facebook page.

Cream Sodas: Dad's, Fiz, Iron Horse, Sioux City, North Star, Tower, and Henry Weinhard.

The "voting" table: take a bottle cap (far right) and put it in the cup that you
thought was best. They even had a roll of "I voted" stickers to put on (left foreground).

My oldest and I both agreed that Sioux City was our favorite, and my youngest voted for Dad's. I remember the North Star being very creamy (it was called "Vanilla Creme"), and I think it was Henry Weinhard's that had an odd sharpness. Fiz was decent.

Some new "kiddie cocktail" sodas made right at Blue Sun Soda.

All the flavors of "fresh" soda at the soda counter at Blue Sun Soda.

My boys and I split a fresh Root Beer. It was good! My oldest got
a tear in his eye because he said it was SOOO carbonated.

I also stocked up on root beers. I had a few sodas in the basement before this trip to Blue Sun, but only 1 of them was a root beer. I took my time looking through their root beer selection, and I picked up 7 new ones (and 6 other sodas to bring home a baker's dozen). I think I've now had (or have just purchased) EVERY root beer at Blue Sun Soda Shop! Oh no! I'll need to find some new root beers somewhere else soon...

First Trip to "Cold Front" Soda Fountain / Ice Cream Shop

Last week, my boys and I checked out "Cold Front," which was the business that took over the space that had "Lynden's Soda Fountain" in it near Hamline and Randolph.

Lots of ice cream in the front.

Different cone sizes: the tiny cones on the left are from the "snowball FLIGHT" of mini cones.

Waffle cones and waffle cone maker.

I did what any Dad would do at 10 in the morning on a cold winter's day: I got my son some ice cream. Here's Henry enjoying some of their strawberry ice cream (I didn't even get to try it because he wolfed it down) as Steve from Cold Front made my "flight" of sodas in the background:

They still have the old soda fountain from Lynden's!
(Click that link if you want to see Henry at Lynden's over 2 years ago - cute toddler!)

My flight of homemade sodas: Chai Vanilla, Grape, and Cola.

They had 6 "classic" sodas like grape, orange, and cherry, and then they had 5 "signature" sodas like strawberry balsamic, lemongrass sass, and chai vanilla. Next time, I want to try the lemongrass sass and maybe the blood orange and beetroot.

Flight in progress.

Henry had about half of my grape soda.

A photo I Instagrammed: "Morning sugar rush: strawberry ice cream and a homemade grape soda at @coldfrontmsp."

This flight is over.

So here's a mini-review of my Minni-Soda Flight:


Cola: Steve told me that this was John Lyden's recipe that came from something that was published in the 1970s. It was Coca-Cola's original recipe (minus the cocaine, unfortunately). This was sharp and crisp (as most "fresh" sodas are). There was a great bite of lime, but not too much. Deep, rich flavor unlike what you get from a can of Coke or Pepsi.  Score: 8 out of 10. 

Grape: Steve asked me about this one after I had a sip to 2. He said he's still working to perfect it. It was very "grape JUICEy" as you can maybe tell from the froth on top in the first photo of the flight. Steve said he's using a mix of a grape juice syrup along with freshly pressed concord grape juice, but he's working to get it all right. It was good, but tasted a bit closer to "juice" than it did "soda." Actually, I'm excited to try this one again and again to see how it changes, even though it was my least favorite of the day.  Score: 6.5 out of 10.

Chai Vanilla: This was smooth and subtle. The vanilla was a nice touch. It tasted a bit like a subtly-flavored vanilla root beer, so you KNOW I liked it. It was better than I thought it would be. It's a unique flavor, and hard to fully describe. Just go in and try it.  Score: 8 out of 10.


I'll be back to try more of their sodas in their "Minni-Soda Flight" for sure. I still need to try their root beer.  Check out Cold Front on Facebook or Twitter.

p.s.  I love the idea of a flight of sodas. I don't need a lot of each flavor, and this way I get to try more. Steve told me that it was one of the last things they decided to add to the menu before they opened on Valentine's Day, and it was by far the biggest hit of the opening night. Great idea! Can't wait for more.

Lynden's Soda Fountain is CLOSED, but...

My wife and I headed to The Nook a few weeks ago, and noticed that Lynden's Soda Fountain was CLOSED! My heart sank a little.

But there was a sign in the window saying "Cold Front" was opening soon. I found a story on the City Pages website talking about the sale and new owners. I also checked out Lynden's Facebook Page, which announced a lot of what was going to be happening with Cold Front. It appears they're keeping the historic Soda Fountain, but they seem to be doing a bit more with (Dogwood) coffee and ice cream:

A "flight" of mini ice cream cones they call the "Snowball Flight."

And THIS is a great idea: they have a flight of sodas called the "Minni-Soda Flight." I will be trying this for SURE.

Cold Front opened 2 days ago on Valentine's Day, and hopefully my boys and I can make it over there in the next few days to check it out (Hamline and Randolf in St. Paul). I'll take some photos and post an update when I've tried their Minni-Soda Flight.

Check them out on Facebook, and scope out their coffee, ice cream, and sodas on their website.  (All photos from their Facebook page.)

Lynden's Black Cherry Lime Rickey

My son and I stopped by Lynden's Soda Fountain late last week for a treat. We'd been there twice before: once for some root beer, and once when we were invited back by the owner because the first time someone put ice in my root beer. We walked in and saw this special:

SOLD!

I watched the "jerk" (the name for people who work at a soda fountain) squeeze an entire lime half into my glass. And she added syrup, flavoring, and soda water.

With Lynden's classic WORKING soda fountain in the background.

It didn't last too long...

I worked on my Rickey as my son enjoyed some ice cream (and he liked the swivel stools too).

Some goodies that I brought home for my wife.

My son actually liked the Lime Rickey as well. He took a few sips 2 different times. That surprised me a bit because it was so tart from the lime. But he liked it!


Brand: Lynden's Black Cherry Lime Rickey.

Origin: St. Paul, MN.

Purchase Place: Lynden's Soda Fountain (corner of Hamline and Randolf in St. Paul).

Sweetener: Simple syrup (so I'm assuming sugar, but I'm not sure and forgot to ask).

Review: Like the Root Beer and Sarsaparilla that I had at Lynden's last winter, this Black Cherry Lime Rickey was very "sharp" and "crisp." I think that must be from it being made "fresh" with soda water straight out of the soda fountain. It was a great summer drink. The lime was nice and tart. In fact, it was a bit too tart for me: ideally, it'd have half as much lime and double the syrup (you all know how I like things pretty sugary). I might go back for a Cherry Lime Rickey sometime and ask it to be made that way.

Score: 6 out of 10.

A Second Trip to Lynden's Soda Fountain (for Root Beer and Sarsaparilla)

Last week, I posted about my first stop to Lynden's Soda Fountain right here in St. Paul.  The owner, John Lynden, saw my post and invited me back.  Apparently, my root beer was not supposed to be served with ice, and his "jerk" screwed up.  (A jerk is someone who operates a soda fountain).  Here's part of his note to me:

Steve,
Thanks for stopping by the fountain and writing the review. I am sorry you got a Root Beer with ice in it. I will send out a memo to all of our jerks to remind them that you never put ice in the Root Beer.

Our root beer actually is not mixed it comes straight from a keg through the cold plate in the fountain. I always recommend enjoying it in a glass rather than a plastic cup.

I would like to invite you back for another root beer on the house and I would also like you to try our Sarsaparilla. 

So my whole family stopped back yesterday.

My son's first 1919 Root Beer - he couldn't stop drinking it!

The Sarsaparilla and (partially drank) Root Beer.

The Root Beer WAS better in the glass and withOUT ice.  John told me that he doesn't like ice in his drinks, and I told him I'm the same way.  He especially doesn't like ice in his Root Beer.  John and I will get along juuuuust fine.

The Sarsaparilla was very "herby" and spicy.  I thought it had a lot of wintergreen, and my wife thought it tasted a bit of cinnamon.  John said it had a lot of Sarsaparilla root in it, and that was probably the flavor.  It was unlike any Sarsaparilla I've had from a bottle.  Lynden's Sarsaparilla is from a small company in Brooklyn - they provide the syrup and Lynden's adds the carbonated water.

This didn't take long...

Henry loved to spin the stools (once he was "sugared up" on lots of root beer)!

The signs above Lynden's Soda Fountain

Brand: Lynden's Sarsaparilla and Root Beer.

Origin: St. Paul, MN.  (The Sarsaparilla syrup is from Brooklyn, NY.)

Purchase Place: Lynden's Soda Fountain, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Unknown.

Review: I originally gave the Root Beer a 7.5 out of 10 in my post last week, but I'm bumping that up a point because it IS better in a mug and without ice.  The Sarsaparilla is very herby, spicy, and "sharp."   I need to drink more from a soda fountain, because everything seems to taste "crisper."  I sort of wish it were smoother, but I did like the sharpness.

Score: 
Root Beer: 8.5 out of 10.
Sarsaparilla: 7.5 out of 10.

p.s.  I STILL need to head back to Lynden's for a Lime Rickey.  And some more candy.  I'll be writing about them again within the next few months for sure.....  And a BIG THANKS to John Lynden for inviting me back!

Lynden's Soda Fountain's Root Beer

This past weekend, my wife and I thought we'd check out a local candy store / soda fountain that we'd just heard about.  So we headed to the corner of Hamline and Randolph here in St. Paul to go to Lynden's Soda Fountain:

I HAD to get a root beer from their soda fountain.  They make their sodas "fresh" with soda syrup (some of the syrup is even homemade) and carbonated water.  The root beer is from a 1919 syrup:

It was GOOD!  But it got a little weaker as I went (partially due to the ice, but I think mostly because I'd sucked up most of the syrup in the first half).

Lynden's is a pretty small place, but they have a lot of "classic" candy.  Here are a few photos I took:

You grab a tiny little paper bag (hand-stamped with "Lynden's Soda Fountain") and throw in whatever mix of candy you want.  My wife and I got 3 small bags with cola gummies, sour cola gummies, "lipstick" candy (my wife used to love that, but I'd never heard of it), and some chocolate covered expresso beans.

Our 3 little bags at home.

We liked that we could pick as little as we like, because we both just like a "little" treat now and then.  We spent just over a dollar on that candy.

When we go back to Lynden's, I need to try a "Lime Rickey" made with fresh lime juice.  Or maybe a Raspberry Lime Rickey - that was recommended by the high-school or college-aged girl working behind the counter.  They also have ice cream, egg creams, phosphates, coffee, etc, etc.

Brand: Lynden's root beer soda syrup and carbonated water.

Origin: St. Paul, MN.

Purchase Place: Lyndens's Soda Fountain, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Their Facebook page notes their homemade syrups are made with cane sugar, but I'm not sure about this root beer syrup.

Review: Sharp.  "Fresh."  It was "strongly" carbonated because it was just made from the soda fountain (which is an antique!).  It wasn't the BEST ever, but it was good.  And it's quite a great little store.  My wife and I WILL be back to try some of their other concoctions.

Score: 7.5 out of 10.


p.s.  I heard about this place for the first time because they were on the news for "illegally" selling candy cigarettes - something you apparently can't do in St. Paul.  I asked the young woman working behind the counter if people have been coming in and saying "I never knew you were here until I saw you on the news!"  She smiled and said something like "No one has come right out and said that, but I'm pretty sure we've had people in because of that!"  The video on their website shows a quick glimpse of the candy cigarettes, but now they're no longer in the store.  Dang.