A Code Red at Wendy's
When I clicked on to the site this morning the first thing I noticed was the McDonald banner. This reminds me of something that happened last night. After work I stopped at Wendy's, not McDonalds, to get a quick bite to eat off of their 99 cent menu. The reason I go Wendys and not McDonalds, (both are right beside each other) is not the food selection but the soft drink selection. You see historically Wendy's serves Pepsi products while McDonalds carry Coke. I pulled up to the window and ordered a small chilli and a Mac jr.cheese delux, whopper burger or whatever they call the thing. I followed the order up by saying "oh and give me a medium Pepsi with that also". When the guy read my order back he called my Pepsi a Coke. I figured that was cool because some people don't know better and think of all colas as being the same;--a Coke is a Coke is a Coke (of course, of course). It is like Jello, some don't get the fact that Jello is a brand name. Anyway after giving me the total, I noticed on the menu board the name Coke and not Pepsi. At this point I began to panic and I yelled for the guy to come back to the speaker. When he returned he confirmed my worst fears. WENDY'S HAS SOLD OUT. They have prostituted themselves by going over to the other side for a mere few pennies more. I felt so lost and hopeless. I felt like the Taliban, with Coke being the US. This cola was has been lost because the last stong hold has been taken over. Where would I be able to get a burger and a Pepsi? I know I always have the option of cooking my own burger at home and buying a Pepsi at the market, but sometimes I get really tired of house burgers. Sometimes I want my Pepsi diluted a bit, tempered with crushed ice and injected with extra carbon and air. You just don't get this with the Pepsi from the Piggly Wiggley. Some may ask, why such a fuss over it? They both taste the same. This is when I have to break it down and explain the differences. If you don't believe me get the two and compare. First off Pepsi is sweeter than Coke. Pepsi tends to use more sugar in all their products. Mountain Dew is much sweeter than Mellow Yellow. Coke's Sprite tends not to be very sweet and has a tendency to go flat real quick after you open the bottle. Colas are blended in a way that you should not be able to taste the individual flavors involved, and no one does this better than Coke. Pepsi is a little less perfect and I feel that this imperfection makes it much more superior. You see in Pepsi you can actually taste the orange, ginger and lemon, but only if you pay close attention. I consider Pepsi's (Mountain Dew) Code Red the first perfect cherry soda blend. When I first taste it I said "finally somebody figured out how to use cherry in soft drinks. The funny thing about it is that you really don't taste the cherry unless you are looking for it. Dite Pepsi runs rings around diet Coke. You see dite colas are pretty bad tasting to begin with so Pepsi added an extra shot of lemon to give more body. Dr. Pepper vs Mr. Pibb. Dr. Pepper is the grand daddy of this type of drink form. They taste very much alike except in the old Pepsi fashion Dr. Pepper is sweeter. For this reason I have to give the nod to Mr. Pibb. It seems in this soda form slightly less sugar is better. Have you also noticed that apparently this form of soft drive must be pretty easy for other to duplicate. Unlike cola, it seems that every store brand does a good job of replicating this "pepper" incarnation. Coke does it's best job with it's Grape Minute Made soda. Not the orange, not the fruit Punch, but the Grape. If you have not tried it do so. It is much better than Welches grape. Most orange sodas are too flat or in Sun kiss's case too much citric acid in the mix.
It took all of this to ask a simple question, What do you perfer, Coke or Pepsi?
I'd have to go with pepsi on this. It's all a matter of personal preference, and I will drink Coke when I have to (which is quite often since most fast-food joints offer Coke products), but to me, Pepsi just tastes better. As Capler said, it's sweeter and that amounts to a better soft drink. Other faves include Wild Cherry Pepsi, Mountain Dew and its new Code Red (that is just too good), and for a caffeine-free treat, I like Vernor's. For some reason, every time I pour a glass of this "barrel-aged" beverage, I end up choking on my first sip. Now that is good stuff!
ray p.
I prefer Pepsi over Coke, BIG TIME. I can't stand Sprite, but I like 7-Up.
Mountain Dew is not my cup of tea. My kids like it and most of their friends like it and Code Red by MD.
I don't notice much difference between Mr. Pibb and Dr. Pepper. Must be me, but they are very similar - IMHO.
Joe
Personally, I'd rather drink monkey urine than drink Pepsi. That's based on assumptions, not personal experience, btw.
I once walked out of a small joint after the waitress informed me they only had Pepsi, Diet Pepsi and whatever their Sprite/7-Up spiel is.
However, I love Mountain Dew, Code Red, and Wild Cherry Pepsi. If they could just fix their colas.
- Coaster 3:16
hastd
at 10/18/01 1:35:24 PM
Wendy's has always served Coke in California. I am sorry to burst your bubble, but Pepsi stinks!
Eric
I like "clear" colas like 7-up and Sprite. I like Sprite a little bit more than 7-up, so I kinda go for the Coke side because they make Sprite. I don't like the new Sierra Mist or whatever by Pepsi. It's their new clear cola thing that they change every five years. At first they had Crystal Pepsi, and that was stupid, then Slice, and now this crap. I like Sprite a lot more than the other stuff. I do not like Coke or Pepsi at all. If I had to choose, I'd say Pepsi because it doesn't make my teeth squeek. Weird, huh? Coke makes my teeth squeek and it bubbles in my nose. Maybe it's just too carbonated, unlike Sprite, which isn't extremely bubbly.
I prefer RC Cola. One of the best things about the Michigan's Adventure was they actually had RC Cola on fountain, where it is best!
1. RC
2. Pepsi
3. Generic knock off colas
4. Coke
The best Coke that I ever had was at the old Monorail Cafe at Disneyland. They had the perfect syrup to fizzwater mix. If it was all like that I would be a Coke drinker. It really was as good as Pepsi.
at 10/20/01 7:41:23 PM
More than likely they had the syrup portion incorrectly set which gave it a slightly sweetier taste than normal. That on ocassion happens and you get a great tasting Coke. If it is set to low you will now it and hate it. So generally it is set to dispense too much.
The best coke IMO is anywhere outside of the United States where they still use sugar instead of corn syrup to make it. It is a sweetier taste and reminds me of hte original Coke, not the Coca-Cola classic that is a slightly modified version of the original. Most are unaware of this, but if you meet a Coke fanatic they will tell you this. You can also read the ingredients which give it away.
Eric
at 10/20/01 7:42:58 PM
> Personally, I'd rather drink monkey urine than drink
> Pepsi. That's based on assumptions, not personal
> experience, btw.
I guess I know what to get you a six pack of for Christmas this year. Monkey Urine "-)
Eric
I prefer Coke myself.
Funny---at the now-closed World of Coca Cola in Las Vegas, I asked them about this and was told that the Coke Classic we now drink is the same as the original.
I thought that was strange, given the fact that the packaging lists "corn syrup" vs. "sugar" that the pre-1985 packaging did.
Whatever, although I prefer Coke to Pepsi, I will drink a Pepsi occasionally just for a change of pace.
And, by the way, though most major fast food chains serve Coke these days, you can still find Pepsi at KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and many mom-and-pop burger stands, which, in my opinion, often serve better burgers than the biggies.
Eric
at 11/5/01 12:42:07 AM
I did not know that the World of Coca-Cola closed in Las Vegas. That is kind of disappointing. When did that happen?
As for classic versus "old" Coke I have known for years that the Coca-Cola Classic formula is not the original formula as Coke claims. You just have to venture up to Canada or south to Mexico to taste the original formula and the best tasting version in my opinion. Why they changed it in the US is a mystery to me.
Eric
