Costco - Part 2

I just returned from a trip to costco to stock-up on huggies. I started my shopping trip the same way I start every shopping trip - with a purchase of a fountain diet coke. My sister-in-law assured me that costco has large cups. Unfortunately for me, the costco I go to only has the small cups you get with a hot dog. When I confidently asked for the large-size cup, the hair-net wearing apron-lady looked at me like I was crazy and slurred out, "we only have on size cup here." Okay. it is official: store with world's largest products has world's smallest drinks.

Diet Drinks In Austin, Texas

DDW has several associates dispatched across the United States, and they send reports of various restaurants and other places to get the best diet drinks. You can become an associate by leaving me a comment or emailing me at dietdrinkworld@gmail.com.

My first report comes from Library of Adventure in Austin, Tx. La Madeline offers the following diet drinks:

Diet Coke
Diet Caffeine Free Coke
Minute Maid light
Sprite Zero

That is a pretty impressive list for a restaurant. Thanks Library of Adventure!

RR: Wal-Mart

I know what you are thinking, "DDW why are you classifying all these stores as restaurants when they are clearly not?" Sorry diet drink world readers, but this is the best I can come up with. I do not love Wal-Mart as much as Target; I don't have anything against Wal-Mart politically, but I do have some memories that only DDW's former co-workers can relate to. Be that as it may, they still have diet drinkts there and the public needs to be informed.

Wal-Mart's soda bar resides under the golden arches. Most Wal-Mart's (including the one by me) have a McDonald's in the store; I can get a double cheeseburger with my stretch pants! Since McDonald's and diet drinks are ubiquitous, I don't think much more needs to be said - even a casual diet drinker knows what the arches offer. Later posts will discuss why McDonald's diet coke tastes a bit like rat poison.

Nevertheless, I absolutely enjoy shopping with a diet coke! It makes the whole experience that much more enjoyable, and DDW baby loves trying to grab my straw. He knows that mommy drinks from the straw, but he hasn't figured out how to suck from a straw yet. The real lesson for me is that I need to get two straws whenever I order a diet drink: one for me and one for me later when DDW breaks my straw. There is nothing worse than having a great diet coke in front of you with a broken straw!.

RR: Chipotle

DDW, DDW baby and DDW husband all went to Chipotle today; it has been almost a year since we last went to Chipotle (we got a bit sick of it). Anywhoo, let's get to what matters -- the diet drinks!

Drinks: Coke products. Also of note, their soda bar has two Coke dispensers and two Diet Coke dispensers on opposite sides of the bar. This allows for two people to fill their Diet Cokes at the same time.

Lime: None

Ice: They have the flat, half-moon, half-smile shaped ice.

Cups: The large cup comes in very-nicely at 32 ounces; it is a standard paper-coated cup.

Restaurant Review: Target

Oh Target, how do I love thee? I love thee so much that I will classify you as a restaurant even though you are clearly not. For DDW and DDW baby, Target is a must. It is also what some would call a target-rich environment. There really is nothing in there that I can't buy - very dangerous! Anywhoo, let's get to what really matters: diet drinks.

Target has a soda bar that contains Coke products and Pepsi products, and there really is no need to say more. Babies R Us is great, but they don't have a soda bar!

Target = Coke Products + Pepsi Products

Restaurant Review: La Salsa

So where was DDW known for always keeping a diet drink on her desk - DDW's old office. It is important to keep in touch with your roots (unless, of course, they're grey), so I went to downtown Los Angeles and had lunch with the peeps. I took the DDW baby with me, and we had a great time. At lunch, DDW baby showed an unnatural obsession with my diet drink - perhaps he remembers it from the womb. When I was pregnant, I thought there was a real chance the DDW baby was going to pop out holding a Diet Coke - thank goodness all those pregnancy books were wrong.

Today, he kept reaching for my drink and jamming the straw into his mouth. The only problem is that he doesn't know how to slurp through a straw yet. I really think that slurping your first diet drink should be one of those developmental milestones that doctors track. Based on the DDW development chart, DDW baby is definitely ahead of schedule and a total genius.

Anywhooooo, I figured this would be a good time to let you know the best place to get Diet Coke in Downtown LA: La Salsa on Grand.

First, La Salsa features Diet Coke products. Second, they have Limes; as you all know by now, the Lime is very important to the overall enjoyment of any diet drink. You won't find the Limes at the drink fountain (like Baja Fresh), because they are stored at the salsa bar. Finally, La Salsa has a giant cup; it is so big that when you order a large drink the cashier will actually hold up the cup to make sure that it is the size you really want. La Salsa's medium size cup is what most places would call a large cup. I will report back later with actual drink sizes in ounces. Let's just say that the cup is so large even DDW has a hard time needing a refill.

La Salsa = Coke Products + the Lime + Large Cup.

Restaurant Review: Baja Fresh

Today, Diet Drink World & DDW baby had lunch with DDW husband at Baja Fresh, so I thought this would be a good time to give you my views on the place. I have personally been to various Baja Fresh locations in Washington DC, Salt Lake City, Utah and SoCal, I will assume that there is one close to you.

The most important news: Baja Fresh recently switched from Pepsi products to Coke products. Love it or hate it, but this is big news. I would be interested to know what goes into a corporation changing their drink products; if you know, feel free to comment on it.

Second, they still have LIMES! If you are not a Diet Coke person, I recommend using a Lime to appease your taste buds. Baja Fresh is one of the few semi-fast food places to offer Limes, and I have to commend them for that. **Applause**

My only problem with Baja Fresh is that if you want a large drink you have to buy that ridiculous plastic cup with the ridiculous lid that barely fits. I get the idea of keeping the cup and reusing it (which saves you and the environment), but it is just not practical for many reasons.

First, you must have access to the ridiculous cup to get any value from it. If you usually get your diet drink from Baja on your lunch break at work, you can probably keep the cup handy; thus, it makes sense for you. But, if you are the kind of person who goes to Baja when you are running around, you won't be able to use the cup. Unless, of course, you just happen to to keep a stash of Baja Fresh cups in the back of your minivan with all the other crap you have for the kids. Hmmmmm, not likely.

So, when it is 110 degrees and all you really want is a giant drink, you are stuck with a ridiculous cup (that isn't even that big) with a ridiculous lid. BTW, the lid really should come with a warning that when you try to put it on you are in danger of spilling the entire diet drink! Baja needs to offer a LARGE disposable cup along with the refillable ridiculous one.

Baja Fresh = Coke Products + Lime – Ridiculous Cup.