Lunch (no, Dinner): Buffet, Pibb XTRA, Cherry Fanta, Lime Fanta, Strawberry Minute Maid, Raspberry-Lime Hi C
The Pizza Ranch recently added the new Coke Freestyle fountain machines, a new fountain with "100+choices". Because waiting for kids to decide between six-to-eight flavors wasn't ridiculous enough.
The restaurant manager is quite proud. I overheard him telling somebody that his store and three others nearby are the first in the state to get them. They're "testing" them out.
They're not exactly new. I first heard of them a year or two ago and have seen them before. Megaplex 17 has a couple. Firehouse Subs has rolled them out to all locations nationally (and yes, Firehouse cherry limeade is in there). Taco Time Northwest (the ones in the Seattle area) have them too.
Never seen them in a buffet setting though.
The machines sort of remind you of a big retro fridge, except they have a touch screen and a space for your cup to put ice and soda in. You begin with the touch screen (or ice if you want). There's 22 initial brands available (including water and soda water). Touch one and a sub-menu comes up with available flavors under said brand. Example...you can have Coke, or Coke with lime, Vanilla Coke, Raspberry Coke, Cherry Coke, Orange Coke, or Cherry Vanilla Coke. Pick your poison, position your cup, then push the big silver button.
(A hint from experience...push the big silver button for a half sec to discharge the previous person's soda, THEN put your cup underneath.)
Anyway, it's a cool looking machine that does cool things. Kids are elated. The elderly are horrified.
I sat nearby to observe. Nobody approached these as if nothing was unusual. Loads of fascination...and confusion. I watched one old man walk up, stand, stare dumbfounded, stare some more, then realize there was tea in a pitcher off to the side. He left with tea.
There was one guy who looked like he made millions in the tech industry who I was sure would have no problem, but he had no idea how to approach the thing. He eventually put the cup in the hole, got ice, did the touch screen thing, then held his finger on the touch screen for the soda he wanted. Couldn't figure out why he wasn't getting soda.
One angry looking teen girl chose Coke Zero and made a single mix of all seven flavors available.
If anything, I learned that the top drink with kids is orange Hi-C. And, when confronted with a lot of options, people will indeed experiment. Very few people just chose a regular flavor and left it at that.
This was my first chance to be in a setting to explore different flavors while grazing a buffet. So I would only fill the cup about a third with different things. I'd drink something, dump the ice, pour something else...
The machine itself could make me a better customer here. The lime Fanta and the Raspberry-Lime Hi-C were great, and there's nowhere else I can have these locally. At least for now.
If we could talk Coke into including original Pibb and Fanta Red Creme Soda, that would be awesome.
Wonder when Pepsi's going to come out with something like this.
