Here in Chicago, we don't have a lot of big chain stores. Oh, sure, we have plenty of Starbucks, more Potbelly sandwich shops than any normal city would want, and most of the usual fast food joints, but they're outnumbered by local places (probably). In my neighborhood, independant places outnumber the chains by about a 20-1 margin (by my count).

I love this, but there ARE times when I wish I was near a Baker's Square (closest one is about 10 miles out, which is a LONG trip when you live downtown), or a Waffle house (I'd have to go to Indiana for one of those), or, occasionally, a Papa Johns (they're in the burbs, but not downtown yet).

Chief among these, however, is Sonic, the drive-in restaurant. I guess there's one in the burbs now, but nothing downtown, and the cherry limeaids at this place are fierce. There IS a place near me that makes a to-die-for honeydew limeaid, but, still. It ain't cheap.

So, a few weeks go, I ran into Sunkist Cherry Limeaid and got myself a 12 pack of cans. The next day, I bought more. This is fantastic stuff - a new pop that is different from the other flavors on the shelf and tasty as all get out. And, oddly, it tastes better with a straw. Now, normally, I like pop from a can - I love the feel of it in my hand, the weight of it, the drops of condensation, the satisfaction of opening, the cool metal against my lips. But this stuff is better from a straw, I think because the way it hits your tongue sort of replicates (or at least calls to mind) the crushed-ice feel of a cherry limeaid from Sonic. This is my Drink of the Summer.