5702 York Blvd, Los Angeles
In a town rife with nondescript strip malls, Galco’s Soda Pop Stop is amongst the most nondescript and strip mally. Its bare bones appearance would never necessarily compel a visitor or local to stop by unless they had inside knowledge that this place is completely awesome (I owe this insight to my friend Shaun and this week’s book pick, LA Bizarro). The soda pop super store has been family owned and operated for over a hundred years: a wild achievement in our world of chain super-stores.
Inside you can find almost every kind of soda pop known to man. Jim guzzled a molasses Root Beer from Rhode Island while Laura and I found bliss in a cucumber soda that the owner told us would change our lives. Not surprisingly, the beer selection is also impressive and they boast quite an array of olde timey candies. Jim dared the Idaho Spud (a coconut and chocolate covered grayish marshmallow that tastes better than I just described it). I was thrilled by a plastic-wrapped tube of just the innards of my beloved Butterfinger as well as the famed (at least in my home) Cup of Gold, a coconut/chocolate cup filled with gooey marshmallow creme: the one thing my mom craved while pregnant with me.
But what do you think?