We've gone far beyond Coke vs. Pepsi around here. My Food for Thought co-conspirator Nancy "Ms. Fizz" Leson has a real jones (no pun intended) for Rachel's Ginger Beer. Just hearing her talk about it makes me want some, too. Even though my favorite soda flavor is...
Celery. Yeah, that's right—celery. I grew up on two carbonated beverages. Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray Tonic and plain old straight-up seltzer, aka in old-school New Yorkese, "2 cents plain."
Talk about inflation! Sirk, Food for Thought's East Coast correspondent, reports that 2 cents plain costs 75 cents at Chutzpah, a Fairfax, Virginia deli. But they'll give it to you free if you can tell them what it is. And now you can.
Dick's Home Made Cel-Ray 1. Add 2 tablespoons celery seeds to 1 cup boiling water. Take off heat and steep for 30 minutes. 2. Pour through a fine strainer to remove seeds. Return "tea" to pot. 3. Mix in 2 cups sugar. Stir till dissolved and cook down into a syrup. Let cool. 4. Mix syrup with seltzer to taste. Note: The first time I made this I thought a touch of vanilla would be a good addition. It wasn't.
"Excelsior you fat-head!/Seltzer bottle."
– Jean Shepherd fan recognition password and countersign
