The creators of Franklin Fountain weren't content with just an old school soda shop, they have a vintage candy store, Shane's Confectionery right next store, and just like the Fountain its a trip back in time. We visited two weeks ago and had a good time shopping for the sorts of vintage candies I wasn't sure where made before. In fact I had been pretty sure that many of these candies had stopped being manufactured long before I was born.
If you are lover of sweets of vintage and you are in Philadelphia you simply must check out Shane's Confectionery.
I've written before about Brooklyn Farmacy, the picture perfect vintage style soda shop that is my all time favorite New York city restaurant. Seriously, this place isn't just a restaurant, it's a period perfect time machine, right down to the paper hats on the soda jerks and vintage fridge in the back:
It is also a rarity, authentic soda shops are like affordable, pristine 1920s dresses, unusual. However, the good news is the craze for artisan food is brining about a home made soda comeback, the New York times published this article on the trend back in 2011. As someone who loves ice cream and history I couldn't be happier about the rebirth of this forgotten American institution.
This Sunday my husband and I decided to make the trek from Jersey City to the Brooklyn Farmacy, the trip takes a bit longer then an hour but is well worth it. Since it was a lovely warm day on Sunday I decided a summery outfit was in order, and since I'm always trying to keep the wrinkles at bay I brought my parasol along as well.
Like the other Hey Day trousers I've tried these pants are super comfortable and the perfect weight for summer. In general I'm not much of a pants person but these and my Freddie's are making me into one. They also pair well with a number of tops, and while they are 1940s style trousers I think they are also reminiscent of the 1930s, my favorite style decade. For our outing I wore them with my yellow Jitterbuggin' blouse, one of my favorite items.
I'm a Sundae fanatic and as I've been to Brooklyn Farmacy several times I've tried quite a few of their sundaes. I'd never had the Elvis though, and I decided today was the day.
It was a decadent concoction with all of the King's favorites peanut butter, banana chip ice cream, caramel, candied bacon, whipped cream, and a pickle on the side! Yes, it was as good as it looked:
I also had a cherry soda, all their sodas are made with old fashioned syrups that use real fruit and seltzer,
Isn't the color lovely? John had an egg cream and an egg salad sandwich. He was feeling shy and didn't want to be photographed.
If you don't live any where near Brooklyn there is no need to despair for your Soda Shop dreams. Brooklyn Farmacy just published a cookbook.
It is available from Amazon for $14.95 . I pre-ordered it in March and received it in May and I love it. In addition to recipes for all the Farmacy's treats there is a detailed history of soda fountains in general and tons of fun facts. So far I've tried the recipe for marinated pineapple and the egg cream and both were delicious. I don't want to give away the books secrets, but as its a well known classic I think I can safely share the recipe for the egg cream.
Classic Egg Cream
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp cold whole milk
3/4 cup cold plain seltzer
3 tbsp Fox's U Bet Syrup (Vanilla or chocolate its up to you!)
Pour the milk into a tall glass and add the seltzer slowly until the froth comes to the top, if you are like me it will always overflow a bit so have paper towels handy. Slowly pour the syrup into the center of the foam and then very gently mix the syrup in using a long handles spoon in back and forth motion. Don't overdo it or there goes your foam!
Since my husband and I are lucky enough to share our lives with five wonderful dogs and 3 lovely cats, who I write about on my blog Urban Hounds, we rarely go away for vacations. Its simply to hard to find reliable people to care for so many animals or to pay that many pet hotel fees, plus we would miss them to much. As a result nearly all of our vacations are staycations in the New York area. During our last staycation in August we took a day trip to Philadelphia a city I'd never been to before. My primary reason for going was to visit the Franklin Fountain. I had read of its relentless authenticity in this New York Times article and as a vintage lover and an ice cream lover I couldn't resist playing the place a visit. I've always been fascinated by the history of Soda Fountains and think its very sad that the invention of the twist cap and supermarket soda has pretty much eliminated these charming places.
It seemed a little gluttunous, though I can most definitely be a glutton, to go all the way to Philadelphia just for ice cream, so we visited the art museum as well.
I was lucky enough to have a nice Jitterbuggin blouse and skirt to wear to the museum. They make really lovely and comfortable clothes.
I was happy to see that the museum had a few paintings with dogs in them. I love looking at old pictures and paintings of dogs and seeing the role they played in society at that time.
My favorite is the bottom one, I love how the ladies dog is inviting her to play as she heads out the door.
The museum also had a very nice collection of Medieval armor and art.
In my opinion though the best part of the museum was outside it. In a garden across the street from the entrance was a sweet statue commemorating a Mastiff who had served as a guard dog for the museum. I couldn't resist taking a picture with him. I love the sweet expression on his face.
I got a lot of nice compliments on my 1940s coconut purse. Its definitely one of my favorite accesories.
The best part of the trip definitely was the fountain. It was just like going back in time with a terrific collection of fountain sodas, ice creams, sundaes, and even phosphates (fancy soda drinks made from a careful blending of photos.) Every detail of the place is perfect and you really do feel like you are going back in time.
These sodas are not like ones from a store. The lime soda was really tart and fizzy delicious. I've never even liked soda until I had it from a fountain.
The sundae I got, the Southern Sympathizer, was definitely one of the best things I've ever eaten.
My husband and I even managed to get one picture of us together, a rarity, before heading back to Jersey City on the train.
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