Today, as we ventured forth to Kosmas Delicatessen (the place in Thessaloniki for a wide variety of Asian, Mexican, British and American foods) to search for tofu, we found a pleasant surprise.
Most of my friends back home know of my insane love affair with Mr. Pibb (which apparently has been whored down to a brand new flavor as Pibb Xtra, I'm sad to say). But, it was unavailable in Nashville for most of the time I was living there, except towards the last few years when it started showing up in restaurants. There was a brief time that I had worked out a "deal" with the Coke bottling plant to send a couple of dozen Mr. Pibbs to Compton's on 21st (when Compton's was Compton's and not Harris-Teeter) for me now and then, and every once in awhile a friend who frequently went home to Virginia would come back and leave a couple of cases on my porch unexpectedly - so I had a supply. But it didn't last forever. So, grudgingly, I had to make do with Dr. Pepper. I can't really explain exactly what made Mr. Pibb taste better than Dr. Pepper, because they were quite similar, but I liked it better.
Of course, there is no Dr. Pepper in Greece. There are hardly any soft drink choices at all, compared to the U.S., which is probably a good thing. But at this point I've been so long without my dark, sugary master I'd settle for diet Dr. Pepper. Since I think diet soft drinks come directly from Satan's saliva, that is saying something.
Kosmas Delicatessan is pretty much a crap shoot each time we visit. Some things are standard, it seems (condiments, teas, Asian and Mexican goods), but some things aren't. Sometimes they have graham crackers, sometimes they don't. Sometimes they have Pop Tarts, sometimes they don't. You just never know what you might find there, so we try to go once a month, just in case.
Today as we were walking through I asked my husband to go back and check their mottled drink selections. They've had root beer and ginger ale before, and I kept hoping that some day they would get Dr. Pepper. I was actually approaching the point where I might have asked for it, but to my delight, today they had four cans of it! FOUR WHOLE CANS OF DR. PEPPER. My life is now complete. And they had a couple of cases of Dr. Pepper Zero for when I need to switch to the dark side.
Now, if only they would get some Cap'n Crunch, I would be a happy, happy woman.
5 comments:
Do they serve their soft drinks with ice? I have never missed ice so much as when I visit Europe! :)
No ice. Typically, in restaurants here in Greece if you order a soft drink you get a bottle and a glass. You *can* ask for ice though.
I was a die hard ice fanatic when I moved here, but I've gradually moved away from the need for it. Still, I enjoy some ice now and then. =)
I buy gas at one specific station that's halfway across town because the mini-mart there has Dr. Pepper.
Got me some today as a matter of fact! :)
Did you ever hear Mitch Hedberg's joke: "Mr. Pibb is a replica of Dr. Pepper, but it's a bs replica. Dude didn't even get his degree!"
Dixie, you are lucky. Kinda odd that they stock it though, I wonder if one of the owners loves it or something. I wish our place would get it regularly, but maybe they do and it just sells out quickly, because we only go about once a month.
Anon, I never heard that, but it is funny. Ironically, the Dr. Pepper we just bought tastes much more like Mr. Pibb than I remember. But then, its been years since I've had either.
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