Soda | Mid-Michigan Dining

What Temperature is Your Drink?

16 07 2008

Remind me if I ever meet this guy to punch him in the nose.

His friends may call him a snob, and waitresses may give him odd looks, but David Turley isn’t about to drink a beer with chunks of ice floating in it.

But that’s what can happen at restaurants that insist on serving his favorite beverage in icy mugs. And so Turley has no qualms about insisting upon another, unfrosted, glass.

“I’m pretty passionate about it,” says Turley, a 50-year-old information technology worker from Fredericksburg, Va. “The first thing I look at in a restaurant is the beer menu. I consider it a food.”

No, you’re a douchebag and you shouldn’t be allowed to leave your house. Besides this example of douchery, the article has some interesting insights on what temperature your drinks should be served at. It reinforces why I don’t like dark beers. No beer should be served at 50 degrees. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: Beer, Douchebag, Food News, Pop, Soda, Tea, Water, Wine
Categories : Food News

Caruso’s Candy Kitchen

4 05 2008

1982 Grand River Ave
Suite 712
Okemos, MI 48864
(517) 347-0200
Website
Menu

Everyone loves chocolate and my family is no different. My parents were in town recently and we went to Meridian Mall to do a little shopping. On our way to Younkers, we went by a little candy shop where a choclatier was hand dipping chocolate in the window. My mom and girlfriend went in to see what the store was all about and not long after, I followed after seeing a soda fountain the back of the store.

The shop is pretty tiny. Like I said, there’s a place off to the right when you walk in where you can watch the employees hand dipping just about anything into chocolate. To the left, there’s a couple big display cases where they show off their hard work. To the back of the store, there’s an old timey soda fountain where they serve a full menu on sandwiches, soups, and salads.

This isn’t your normal chocolate shop. Instead of seeing a lot of fudge and homemade peanut butter cups, what you actually see is a lot of things dipped in chocolate. They do some of the traditional favorites. My mom got some peanut brittle along with chocolate covered cashews for my dad. My girlfriend got chocolate covered gummy bears or “muddy bears” as they’re called. I got a chocolate covered Twinkie. Everyone loved their selection….except me. I don’t know if it was a Twinkie knockoff, if it got stale, or if the chocolate changes the flavor, but it really wasn’t that good. The muddy bears were so good, I had to melt some chocolate when I got home and we made our own because what she got at the mall wasn’t enough.

I sorta wished I had gotten a soda, but maybe next time. That was the part of the store that I really gravitated towards. Just seeing a working soda fountain brought back a few memories. I’m not old enough to know of soda fountains in there time, but there were a few leftovers in the early mid-80’s when I was growing. I have memories of going grocery shopping then going to the drugstore for a soda. Not sure why I passed up this opportunity, but I’m looking forward to going back again. Caruso’s has been in business since 1922 in their oringal location in Dowagiac, MI. They’ve opened this second store in Okemos, but have brought along the 70+years of experience.