Cheerwine

Place: Chick-Fil-A

Lunch: Chicken sandwich, lemonade

Hadn't had one of these in awhile.  Still don't get what all the fuss is.  The bun is cold, even though it was toasted.  How does THAT work?   I WAS going to have chicken soup with this, but that's apparently seasonal.  They're building a standalone Chick-Fil-A like a block from this mall food court one I'm eating at.  This is apparently a very big deal.  Because it will sell the EXACT SAME FOOD THIS ONE DOES.

Cheerwine is a soda.  Sort of a cherry cola.  It's NOT alcoholic in any way (I don't drink).  Hard to describe, really.  A staple of the South and available in cane sugar form in glass bottles, I discovered it a few years ago and while it became part of my regular soda rotation immediately, it's now the official soda of me, ever since the soul-crushing fascists at Dr Pepper-Snapple Group successfully killed off the Dublin Dr Pepper brand.

Cheerwine isn't exactly distributed nationally, but they have a finder thingie on their website where fans have posted information on stores that carry it.  Or you can order cases online directly from them.

So I pick up some bottles whenever I'm in an area where I can find it.  Pops has it.  Some of the Rocket Fizz stores have it.  Jungle Jim's has it by the caseload.  And honestly, I don't drink a whole lot of it (I still have several cases of Dublin on hand, and when that runs out, I have a feeling soda pop will be a fading thing with me), but I like one or two a week.  Still, it's nice to have around, even if it's hard to come by.

Or so I thought.

Yesterday, Cheerwine posted this on their Facebook feed...

"Having trouble finding Cheerwine?  Remember that all Cracker Barrel General Stores carry Cheerwine glass bottles!"

WHAT???

Are you FREAKING KIDDING ME???

This is NOT on their website finder thingie, and as far as I know, this is the first time Cheerwine has publicly mentioned this.

If you've never been to a Cracker Barrel, it's a restaurant with a general store that sells country-type stuff and some retro goodies.  Think Stuckey's back in the day, but less touristy.  Heck...they even have pecan logs.

I almost never go in them though.  I'd completely forgotten about the 'general store' aspect of the place.

But you can bet that was my first stop after work yesterday.  Or second, actually, after a failed attempt to satisfy a chicken nugget craving.  You'd already know this if you followed me on Twitter, fool.

And son of a gun...they had Cheerwine.  Cane sugar bottles in four-packs.  For $4.44.  Which is cheaper per bottle than any place I've gotten it at, except the couple of times I've gotten it by the case load at Jungle Jim's.

So if you're a Cheerwine fan and didn't know this...heads-up.

But I'm SO mad that I didn't know this previously.

The New Dallas

Place: Taco Bell
Lunch: Doritos Locos Taco Supreme (no tomato), nachos supreme (no tomato), pintos and cheese, Pepsi

 It's so weird to have a real modern Taco Bell in town.  Weird, I tell you.

"Dallas" returned to television last night.  The iconic series best known for the whole "who shot JR" deal has been remade for TNT.  I watched "Dallas" and its spinoff "Knots Landing" starting a few seasons in pretty much to the end of both runs, though I was actually a bigger fan of "Knots" than "Dallas".

Most of the original core cast are in attendance with the exception of those played by actors who've since died, and Victoria Principal's Pam Ewing (Bobby's wife in the new series is "Ann", played by the always outstanding Brenda Strong).  But they're just here to pass the baton.  The new show is really focused around the youth of Dallas, specifically Christopher and John Ross, JR and Bobby's sons from the original series, and the women in their lives.  One of the women is played by Jordana Brewster of the Fast and the Furious movies.  

I thought the boys looked WAY too young to be where Christopher and John Ross would be age-wise today, but I checked the ages of the actors, and they were born at right about the time their characters would have been.  They look young, in shape, and they look really good shirtless.  That's something guys didn't have to be in the days of the original series.  Women today are much more into the eye candy than they used to be.

I thought the show was great, if not SERIOUSLY heavy on the plot twists.  As for Larry Hagman?  He stepped right back into JR's shoes.  He may be old and frail, but he's still the devil.

The ratings were good.  The show gets a ten-episode run this year.  I hope it does well and continues, but as they transition stories more towards the kids, I'm not sure how capable this bunch will be of maintaining the legacy.  We have so many brilliantly written dramas today, and like the original, this isn't remotely in the same league as, say, "Mad Men".

The new Gen 3 QuikTrip opened today, just across the street from here.

Think I'll check it out on the way back to work.