Shirakiku Ramune ($2.75)
Where: Hey Sushi
2630 N. Clark St. 773-248-3900.
Taste test: The sushi restaurant bills this soda as “Japanese 7-Up.” We found the comparison accurate, but the best part of this drink wasn’t the soda itself, but rather the funky bottle it comes in. It has a pressurized marble stopper that is dislodged with a plastic opener. The marble then rolls around in the neck of the bottle as you sip.
Also serving: A wide selection of sake and martinis.
Papelon con limon ($1.50)
Where: Caracas Grill
6340 N. Clark St. 773-743-3593.
Taste test: This Venezuelan drink is made from cane juice and lime–we found it to be incredibly refreshing. Expect a taste that’s comparable to sweet ice tea, or Coke with lime minus the carbonation.
Also serving: Tivana, a fruit punch served with chopped fresh fruit (think virgin sangria).
Jeff’s New York Egg Cream ($1.75)
Where: GP Franklin’s
4767 N. Lincoln Ave. 773-293-1900.
Taste test: To our relief, the drink actually does not contain any eggs. It’s also served in a bottle, as opposed to being made at the soda fountain. We tried the diet chocolate version, since they were out of regular chocolate. The first few sips were good; after that it tasted like cold, carbonated, watered-down, sugar-free instant cocoa, but with only 20 calories in the whole bottle, we won’t complain too much.
Also serving: Vanilla and orange egg creams (also in diet or regular).
Malta India ($1.25)
Where: Sabor a Cuba
1833 W. Wilson Ave. 773-769-6859.
Taste test: This Puerto Rican non-alcoholic malt beverage looks something like Guinness, but smells and tastes just like Grape Nuts cereal.
Also serving: A variety of Cuban soft drinks, including Iron Beer (comparable to Dr. Pepper and root beer), Champ’s Cola (a “champagne cola”), Jupina (pineapple soda) and Materva (a yerba mate soda with a taste similar to ginger ale).
Vimto ($1.19)
Where: Sultan’s Market
2057 W. North Ave. 773-235-3072.
Taste test: We were pleased to find that Vimto–a carbonated fruit drink that originated in the UK–doesn’t have the overly sweet taste we’d expected. It contains subtle raspberry and black currant juices, and tastes a lot like Faygo Rock & Rye soda.
Also serving: A wide selection of sodas including Old Jamaican ginger beer, Ting, Laziza (a non-alcoholic malt beverage), an assortment of Wisconsin-brewed Sprecher gourmet sodas and the French Orangina.
Ting ($1.65)
Where: Flowers Pot
7328 N. Clark St. 773-761-4388.
Taste test: Although this restaurant focuses on specialties from Belize, we liked the Jamaican grapefruit soda. The flavor is similar to Squirt, or carbonated lemon juice mixed with sugar.
Also serving: Coconut water and a drink made from seaweed and milk.
Salty plum soda ($1.85)
Where: The Noodle Vietnamese Restaurant
2336 S. Wentworth Ave. 312-674-1168.
Taste test: The concoction is made in-house with sugar, soda water and a chopped, brine-soaked plum. While anything involving brine conjures up bad memories of accidentally swallowing seawater while swimming at the beach, the sweet/ salty taste of this soda makes for an interesting contrast.
Also serving: “Soda with yolk and condensed milk.” This one does involve a real egg, and when our waitress advised that we probably wouldn’t like it, we took her word for it.
Sidral Mundet ($1.25)
Where: Taco & Burrito House
3939 N. Broadway, 773-871-8988.
Taste test: This Mexican carbonated apple juice tasted just as we expected–like the apple juice we used to drink with graham crackers, plus a little zing.
Also serving: Various flavors of Jarritos sodas and Jumex juices along with horchata, a sweet Mexican rice-and-cinnamon beverage.
