A-Z Munchin' Monday - The Final Post?

So we made it up to Z, and I scanned the food options for this final letter and came up with, well, pretty much zilch. I like zucchini bread, had some good ziti not long ago, and am no fan of zweiback, however you spell it. But none of these really rang my bell.

So I will use this final foodie post to note how happy I am with the Coca Cola company since they came up with Coke Zero. It is, in my view, a decent facsimile for the venerable old Coca Cola (as opposed to the failed "New Coke"). I have a couple twelve packs of it around here now.

Yes, I am one of those hypocrites who throws caution to the wind when eating - grabbing a burger and fries at least once in a while if at a fast food place - but I will ask for a Diet Coke, as if the lack of calories in that drink will somehow rub out the damage done by the Quarter Pounder with Cheese, large tub o'fries in lard, or what have you.

There was a time when high-test Coke was the pause that refreshed my buddies and me. In fact, one or two of them were serious coke-a-holics. We used to buy those eight packs of returnable bottles and would check the bottom of each bottle after ingesting the 16 ounces, reading out the name of the bottling city. I think we even kept track, being wowed by some of the more exotic or uncommon locales.

Then there was a guy named "Big Ralph" who, after downing a few Cokes, could belch out a "double Rumplestiltskin". We were in awe.

I led a pretty sheltered childhood, unlike many families of today where the coke, pepsi, dew, crush, or whatever is readily available. Our parents did not have pop (midwestern) or soda (eastern) or soft drinks (also east coast) around much. They would host a bridge club maybe twice a year, and then there might be some soda water around (yuck), and also some 7-Up. Other than that, it was a big deal to walk up to Gino's with the neighborhood kids and plunk down fifteen cents for an orange drink (my fave at the time).

Do you remember those promotions where, for example, Coca Cola printed all fifty states on the inside of their bottle caps, and if you collected all fifty, you could redeem them for prizes? I remember collecting them, but I kept the collection. We'd walk down to Linde's Sunoco and get the guy there to open his Coke machine and give us all the bottle caps from people using the bottle opener on the machine. Man, I sound like I am narrating some ancient history here!

I came to really like root beer, and still do enjoy one from time to time. Sometimes there is nothing better than a root beer float. Am I right?

In a restaurant that provides self-serve drinks, my latest trick is to pour about 5/6 of a glass of the diet cola of choice, and then top it off with root beer. It tastes quite a bit like the root beer.

I am glad that I never became a huge Mountain Dew fan. I know several who are. I have a feeling that stuff does nasty things to your innards, not to mention your teeth.

I know there is this whole Pepsi vs. Coke thing that has divided our nation for decades. And yes, I come down on the Coke side, although I never sigh audibly like some do when they ask for a Coke, hear that the place only serves Pepsi produces, and find that totally unacceptable. Pepsi is ok in my book; I just like Coke better - less sweet or something.

That's about all I can share regarding the world of soft drinks. I can take them or leave them pretty much, and I often prefer a raspberry iced tea, but I do like the occasional cold glass of Zero.

A big round of applause for Jen, who got this whole A-Z food thing going. I hope she's scheming up another one of these A-Z thingies, because they are pretty fun. And thanks to all who participated, whether from the very beginning or later on.