The Soda Fountain

Josh and I were running errands today and amidst driving all over town to complete the tasks, we got hungry and went to one of our favorite places: Pei Wei. It is an Asian diner with an American attitude and great food like P.F. Changs (P.F. Changs owns Pei Wei). I always get the same thing, shrimp fried rice. Josh is the one who lives dangerously varying his meal choices every chance he gets. Who knows, it could be the honey chicken or it could be beef short ribs. I am telling you, he pushes the limits.

Until I moved to Los Angeles, sushi was the only Asian food I liked. The smells use to turn me off and the taste was even worse. Living in Los Angeles will definitely force you to expand your food horizons, even if it is just to Asian and Mexican food. I know I mixing countries and continents, but that is just how it is. Mexican food is pretty much the extent of any Spanish, Latin American, Central American, South American, or Caribbean food in LA. They are LA staples. Today the chef is Jose Yi and our server will be Bing Ramirez. Yes, I would like fried rice with my enchiladas and for dessert I think I'll have the fortune flan. You all get the point. So now I like more Asian food than I'd ever imagined.

At Pei Wei, you walk up to the counter after looking at the big menu on the wall, just like deli's, and order. They give you a number, you pay, and take your seats. On the way to the dining room, you pass the soda fountains where there is a pretty great selection of tasty beverages. I like to mix the Mandarin Orange Iced Tea with Lemonade. Oh so refreshing! Josh, just like the food, he lives dangerously. Every time we go, he gets something different. Today he made me laugh because it brought back one of those childhood memories I'd forgotten I'd had. He mixed Orange Soda and Mr. Pibb. Needless to say, I did not taste it. It reminded me of a time when I was really little and my family and I lived on Dellwood Avenue. My mother would pick me up from the daycare (I was cool, I went to Gerber. I am an OGB-original Gerber baby!!) and we would drive up the block to the 7 Eleven. It was catercorner from my aunts apartment and just a few blocks away from our house and next door to the lundr0-mat we used. I knew if we went there, I was probably getting Combos and maybe if I wasn't rotten, I could get a Slurpee or soda too. My brother however, always got soda. I remember he use to get the largest cup at the soda fountain and mix them all. It was a great trick to teach me! I've always needed a little boost in the energy department, especially at that age. I remember there were all these different types of soda like Coke, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Sprite, Mr. Pibb, Mountain Dew, Orange Soda, etc. To little kid, the choices seemed unending.

I can't remember the last time I've thought about our regular 7 Eleven trips, but Josh mixing the Orange Soda and Mr. Pibb sent that memory rushing back like the waves.