(continued)

Want to indulge your own nostalgia? Belly up to the counter with our Top Picks: Soda Fountains! Atlanta Boston Chicago Los Angeles Miami New York Portland OR San Francisco Seattle Washington DC

As I grew up, I learned that there were families in which children were allowed to eat dinner in front of the TV every night, and ones in which the kids could drink soda every single day of the week--even for breakfast, if they chose. And, as I grew up even more, I realized that perhaps these weren't the most important criteria to use to measure a person's upbringing. Then I went through a period of time when I didn't think much about soda, cream or otherwise. I tossed back carbonated beverages--one whole can at a time--as a quick route to quenching my thirst or acquiring a caffeine buzz.

But recently, I've been rediscovering the flavor and savor of cream soda. It all started again with a can of Dr. Brown's taken with a brisket sandwich in a deli, and I began avidly sampling all varieties with that special obsessiveness borne of intense nostalgia. The Grand Union brand isn't available where I live now, but there's a whole batch of new-school cream sodas on the market now. Be warned: Any kind with the word "brew" in the description will make you feel like you're trying to quaff cake batter. For a purist like me, Sioux City and Mug are the ways to go. They taste like my childhood memories: crisp, clean, with a sweet vanilla perfume. For a freshly-made fizz, I'll pop in to Bubby's in Tribeca. They make their own cream soda; it's good stuff. And, for a special treat, I ask my sister Wendy to bring six-packs of IBC, another favorite, from Boston for me. She patiently indulges me, but I can tell that she's a little puzzled as to why I crave it so. To be honest, I'm not so sure myself. Like the laws our parents impose on us, some thirsts are impossible to fully understand.

For more food obsessions, have a seat in our Café. There's a seat by the window, just waiting for you!

The Also-Greats My other major soda preference is for the citrus-flavored category. I like these beverages because they are light yet flavorful. And, no, I'm not talking about the faux-lemon-lime of Sprite or 7 Up; I like my drinks with more texture and heft. In no particular order, here they are: Fresca: Like a cool breeze blowing across the asphalt, it's always refreshing. The grapefruit taste is a bit weak but it's a solid, dependable drink. Orangina: Who doesn't love a carbonated beverage that you're actually encouraged to shake? And love that subtle tangarine-y, orange-y taste. Ting: A Jamaican soda, this tastes like tropical paradise to me. If I had to be stranded on a desert island with only one citrus beverage, this grapefruit drink would be it. San Pellegrino Limonata: A good potent lemon flavor, it comes in small bottles that fit sweetly in your palm. Also not creamy, yet not lemony either, is a strange new concoction called Bawl's. Made from a Brazilian berry, it tastes like spicy ginger ale and contains three times more caffeine than most colas. I mention this because it frightens me.