Soft Drinks

Need More Camo in Your Life? Spruce Up Your License Plate for a Good Cause

If you've never felt the need to accessorize every last thing in your life, you may have no idea about the world of options that exist when it comes to license plate customization. We're not just talking the six-letter/number message you can display, either; there are over 140 license plate backgrou ... More >>

Burgers Off the Beaten Path: Samburger

On Thursday of last week, I drove all the way out to Bunker Hill and Longpoint to check out a taco truck called "Tacosway," complete with ripped-off Subway logo in that familiar green and yellow font. I was as amused by the copyright infringement as I was by the play on words: When you say "Tacosway ... More >>

Has Tyler, the Creator Finally Gone Too Far?

Tyler, the Creator has never been known for being a sensitive man. Quite the opposite, he's known for unambiguous lyrics about controversial and disturbing subjects such as rape, murder, homophobia, and infanticide. One of his most infamous lyrics is from the song "Tron Cat," where he promises to "r ... More >>

Energy Drinks Are a Crock of Crap, But You Knew That...Right?

On the front page of yesterday's New York Times was the headline: Energy Drinks Promise Edge, But Experts Say Proof Is Scant. And not that people feeding their babies Mountain Dew out of a bottle nor concocting go-go juice for their kids, Honey Boo Boo-style, will notice or care what the New York T ... More >>

Halloween Treats: Glow-in-the-Dark Cupcakes

Cobwebs, witches, monsters and other creepy things always get incorporated into Halloween desserts. But, if you want to take your cupcakes to a whole new level, try making them glow in the dark. I love looking up fun recipes for Halloween. For some reason, themed food and desserts always catch my e ... More >>

If New York City Bans Big Gulps, Here Are 5 Texan Foods Worth Banning, Too

In the latest blow to common sense, New York City has moved to ban Big Gulps -- the extra-large soft drinks of the type you usually see in Styrofoam cups triple the size of a human's normal stomach capacity, or anything more than 16 ounces in capacity (which is close to the size of a McDonald's smal ... More >>

Here's The Pitch: Top 10 Commercials Starring Musicians

Madonna's infamous "Like a Prayer" Pepsi ad, 1989​Every now and then, name-brand companies need a little extra pizzazz when it comes to advertising, and often they turn to the music world to do this. Either way, it's a win-win situation for both the artist and the company because the artist us ... More >>

Treasure of the Communal Refrigerator: A&W Float Soda

A&W Float, where did you come from?​Like many apartment complexes, my husband's building has a "lounge" area with free wifi, a kitchen, and a communal fridge. I say "communal," because all residents are welcome to store food in it and it seems to be the general understanding that unlabeled, u ... More >>

Heavy Fuel: How to Drink Like a Rock Star

If you want to be a real rock star, you can go ahead and forget about those Red Bull and vodkas you're so fond of. Legit rockers are fueled by bigger, harder and flat-out weirder doses of alcohol than the mere mortals hitting on the bartender at your local watering hole. Sure, a few of our musical ... More >>

How To: Drink Like a Rock Star

Sure, most rock stars are probably happy with any bottle that happens to be within reach. Some rock stars, however, prefer to refine and perfect their booze intake, settling on a signature cocktail that suits their outsized personalities and consequence-free lifestyles. Rocks Off salutes these exc ... More >>

On the Rocks: Cocktails Named After Musicians for New Year's Eve

Have a G.G. Allin and bring in the New Year indecently!​Everything is more exciting, sometimes even redeeming, when it has a cool name: Sexual acts, alcoholic beverages, movies, albums, etc. OK, maybe just sexual acts and drinks. Since there are thousands of sites that have the former covere ... More >>

Where Are We Eating?

What you see below is a hot dog, believe it or not. At this restaurant, they've been experimenting with battering their Akaushi beef hot dogs in tempura, then frying them up to four times to achieve the perfect crunchy consistency. These monster dogs are served with housemade Dr Pepper ketchup and S ... More >>

A Cooler Coke: Waialua Soda Works Pineapple Natural Soda

Simplicity is a good idea. With simplicity comes focus; with focus comes deliciousness. At least that's the theory. It's certainly what lead me to pick up a bottle of Waialua Soda Works Pineapple Natural Soda the other day. I was milling around the deli area of the Midtown Spec's, trying to grab so ... More >>

Cafe Luz Offers More Than Just Coffee: Handmade Sodas and Fresh Food Head Downtown

Cafe Luz's giant lightbulb was painted by Borrego herself.​Downtown has a new coffee shop as of this morning at 6:30 a.m. That's when Frank Freeman opened the doors of Cafe Luz at 907 Franklin, his new venture with Lucrece Borrego and Jesus Acosta, who also own Kitchen Incubator. Cafe Luz is ... More >>

The Slurpees Are Back in Town

It's just an ICEE with a silly (okay, sillier) name!​Guess who just got back today? (I love Thin Lizzy; sue me.) Slurpees, that's who. While there hasn't been a 7-Eleven in the Houston city limits since the late '80s, fans of its famous Slurpee still exist. Although it's just a cleverly mar ... More >>

Comment of the Day

​Today Katharine Shilcutt wrote about Dr Pepper sort of suing itself - that is, parent company Dr Pepper Snapple suing the Dublin Dr Pepper plant for allegedly violating the terms of its franchise agreement. Which led commenter Stuart Reb Donald to present his theory about what's going on: ... More >>

Where Are We Drinking?

If you recognize this guarana-based soft drink from Primo Schincariol, it'll get you a very long way toward recognizing where we're drinking it (as well as getting a wee bit jittery). Look familiar? ​Leave your best guess in the comments section below.

Another Time

Rosenberg soda fountain offers nostalgia to diners.

Top Five Non-Alcoholic Beers

Lukas VermeerThere's non-alcoholic beer in here somewhere. ​The city's beer nerds are all excited for Houston Beer Week. But for some random reason, this brew celebration has just made me crave my favorite non-alcoholic "beers." Here are my Top Five: 5. Birch Beer. Earlier this year I blogged ... More >>

Cocktail Recipe: The Merlotte's Neckbiter

​This Sunday marks the Season Three finale of the smash HBO hit True Blood. Several people are hosting parties, and I've even heard rumors of bar screenings. Whether you'll be at home watching alone in the dark or sharing this occasion with friends, it is imperative to set the right tone. As ... More >>

Urban Food Legends - Part 2: Dew Shrinks Testes, Red Bull Tumors and KFC Mutants

Deez nutz. Mountain Dew shrinks 'em.​According to UrbanDictionary.com, an urban legend is "a frightening untrue story in which the storyteller insists is true, but has no evidence to back up." The tales below are three of the wildest, weirdest and most unfounded urban legends ever to hit the f ... More >>

Urban Food Legends - Part I: Deadly Pop Rocks, Undead Twinkies and Corrosive Coca-Cola

They didn't blow up Mikey and they won't kill you either.​It would be convenient to say that urban legends and myths can be traced back to some shred of a fact, but the disturbing truth is that some, especially the more entertaining rumors, appear to have no real logical foundation whatsoever ... More >>

The Anachronistic Chef: Egg Cream

jenniferrt66Junior's in Brooklyn still makes egg creams. ​This is one in a series of posts in which I sample recipes from the days of yore (i.e., not the 1990s). The dishes featured were mainstays of 19th-, 18th- and even 17th-century tables, but for one reason or another (unusual taste, archa ... More >>

A Cooler Coke: Colombiana La Nuestra

​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. There is a Facebook fan page for just about anything these days. That's how we as a collective managed to get Betty White to host an episode of SNL ... More >>

Top 5 Cheesiest Soft Drink Commercials

Coca-Cola Hilltop Commercial Thirty years ago, Coca-Cola imagined itself as the arbiter of world peace. Let's just buy the world a Coke and everything will be hunky-dory. Today, America is often despised as a "Coca-Cola" culture, and Coke itself is blamed for the skyrocketing rates of obesity and ... More >>

For Flu Season: The Top 5 Comfort Foods and Drinks

It's official: flu season is here and it's hit with a vengeance. Television news reports deliver frightening messages from the Director of Health and Human Services while we're forced to watch Matt Lauer get a flu shot on the Today Show, and our moms keep calling us to remind us to get plenty of res ... More >>

This Week In Deliciousness

Katharine Shilcutt ate all this chicken and did not save any for you.Welcome back to the weekly Eating Our Words round-up, where the food is well-prepared, plentiful and, more often than not, weird as all hell. To start with, Robb Walsh introduced us to the concept of a Wal-Mart supermercado, ... More >>

The New Q: Smoke-Braising

Photo by Robb WalshThere's no reason that you have to choose between braising and barbecuing. While working on a new backyard barbecue cookbook, I discovered that the two techniques can be combined with awesome results. Start off by smoking or grilling the meat. Next, prepare a braising liquid in th ... More >>

818 BAR & LOUNGE'S VODKA TONIC

The New NHL Uniforms Are Hot. Damn Hot.

$13 at Gabby’s Barbecue and Ribs

$13 at Gabby’s Barbecue and Ribs

What's in Your Favorite Singer's Backseat?

John Popper, Chingo Bling and John Mayer

The Mink

The Washington Apple

Re: The Curious Incident of the Frog Head in the Diet Coke

The Curious Incident of the Frog Head in the Diet Coke

THE COTTON EXCHANGE'S

STRAWBERRY TWIST

Image of the Week

Monkey Quincy and Billy Don Ivey

Malibu Punch

The Gallant Knight

Presbyterian

Leon's Lounge

Hot Plate

Ben & Jerry's

Call It What You Want

The Texas Beach Party is off the hook

Best Ice Cream Flavor

The Chocolate Bar's Creamy Dreamy Truffle

Game On

Young warriors gather for battles in cyberspace

Summer Love

The Continental Club's Summer's Sister

Hemingway's Favorite Libation

Bossa's Mojito

Best Reason to Join the Houston Zoo

Zoobilee

Holy Diver

Atomic Opera

A Band's Dissolve

Banana Blender Surprise calls it quits or do they?

Wings o' Desire