Soft Drinks

How to Make Homemade Ginger Ale

I am what I eat, figuratively, at least since I both self-identify as a Ginger and I adore all things ginger-flavored. I sprinkle ground ginger in my tea, order anything vaguely laced with the spice on Asian menus, and once, even, took two large bites off a piece of the root itself. (My stomach hu ... More >>

Where to Eat on Christmas Day

Your stress-free dining guide to the holidays.

Hot Dr Pepper with Lemon: The Ultimate Texas Cold Weather Drink

When I was in college, Dr Pepper ruled our campus (and so did Drayton McLane, but that's a story for another day). No, seriously. It became the official soft drink of Baylor back in 1997. And along with it came Dr Pepper Hour, formerly Coke Hour. Baylor University isn't just renowned for being the ... More >>

First Look at The Burger Guys' New, Swanked-Up Downtown Location

I'll be honest: The first thing I noticed when I walked into The Burger Guys' spiffy new downtown location at 706 Main wasn't the expanded dining room (which seats three times as many guests than its original Westheimer location) nor the artwork and TV screens that hung from the sunflower-yellow wal ... More >>

New Calorie-Displaying Soda Vending Machines: 5 Reasons Why they Won't Significantly Aid America's Obesity

There's just no getting around it: Americans have a love affair with soft drinks. Dr Pepper, Sprite, Coke, Pepsi, Fanta - you name it, we love it. It's a soft drink love fest -- until we remember all the calories that soft drinks contain, and the fact that those sugar- and calorie-filled beverages p ... More >>

It's National Chili Week: Top 5 Unusual Chili Ingredients

Every region has its own rendition of chili. New Mexico has green chili (interesting), Cincinnati has spaghetti with chili (still don't understand) and Texas puts meat in its chili (definitely the best). I always love classic chili with beef or sirloin (I'm a Texas girl, what can I say?), but somet ... More >>

1981 and Now

The Top 12 Texas Junk Foods.

National Ice Cream Soda Day: 5 Unique Ice Cream Sodas

Soda fountains are not as popular today as they were in the 1950s or '60s, but who doesn't love a good, old ice cream float? Creamy and sweet ice cream dunked into a fizzy and bubbly soda satisfy any sugary craving. Tomorrow, June 30, is National Ice Cream Soda Day, so here are five unique ice cre ... More >>

Top 5 Sodas That Aren't Coke or Pepsi

"No Coke...Pepsi!" Belushi's classic SNL skit is actually an homage to The Billy Goat Tavern, a dingy burger place in Chicago where you will be yelled at for your order, where they really do only serve Pepsi, and there are no fries, only chips. I've checked the place out and eaten a burger there - ... More >>

Dublin Dr Pepper Officially No Longer Exists, But Cane Sugar-Sweetened Dr Pepper Still Does

Photo by Mike Overall​The bitter, extended legal battle between the 120-year-old Dr Pepper plant in Dublin, Texas and its parent company, Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS), has finally been resolved. At issue were the liberties that the Dublin plant had taken both with its distribution and merchandising ... More >>

Six Surprisingly Sexist Television Commercials From Way After the Mad Men Era

By now, most of us have seen the new commercials for Dr Pepper's new product line, Dr Pepper 10, a diet drink which, ostensibly, tastes better than Diet Dr Pepper thanks to whatever's in those ten measly calories (our theory: brown sugar and wormwood). Of course, every advertiser knows that men are ... More >>

Comment of the Day: Sexist or Silly?

Here on Eating Our Words, the commenters absolutely make the blog, and our Comment of the Day honors the best of the bunch. Every day, we read you guys and pick the commenter, or commenters, who made us laugh, cry, salivate over something delicious, or think about things in a new way. In return, w ... More >>

Dublin Dr Pepper Asks Fans to Contribute to Its Legal Defense Fund

Photo by megpiThis bottle of Dublin Dr Pepper made it all the way to Los Angeles.​In late June, the 120-year-old Dr Pepper plant in Dublin, Texas announced that it was being sued by its parent company, Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS). The plant, which is the world's oldest and smallest Dr Pepper bott ... More >>

A Cooler Coke: Taylor's Tonics Chai Cola

Curse you, Cost Plus World Market.​I have sort of a hate-hate relationship with Cost Plus World Market. I hate that my wife seems physically incapable of not buying their crap, and I hate that I secretly like most of it. Don't tell her I said that. Either part, really, but mostly the part abou ... More >>

Five Alternatives to the Root Beer Float

Joanna O'LearyVariation on the Boston Cooler. Note: Only use Diet Ginger Beer if your supermarket strangely lacks Regular.​Liquid desserts are ideal for summer, and while I love a good milkshake, sometimes I like a little carbonation with my ice cream. A root beer float is the obvious choice; ... More >>

Coke: United States vs. Mexico

​Cane sugar has been gaining on HFCS lately. Dr Pepper admitted that high-fructose corn syrup is a shoddy sweetener when it turned Lawyer Pepper on its Dublin, Texas bottler. And tonic makers have created a new market from the knowledge that gin mixes with corn syrup like gin goes with police ... More >>

This Week in Deliciousness

Photo by Mike Overall*sigh* Let the hoarding commence.​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we're going to launch a class-action lawsuit against Diet Dr Pepper for not tasting more like real Dr Pepper. We'll probably be defeated in court by the Dr Pepper lawyers p ... More >>

Dr Pepper Sues Itself, Sort Of

Photo by Amit GuptaDublin Dr Pepper: the highly-coveted Dr Pepper version of Mexican Coca-Cola.​In the long history of entities suing themselves -- Wells Fargo in 2009, the government of Thailand in 2006 -- none have been as disheartening to Texans as the latest news that Dr Pepper Snapple (DP ... More >>

Five Favorite Retro Sodas

​I remember as a young child visiting Bread & Circus in Boston and marveling over the fact that the world of soda comprised more than just Coke, Sprite and root beer. Now, I'm a bit more cosmopolitan when it comes to carbonated beverages, and I'm currently obsessed with retro sodas. (Probably ... More >>

What to Feed That Flu

IslesPunkFan​With the temperature climbing steadily toward the hellish heat of Houston summer, I could've sworn I'd escaped the flu season unscathed. If only I was so lucky. I got sick, making it hard to taste anything. And as someone who loves food, this was especially unfortunate. I knew ... More >>

The United States of Soft Drinks

Full-size image below.​In 1998, Nebraska set a precedent for all other U.S. states when it formally declared Kool-Aid to be the state soft drink. Sure, plenty of other states have state foods or state dishes, but a state soft drink? The popular children's beverage was developed in Hastings, N ... More >>

Jones Soda Cocktails

Chris Frankel.​Everyone likes to talk about the great presents they receive over the holidays. What often goes unmentioned is the laundry list of crappy gifts out there. You know you got them, likely from some far-flung aunt who just can't believe that anyone wouldn't want a collection of salt ... More >>

Redneck Thanksgiving: Baked Ham and Apple Dumplings

timeinthekitchen.com​For those pressed for time, looking to do some ironic cooking or just plain angry at their arteries, we present the third in a series of recipes to help you enjoy a Redneck Thanksgiving. For previous posts in this series -- mined mainly from my family's eastern Ohio church ... More >>

Diet Cherry Seven 7Up Antioxidant

​Forever on the lookout for new diet or light beverages, I picked up a two-liter Diet Cherry 7UP Antioxidant. I usually snub Diet 7UP, as Sprite Zero or Diet Sierra Mist are my no-calorie "lemon-lime" mass-market beverages of choice, but this flavor attracted my attention primarily because of ... More >>

Anachronistic Chef: Sasparilla

Sasparilla, not sarsaparilla or sassafras or some other word that starts with 's.'​My recent post on birch beer got me rather excited about other antiquated soft drinks and, in keeping with the theme of root beverages, I decided to buy some sasparilla. Sasparilla has a rather tangled history ... More >>

Birch Beer

​I recently became re-interested in birch beer, having consumed it rather religiously when I was growing up on the east coast. Birch beer is (unsurprisingly) usually made from the bark of birch trees and comes in an assortment of hues, including light and dark brown, red, and purple. Several c ... More >>

Brad Garrett

Actor takes the stand-up stage

Dreyer's Limited-Edition Root Beer Float Ice Cream

​I usually mock products self-consciously designed to taste like a completely different food medium, e.g., Blueberry Muffin Pop-Tarts. (Are people so conflicted that they can't decide between blueberry muffin and a regular Pop-Tart?). But once again, the phrase "limited edition" led to me to ... More >>

Bobby Heugel's Weekly Cocktail: Gin and Tonic

​The gin and tonic is arguably the world's favorite highball. Blissfully botanical gin, bubbly tonic and a squeeze of fresh citrus make for a leisurely, refreshing cocktail that always helps to beat the summer heat. While the drink was a staple of the British colonial era, the gin and tonic i ... More >>

Whoa, Whoa: The Situation Releases New Single In Time For Rich's Gig

Truly a thing of beauty.​Remember when you were a kid and you would mix all the fountain sodas together into one monstrosity of a drink called a "Suicide" (or whatever it was called where you're from). As an adult you probably realize that the end result was something less-than-greater than th ... More >>

A Cooler Coke: Ironbeer

​Each Tuesday and Thursday for the next few weeks, we'll be taking a look at alternatives to cokes for the sticky Houston summer that lies ahead. I was prepared not to like Ironbeer from the start. I don't like the packaging. It looks too reminiscent of Dr Pepper and, therefore, like a knock ... More >>

A Cooler Coke: Almdudler

​Each Tuesday and Thursday for the next few weeks, we'll be taking a look at alternatives to cokes for the sticky Houston summer that lays ahead. Through the course of drinking various soft drinks and reporting back to you on them, I'll occasionally discover beverages like Vimto: something I ... More >>

The Big Easy's Origo Malum

Stirred and Shaken: The Big Easy's Origo Malum

Photo by Troy Fields​Sitting at the bar on a quiet night at the Big Easy (5731 Kirby, 713-523-9999), it feels like you're a one-armed dwarf and an exotic dancer away from being in a Tom Waits song. Something about the music, empty space and Mardi Gras lights gives it that shore-leave-gone-wron ... More >>

A Cooler Coke: Guaraná Antarctica

​Each Tuesday and Thursday for the next five weeks, we'll be taking a look at alternatives to cokes for the sticky Houston summer that lays ahead. The first beverage we're examining in this series isn't exactly a hidden treasure. Guaraná Antarctica, produced in Brazil since 1921, is not only ... More >>

Frozen Fast Food Frenzy

I, for one, welcome our new McFlurry overlords.It's hot as balls in Houston. You can do your best to hurry from air-conditioned house to air-conditioned car to air-conditioned movie theater / bar / restaurant / etc., but at some point you're going to be forced to spend more than 30 seconds out ... More >>

Texas Traveler: Dr Pepper Museum

Photo by Jeff BalkeWaco isn't the first place that comes to mind when people think "road trip." Instead, visions of an ultraconservative town that was once the site of an epic, fiery battle between a cult and the United States government spring to mind. Fortunately for Waco, the town act ... More >>

Diet Cola Goes Healthy

Photo by Robb WalshZevia Natural Cola is the first of the new stevia-sweetened diet soft drinks I've tasted. There is also a Zevia diet root beer and a diet lemon-lime. No doubt you've heard of stevia, the newly approved natural sweetener that's 300 times sweeter than sugar, with no calories. Stevia ... More >>

Houston Likes Its Caffeine Cold And Bubbly

Houston, you love your caffeine, but only when it comes cold and bubbly.The second annual Caffeinated Cities survey came out today; it's conducted by something called HealthSaver and looks at caffeine use across the country.The Most Caffeinated City in America? Tampa. (Huh?) Followed by Seattle (tha ... More >>

Notes from the 2008 Southwest Foodservice Expo: Dry Soda

Bootlegging Dr Pepper

The demand for sugar-sweetened Dublin Dr Pepper has never been higher — just ask the bootleggers

Sugar Coated

This Baylor medical "expert" cashed in on infomercials. Now he's showing how things go better with Coke.

Near-Perfect

Lancaster Hotel's Cream Soda

Economy Size

PJ's Root Beer Float

The Big Deal

Vending machines are leaving Texas school cafeterias. But the mother lode of "minimal nutritional value" has hardly gone away.

Stirred and Shaken

The Hong Kong Disco's Seven & Seven

Stirred and Shaken

Ernie's on Banks' Pimm's Cup

Stirred and Shaken

La Strada's Fast Eddy

Utopia, Texas

A burger on the deck at Bubba's is the next best thing to visiting the Hill Country

Carbonated Cash

Drink up, kids. Keep those soda dollars coming.