Speaking of TX and drinks... I moved here and became a beer drinker. Shiner, Lone Star ("The National Beer of Texas"... that always cracks me up), St. Arnold's, Karbach, No Label, etc.

I love my Sam Adams, but for the most part, I drink Texas beers now :)

I can't tell the difference. Wish I could, but I can't.
But back when Coke became "New Coke," I chanced upon an "old" Coke at a gas station, and there was a HUGE difference.

Ugh. Gross. New coke.

While we're talking about beverages with regional appeal, let's not forget Sundrop and Cheerwine.

A Sundrop would taste good right now.

There's a store near me that sells Sundrop, Cheerwine, and other rare carbonated beverages.

I would love to visit Tucson, because my little brother is going to Arizona in the fall and I really want to see the campus! Maybe I can beg my parents to let me go to freshman orientation with him.

I actually envy y'all (yes, I said y'all because it is is a fantastic word and I can pronounce it properly) for having all this donut variety! There is a local coffee place near the high school in town that has delicious pastries and bagels but not donuts. Part of the disadvantage to the DD brand monopoly is that there is no choice in donuts. First world problems, I know.

The No Label Brewery is a stone's throw away from my home.

http://nolabelbrew.com/

Alas, I don't like beer!

I woke up this morning with a hankering for pimento cheese and hummingbird cake (not necessarily together).

I blame this thread.

And neither hankering has been met yet. :(

Come to Houston, MC!

Pimento cheese - Zoe's Kitchen
Hummingbird cake - Empire Bakery

For MysticCat:
 

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...PVdQ9viIhIWBaw



https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...CqPVysrMgI3T9w


(I wasn't sure how you wanted the pimento cheese!)

Thumbs up for cane or beet sugar coke. For those of you who don't know the difference, coke with sugar kinds of burns while it goes down your throat. Ahhhhhh. HF corn syrup coke doesn't, and has a slightly mellower, syrupyer (duh) taste.

I also prefer cans to plastic bottles and fountain. (I so rarely get glass bottles anymore that I can't really include them.) Fizz factor is important, by golly. My husband just looks at me and squints on this. Knows better than to roll his eyes, ha. Although foaminess/head/whatever is important to beer drinkers, so why not to sodas/pops?

if only Houston were a little closer.

Actually, I can make my own of both if I had the time. But I have a number of sources for good pimento cheese, and the weekend ins't over yet.

Is there a bad way to have pimento cheese?

How about pimento cheese fritters?

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5100/...b60b371278.jpg

Actually, maybe macaroni and cheese with pimento cheese is a possibility tonight. Hmmmm.

And that cake is beautiful -- maybe too pretty to cut! But where are the nuts? I've got to have nuts on hummingbird cake.

Now I have 2 new places I need to go to :)

Yes! Cans are the best. I completely understand.

I also prefer cans to plastic, but I like fountains (assuming they're blended right and working properly) better than cans.

FWIW, the formula for Coke, and I'm assuming for most other soft drinks, is different for cans and personal-sized bottles compared to the formula for fountains and larger bottles, like the 2-liter ones. That's because they assume that people will drink directly from cans and small bottles, but that they'll use ice for fountains and larger bottles. So the Coke from fountains and larger bottles is slightly stronger to allow for dilution from the ice.