Scottsdale, Arizona … it’s kind of a misunderstood place. It gets a bad rap as a refuge for generic malls, Botox and silicon-enhanced residents, golf courses, $30,000-a-year faux-millionaires and rampant snobbery.
But there is coolness in its borders, especially toward the southern edge of this long, skinny city. If you wind up near McDowell Road, pull off the 101 Freeway and find Pop the Soda Shop. It’s been close to eight years since I found this little gem at its old location next to a “gentlemens club.” I’m still going to its new location to tap into the huge selection of bottled non-alcoholic beverages. I generally go for the exotics, those weird, hard-to-find colas and ginger/root/birch beers that I’ve never seen anywhere else.
Other people come for nostalgia along with their sugar fix: Sometimes, I see people -presumably Midwesterners- hauling pallets of brightly colored Faygo sodas out to their cars. Others go for the real-sugar tang of Coca-Cola products made south of the border.
I’ll tell you what brings me to Pop the Soda Shop: Sprecher, Mystic Seaport, Journey and Gales. I love ‘em all, even thought they sometimes frustrate me when they’re not available … especially Mystic Seaport. It’s actually been awhile since I’ve seen that, but I always have the memories. The MS cola, lemon cream and birch beer are all not to be missed.
If you’re lucky, Pop will also have Music when you visit. This is a brand of water that is worth mentioning. I know, I know … [...]
