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Tacticslion the odd flavors might be an improper setting for the mixtures on the machines themselves. I have seen this happen with other fountain drinks that came from improperly adjusted machines. You might just be dealing with a bad technician rather than bad machines.
I haven't tried a freestyle machine yet, and the closest one I know about is in Cedar Point amusement park. So it may be some time yet before I get to try it myself.
First few times I chalked it up to technical issues or improper care. At this point, ive been to enough places that the product is just fishy itself. I dont like my soda to be fishy.
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My favorite soda has to be Moxie.So... just make it Moxie for mine!
(And, yes, I know that you have never heard of it unless you've lived in New England or are over 80 years of age.)
Or have read "Bored of the Rings," and had the jokes explained to you.
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Why doesn't anyone ever live in Madison, Wi.
its a pretty big town:-)
I lived there for around twenty years, and would still be there if I hadn't decided to go back to grad school in a field where there were too few local jobs. I still get back there to visit friends (and sometimes to game with the local OSR group, but I haven't done that lately).
Speaking of Wisconsin, though, I have to put in a plug for Black Bear sodas, made in Oak Creek (just south of Milwaukee). They have a whole lot of different flavors, and I haven't had a bad one yet. Sprecher's, in Milwaukee, makes some pretty good sodas, not just their root beer.
Tacticslion the odd flavors might be an improper setting for the mixtures on the machines themselves. I have seen this happen with other fountain drinks that came from improperly adjusted machines. You might just be dealing with a bad technician rather than bad machines.
I haven't tried a freestyle machine yet, and the closest one I know about is in Cedar Point amusement park. So it may be some time yet before I get to try it myself.
First few times I chalked it up to technical issues or improper care. At this point, ive been to enough places that the product is just fishy itself. I dont like my soda to be fishy.
Yeah, that's where I'm at, too.
It may be due to the technician, but if so, it's all of them, and consistently. Unless, somehow, there's only this one bitter, angry guy (or something) that services all the machines in the same, wrong way, somehow. That'd be pretty funny and disturbing at the same time.
Regardless, all I know is that Five Guys, Moe's, that salad place with a three-letter-name I can never recall, and that other place I go to sometimes, as well as the one (or two?) I've tried across the state in DeLand* have a very consistent, very incorrect flavor for everything that I get from it (except for the Peach soda at the local Moe's, but then again, that doesn't have any alternate flavor options at all - it's just the "normal" Peach soda... which you can taste the difference between that an the others).
* One is at the Moe's, and another that I want to say exists is at Ground Chuck's, but I'm not positive, it's been a while, and I'm sleep deprived. Similarly, I want to say there was at least one place on Cocoa Beach that suffered the same travesty, but I've been enough places this summer that I'm no longer sure enough in my mind to speak authoritatively. Oh, yeah, and that one place in Orlando we stopped at that one time**.
** My memory is so stellar right now, you guys. So. Stellar.
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So as to not miss out on the chance to weigh in...
I have experienced the Freestyle machines at several locations - predominantly Wendy's in Dallas and Grapevine, Firehouse Subs in Plano and Grapevine, and a few other places I can't recall off the top of my head.
The ones in the Plano Firehouse Subs and the Dallas Wendy's were terrible. The ones in Grapevine didn't have the all-mix effect per core product. Why this is, I have no idea, but the Firehouse Subs in particular was notable because I went from Cherry Coke to a DIY Mezzo Mix (Orange + Coke) to a Grape Sprite and there was no flavor bleed in the Grapevine location...and they had a better Cherry Limeade mix to boot.
YMMV, clearly, even by site.
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The ones here in SE Ark vary as well Burger King tends to have a lingering diet taste Wendy's seems to be clear and just what I pressed.
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So... it sounds like people are just really poorly trained on how to put the freestyle machines together?
That's very interesting. Just making sure: did the coke have any non-cherry flavors available? Were the ones that were clear the "only" ones on their "tab", or were there other flavors there too?
(Because my taste experience is that when you're on a tab with only one "option" that is the option you get, but when you have several options...)
Still... really interesting. Hm...
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Why doesn't anyone ever live in Madison, Wi.
its a pretty big town:-)
I live near Madison.
My favorites are ginger beer, cherry Dr. Pepper, and Sprecher Puma Kola.
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Stewart's Orange and Cream.
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Stewart's Orange and Cream.
Okay, yeah. Hm. I might need to go back to Crackerbarrel soon... no reason...
Why doesn't anyone ever live in Madison, Wi.
its a pretty big town:-)
I live near Madison.
My favorites are ginger beer, cherry Dr. Pepper, and Sprecher Puma Kola.
Sprecher makes some great stuff all around, i recommend their Hard Root Beer if you can find it, they have it at Knoches Market in Madison, (on Old Middleton road for those familiar with madison) man thats some good stuff, i was actually turned onto it by James Jacobs himself (well maybe not the brand, but actual Hard Root Beer:-D)
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Ooh! Ooh! And Nehi Peach and Nehi Grape!
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Sprecher makes some great stuff all around, i recommend their Hard Root Beer if you can find it, they have it at Knoches Market in Madison, (on Old Middleton road for those familiar with madison) man thats some good stuff, i was actually turned onto it by James Jacobs himself (well maybe not the brand, but actual Hard Root Beer:-D)Why doesn't anyone ever live in Madison, Wi.
its a pretty big town:-)
I live near Madison.
My favorites are ginger beer, cherry Dr. Pepper, and Sprecher Puma Kola.
Thanks for the tip. I turn 21 in a couple months, so I'll definitely put it on my list of things to try.
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Thanks for the tip. I turn 21 in a couple months, so I'll definitely put it on my list of things to try.Sprecher makes some great stuff all around, i recommend their Hard Root Beer if you can find it, they have it at Knoches Market in Madison, (on Old Middleton road for those familiar with madison) man thats some good stuff, i was actually turned onto it by James Jacobs himself (well maybe not the brand, but actual Hard Root Beer:-D)Why doesn't anyone ever live in Madison, Wi.
its a pretty big town:-)
I live near Madison.
My favorites are ginger beer, cherry Dr. Pepper, and Sprecher Puma Kola.
Even Sprecher non-alcoholic offerings are great. You can occasionally find them around the twin cities. Its a Wisconsin company I believe.
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Yes on all of that, their Cream Soda is especially delicious with a burger and fries :-)
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Their strawberry soda is great when it's available. They also make my favorite ginger ale.
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Please deliver onto me this Sprecher of which you speak.
If I'm in need of sugar and caffeine very suddenly, Dr Pepper. For 'fun' (and when tea or beer won't do), those Jamaican malt drinks that tastes like Guinness without the alcohol, or Kvass
I always thought that kvass was made out of fermented mare's milk, but it doesn't look like it is.
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Kvass (spelled kwas in Polish) literally means "acid". I tried it but didn't like it.
And I haven't seen it in shops until very recently (last year or the year before). I wasn't looking though, so it might have been stashed somewhere to the side.
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Stewart's Orange and Cream.
Okay, yeah. Hm. I might need to go back to Crackerbarrel soon... no reason...
Man, that was awesome.
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I went to Cracker Barrel, once.
Won't be doing that again :-)
Remind me to tell you about the Atlanta Metro Cracker Barrel Crawl.
That... sounds totally awesome.
Feel free to post it here if you'd rather that than this thread... or in this thread!
(Also: "Hey, a reminder: tell me about the 'Atlanta Metro Cracker Barrel Crawl'!")
I went to Cracker Barrel, once.
Won't be doing that again :-)
... ?
EDIT: So... you're a Bob Evans fan, or...?
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The thing is, restaurants like Cracker Barrel lose their charm when you spend as much time as I have in a barn.
I'm sure It's decent and all but I have strict policies about eating in barns or places that look like barns, I honestly don't remember anything else about the place :-)
The thing is, restaurants like Cracker Barrel lose their charm when you spend as much time as I have in a barn.
I'm sure It's decent and all but I have strict policies about eating in barns or places that look like barns, I honestly don't remember anything else about the place :-)
Hahah! Got it.
In that case, I recommend Bob Evans. It's like Cracker Barrel, except the decor is... different. Modern. "Clean".
(For the Record: This is not to imply that Cracker Barrel is not, in fact, clean - it invariably is quite well maintained whenever we go - but rather, the decor and style of the place is "rough" and "rustic" in appearance, whereas Bob Evans' is "modern" and "sleek"... it's just painted with scenes of the country side, with bright colors and large windows. It's a difference in presentation - both are excellent places, and, though similar in some regards, actually do have different foods and styles. That said: daggum, if I don't love me some Cracker Barrel rainbow trout+mac-n-cheese+egg [over-medium] all chopped up. Breakfast (or lunch, or dinner) is daggum severed, y'all. YUUUUUUUUUUUUUS. ... I may be kind-of-sort-of addicted/unable to order anything else when we go. I have no one particular dish like that at Bob Evans, but that's generally because I run out of willpower and order something that looks (and is!) delicious somewhere about half-way through reading the menu.)
I have never eaten at a Cracker Barrel. My mother warned me not to and I followed her advice. She says the food is horrible.
All the cracker barrels in the twin cities metro closed up. You have to drive like an hour into the deep suburbs to find one. The vibe has always been senior citizen buffet or hospital cafeteria. Maybe I'm wrong?
... it depends*.
The short answer is "you're incorrect" as a "take everything in" kind of deal, but the longer and more accurate answer is "there are local vagaries of "Cracker Barrel culture"** mean that you are almost certainly correct locally - or, at least, "locally" when you got your impression.
I myself have been to plenty of places that Cracker Barrel is considered older-people-food.
That said, 'round here, it is not, and I've been to many places where it is otherwise.
(Also, the "buffet" and "cafeteria" vibes are wrong - a CB is neither - but they're so often associated with older folks, I'm not surprised they come up. Also, also, Shands has, perhaps, the most amazing "cafeteria" a hospital could ever hope to have. And our local one is pretty solid, too, as I learned when we were at the local one and then transferred to Shands for our Preemie last year. Weird, I know.)
* HAH! It... it's a pun. Sorry.
** And, yes, that does actually exist, though I don't know if anyone has ever used that term before now. That said, such a phenomena is not unique to Cracker Barrel. Cultures and attitudes exist locally that sway how Shoney's, McDonald's, Denny's, IHOP, Burger King, and so on. Effectively, if there is a chain, a local culture can crop up that varies from the broader cultural appeal. (There may be a better word than "culture", and I'm willing to take suggestions, but that's all I've got right now.)
I have never eaten at a Cracker Barrel. My mother warned me not to and I followed her advice. She says the food is horrible.
I am curious as to how that opinion of hers was formed.
If it was a one-time experience, than, as completely understandable as such a view would be (why go back to a place that sucked?) I am dubious of the accuracy.
If, on the other hand, it's all from a single local place, then I'd be minorly surprised, sure, but I guess every chain has to have (at the very least) one lousy location or group of them. (Congratulations! You found it! ... sorry.)
A final possibility (from my own limited understanding of such things) is that she just doesn't like the food - nothing wrong with that, but it is definitely not "horrible" by any stretch, under that paradigm, though I can easily understand her describing it as such (as it is so from her view, hence the term's use). This last is the thorniest one, because it becomes a matter of deeply subjective opinion (as if food wasn't already), and it becomes entirely impossible to say whether your food tastes and hers align, if so how much, and to what extent differing locales (or simply different food orders) would change this opinion.
In any event, suffice it to say, I disagree with her assessment... but then again, that's probably obvious, and, as I wasn't present when her assessment was formed, I've no frame of reference to judge how she made said assessment and how to respond directly. Hence the loads of text to brainstorm possibilities.
Also, man they've got some great sodas at Arby's nowadays. Dangit.
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Cracker Barrel.......mmmmmmmm......Yep its biscuits and gravy for supper tonight.
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I make the best Buttermilk Chess Pie ever:-)
Alas my decade plus in professional kitchens has completely ruined me for chain sit down restaurants, not because I think they're gross or anything like that, I just know I'm a better cook, also I know what they pay for ingredients (it's not much) so I always feel ripped off paying 7 bucks for a burger:-)
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I make the best Buttermilk Chess Pie ever:-)
Alas my decade plus in professional kitchens has completely ruined me for chain sit down restaurants, not because I think they're gross or anything like that, I just know I'm a better cook, also I know what they pay for ingredients (it's not much) so I always feel ripped off paying 7 bucks for a burger:-)
While my decade-plus of being in the kitchen has ruined me for stay-at-home meals...
;P
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I have never eaten at a Cracker Barrel. My mother warned me not to and I followed her advice. She says the food is horrible.
we used to to to cracker barrel all the time for conventions. The food was good.
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I make the best Buttermilk Chess Pie ever:-)
Alas my decade plus in professional kitchens has completely ruined me for chain sit down restaurants, not because I think they're gross or anything like that, I just know I'm a better cook, also I know what they pay for ingredients (it's not much) so I always feel ripped off paying 7 bucks for a burger:-)
While nothing seriously professional I worked the kitchen at our local country club for about 4 years before I moved, and I know the feeling. i would much rather make a burger at home any day of the week.
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When you're spending an hour or so to drive in to the post office to sort and run mail, few things are better than stopping on the way at the 24/7 burger place for a freshly-made double-cheeseburger at 5AM. Nothing fancy, but oh so satisfying.
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Until recently, I was a Dr. Pepper/Mr. Pibb guy. RC Cola if I couldn't get that. I'd drink just about everything though. I liked the red, green, and blue Mountain Dews, and the aqua and maroon ones you could originally only get at Taco Bell. (They're available elsewhere now for people who avoid the place like the plague.)
Nowadays, thanks to doctor's orders last year to severely cut down the caffeine, my soda choices are pretty much limited to the occasional Sprite, Sierra Mist, or Ginger Ale. The last being my favorite of the bunch. Also cream soda and caffeine-free root beer, but far more rarely.
Also I love those touch-screen dispenser things. There's a Fazoli's near where I live that has one. So many flavors of things I never even knew existed and I love trying all the combinations. Even now with my low-to-no-caffeine diet, I still have lots of options. I typically get a mix of Cherry and Lime Ginger Ale most days, but there's the occasional trying something new.
Most of the time though my casual drink of choice is either some kind of caff-free tea or Hawaiian Punch, though.
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I have never eaten at a Cracker Barrel. My mother warned me not to and I followed her advice. She says the food is horrible.we used to to to cracker barrel all the time for conventions. The food was good.
+1. Love Cracker Barrel. Been there countless times and can count the times I was disappointed in something on one hand.
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+1. Love Cracker Barrel. Been there countless times and can count the times I was disappointed in something on one hand.I have never eaten at a Cracker Barrel. My mother warned me not to and I followed her advice. She says the food is horrible.we used to to to cracker barrel all the time for conventions. The food was good.
I have always despised CB with a passion, never had anything decent there.
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** spoiler omitted **...
Well... knowing my mom she doesn't black list a place till they have repeatedly presented bad food or service. So this opinion was probably formed by getting bad food back to back at local CBs. And once a place makes it on that list it stays there... which makes taking her out to eat challenging.
And in her defense the few times I have ignored her advice on a place I was sadly disappointed, though as I say CB isn't a place I tried.
Ginger Ale. The last being my favorite of the bunch.
Aw, yeah! Pretty solid choice, there!
There's a Fazoli's near where I live
So. Jealous. Of. You. Now. >:(
... FA-ZO-LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'SSSSSZZZZZ~! WHY HAST THOU ABANDOOOONNNNED MEEEEEEE~EEEEEE~!*
* ()
** spoiler omitted **...Well... knowing my mom she doesn't black list a place till they have repeatedly presented bad food or service. So this opinion was probably formed by getting bad food back to back at local CBs. And once a place makes it on that list it stays there... which makes taking her out to eat challenging.
And in her defense the few times I have ignored her advice on a place I was sadly disappointed, though as I say CB isn't a place I tried.
That works! I just gave what I could come up with based exclusively off my own experience. It's interesting how folk's're different. :)
Yeah Fazolis is the last place you wanna go up Here, it's a train wreck.
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The ones I went to out in Arizona were pretty meh, but the one by my apartment complex here in Georgia is awesome. I make a point of going there every Sunday.
Yeah Fazolis is the last place you wanna go up Here, it's a train wreck.
Sadder words... :(
The ones I went to out in Arizona were pretty meh, but the one by my apartment complex here in Georgia is awesome. I make a point of going there every Sunday.
It's funny - I've never had a poor Fazoli's experience, anywhere from Florida, to North- or South Carolina, Tennessee, or Georgia. Obviously, I've not been to all of them within those states, but my experience has been so consistently good that it's hard to imagine it being otherwise (though, again, clearly that's the case). I suppose it's similar to CB.
but I always go just for the unlimited breadsticks mmmmmmmmm...
YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS...
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