#11 – P & H SODAS at BROOKLYN FARMACY & SODA FOUNTAIN

Once again Time Out New York released their Top 100 Dishes of the year and once again, I’m going to eat my way through every one. And no price point or subway delay will stop me. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100.

I haven’t been a fan of sodas since I was a very little kid when I’d go crazy at the DIY soda fountains by combining every conceivable soda option together into one drink. You’d be surprised at how well Dr. Pepper, Fanta, and Mountain Dew mix. Especially to a ten year-old. A very hyper ten year-old.

Maybe it was those crazy experiments that eventually turned me off to the overly sugary processed beverages. I seriously have a sip of Coke maybe once a year now. When I’m trying to relive my younger days.

But that’s all starting to change with the artisanal sodas that are coming out of Brooklyn of late. I don’t think they ever fully reached the popularity of cupcakes or fried chicken in this city, but last year brought quite a few gourmet soda makers to the table. But where P & H differs from Brooklyn Soda Works and the local restaurants concocting their own bubblys, is that they’re making fresh soda syrups. So really all you need to do is add some sparkling water, mix and voilà – your own artisan soda.

If you don’t feel like doing it yourself, you could also come to Brooklyn Farmacy (as Time Out has suggested) to taste the P & H Sodas in action.

The family-friendly neighborhood of Carroll Gardens lucked out when Peter Freeman gutted and renovated an abandoned pharmacy and opened up Brooklyn Farmacy, a throw back to old soda fountains. They offer egg creams, malteds, ice cream sundaes, and speciality sodas, made from P & H’s syrups. I’ve been here once before and really love this place. The soda jerks are far from it and you feel like a kid again in the 1950’s, even if you’re too young to remember it. It’s a wonderful addition to a really cute neighborhood.

So I was excited to return for the flavored sodas. Time Out suggested seasonal options and specifically mentioned concord grape, lime, and ginger. I was a little bummed to learn the season had ended for the concord grape and so we were left to choose between cream, coffee, lime, ginger, and hibiscus. Since I’m a sucker for coffee flavored concoctions, that was a must. And we also decided on one of the options Time Out mentioned: ginger. I thought that was a nice range of flavors.

My first sip of the ginger soda was pretty euphoric. I immediately thought this was the best ginger ale I’ve ever had. My feelings began to mellow out as I drank some more. It was definitely light and fresh and tasted of real ginger – spicy with a hint of sweetness.

The coffee soda never reached the high that the ginger did. The flavor only hinted at coffee and I’m not sure what the syrup was made from – but I imagine it was more sugar than espresso. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t overly sweet (which I appreciated), but the coffee flavor wasn’t full and authentic enough for me.

I also found both versions to be a little lacking in the effervescent department. The bubbles were present at first, but I wanted more of a sparkling bite with each sip. They also flattened rather quickly so by the time we were just over halfway through, they tasted more of flavored water than soda. And for close to $4, I expect the soda to live through my drinking experience.

There’s no question these are a hundred times better than any consumer soda you can get on the grocery shelves (unless you shop in speciality stores in Brooklyn), but they’re not quite special enough to convert me back to that soda obsessed little boy who may have had one too many.

Would Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain’s P & H Sodas make my Top 100 of the year? The ginger soda was tasty, although a bit weak on the bubbles, but the coffee version disappointed with a lack of authentic flavor bringing the duo to a 6 out of 10.