Zevia Strawberry Soda

Well, I didn't MEAN to do 2 strawberry reviews back-to-back, but I just happened to be at Whole Foods a few days ago, and this soda caught my eye:

Brand: Zevia Strawberry Soda.

Origin: Los Angeles, CA.

Purchase Place: Whole Foods, St. Paul, MN.

Sweetener: Stevia Leaf Extract.

Review: I've generally not cared for Zevia sodas as they all seem a little weak, but this was WAY better than last week's strawberry soda. It still has a similar complaint to other Zevia sodas in that it tastes SLIGHTLY "sharp," but it's not bad here - it's not overpowering. This is decently sweet for a Zevia soda. The strawberry flavor is nice and almost "fresh" (well... as "fresh" as strawberry "flavor" can be). This was nice on a warm afternoon - refreshing and tasty! And therefore it gets my highest Zevia score to date...

Score: 7 out of 10.

Yacht Club Strawberry Soda

I opened this earlier today: 

Brand: Yacht Club Strawberry Soda.

Origin: Centredale, RI.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Pure Cane Sugar.

Review: The best thing I can say about this is that it's got an "adult" flavor as it's not too sweet. However, it needs MORE sweetness. It's a really subtle sweetness and strawberry flavor. It needs more of a punch. Speaking of "punch," it tastes like a poorly-made bowl of punch put out a some mid-90s high school graduation. Not great.

Score: 3.5 out of 10.

 

Schooners Sarsaparilla

I opened this tonight: 

Brand: Schooners Sarsaparilla

Origin: Mystic, CT.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This had a pretty root-beer-like flavor, and was heavy on the anise. It's a BIT too much anise for me, but it was decent. The flavor was deep, but just not totally for me. I can't really verbalize what I didn't care about it, but it wasn't bad! I'm glad they were TRYING something and not just being generic.

Score: 6 out of 10.

 

9 out of 10 Doctors...

Frostop Vanilla Caramel Creme Soda

This sounded odd...

My son's tooth fairy money in the background.  :)

I don't know if I'm ready for this...

Brand: Frostop Vanilla Caramel Creme Soda.  

Origin: Hopkins, MN.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: This was REALLY creamy - almost over the top. But it tasted how I figured it should: it was a creamy caramel flavor that had a vanilla kick. I can see why they say it tastes like creme brûlée. It wasn't bad, but it was too much for me. There's nothing subtle about this soda.

Score: 5 out of 10.

Coke Joke

Butterscotch Cream Soda Better Brew Wizards Ale

I opened this while doing some grading earlier today: 

Brand: Butterscotch Cream Soda Better Brew Wizards Ale.

Origin: Spring Lake Park, MN.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Sugar.

Review: This is another soda that is bottled at Blue Sun Soda - I don't know how many "companies" they have now! And the flavor delivers: this is a creamy, smooth, very butterscotch-y. I would TRULY call this a "butterscotch cream" as it's way creamier than just a butterscotch soda. Smooth, flavorful, and would be good with ice cream! I'm not CRAZY about butterscotch, but if you are, you'll love this.

Score: 7 out of 10.

The Real RED Soda: Stalinade

I open this last night after working outside:

Brand: The Real RED Soda: Stalinade.

Origin: Camarillo, CA.

Purchase Place: Blue Sun Soda, Spring Lake Park, MN.

Sweetener: Cane Sugar.

Review: First of all, I didn't know what flavor this would be. You might be able to see on the far right side of the label it says "Secret KGB Flavor." (And on the left side it says "Chernobyl Brewed.") But it's pretty much a lemonade. The red color kept throwing me off and I kept wondering "wait... it's it a STRAWBERRY lemonade?" But no, I think it's just a red colored lemonade. 

It's decent! It's more on the sweet than the tart side, and it was very drinkable - many times a lemonade is made for sipping, but not this one. It's just a basic but tasty lemonade.

Score: 6 out of 10.

 

Nellie's Ice Cream Sandwiches is NOW OPEN!

My son and I were out walking today, and we stumbled across Nellie's and their "open" sign all lit up! (They are in the old Izzy's Ice Cream location at 2034 Marshall Ave in St. Paul.) So we stopped in for a handmade ice cream sandwich.

The menu on the front window. We both went with an ice cream sandwich.

All the cookies up front (and the waffle cones to the left).

Four steps. We both had ours "hot pressed," and that was a good choice!

My little fella had a HUGE "sandwich:" the bottom was a big Rice Krispie bar, he had strawberry
cheesecake ice cream, a peanut butter cookie on top, and had it rolled in Oreo pieces! Wowza!!

My more "traditional" chocolate chip cookies with cookie dough ice cream.

It's nice they give you a little tray for it because they are hard to eat! Lots of ice cream!.

Their hours, and note that they are "cash only."

Yes, my son ate ALL of that. He loved it, but said it was too much. Next time, we'll split one. We saw a few people come out with the "sundae" option in a cup with the cookies on the side and 2 choices of ice cream (for just 50 cents more).

They're just a few storefronts down from Remix - my favorite local popcorn shop. So hopefully they both do well! Check out Nellie's on Facebook.

Blood Type