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Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: Perd Hapley on August 25, 2007, 09:04:05 PM

Title: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 25, 2007, 09:04:05 PM
Medium will no longer suffice, people.  A twenty-ounce soft drink?  Are you kidding?  The powers-that-sling-burgers have seen the future, and it is large-medium.  Don't be surprised and annoyed when the fry-pimp hands you a "medium" beverage cup and it's the size of a beer-keg.  When you ordered that medium drink, you should have known you would be getting one of those top-heavy things you can barely fit your hand around.  You know, that soft plastic cup that deforms and tries to fall out of your hand the tighter you grip it, because it holds more soda than you really want to lift up to your mouth anyway?  That's medium, baby, and you better get used to it!




Well, I hate those things.  If I'm getting fast-food, I want my sugar-water in a conventional, twenty-ounce cup.  They hold enough, they're easier to hold on to, and they don't make me look like some corn syrup addict who stops at every 7-11 to fill his Big Gulp, hoping he'll make it to the next soda fountain before the withdrawals hit.  Then it really confuses the burger-wrangler when I try to trade in the "medium" for a "small."  And I don't even want my money back, I just want the smaller cup.  "But sir, you won't get as much tooth-decayer that way!" 


Hope you enjoyed my rant. 
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Antibubba on August 25, 2007, 09:23:36 PM
Well, no, not really.  I was disappointed in it.  I mean, I'm sure it seemed like a big deal to you, but these days it was really just a medium or even small rant.  Hardly worth getting your panties in a wad for.  grin
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Euclidean on August 25, 2007, 09:43:20 PM
Well seeing as how cups filled with fountain drinks cost next to nothing (a 64 ounce soda in a plastic cup easily costs less than 50 cents), just expect to see more of this.  It's an easy way to add perceived value.  The margins on fountain drinks are absolutely huge.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: wmenorr67 on August 25, 2007, 10:20:57 PM
That is why if I am eating in I get a small.  Then I go back and refill a hundred times. grin
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: The Rabbi on August 25, 2007, 11:00:41 PM
I never buy soft drinks like that.  We seldom have them around the house.  The only ones we do have are the cokes in the original 7oz bottles.  And we'll split 2 of those among the 4 of us.
I have one customer who is morbidly obese and every time he comes in he is toting one of these 128oz monstrosities.  He can't walk across the shop floor without getting out of breath.  No wonder how he got that way.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Bogie on August 25, 2007, 11:48:41 PM
Well, I'm an addict.

Diet Coke tho... Altho I'm not picky... Diet Pepsi, but lately I've actually been preferring the Sam's stuff that Wally World sells, because it's not as cloyingly sweetened.

I'll take the megasoda.
 
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: jeepmor on August 26, 2007, 02:31:20 AM
And people still wonder why Americans are so obese.  I was just having this conversation with a friend the other day.  McDonalds and 7-11 started all this crap with the supersize and the big gulp.  I see diabetes being an epidemic for the next generation.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: 280plus on August 26, 2007, 03:04:13 AM
They started calling "large" "medium "years ago, where have you been?  cheesy

Think that's bad? I went into my favorite pizza by the slice shop and actually ordered a "large" pizza. I'm expecting a ~16" diameter circle of cheesy goodness. The FIT (First Indication of Trouble) came when the lady in front of me says, "That's a SMALL? It looks like a Pizza Hut large!" Yup, the pizza I got was ~ 16" in width and about 2' in length. Had leftover pizza for lunch for like three days.  grin
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 26, 2007, 03:23:51 AM
There is never too much pizza. 


Antibubba, that was a good one.   smiley
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: 280plus on August 26, 2007, 04:45:55 AM
I never said it was too much...  cheesy
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Ben on August 26, 2007, 05:21:50 AM
As long as the bottom of the cup is sized to fit in the cupholder of the Homermobile, that's all I care about.  laugh
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Sergeant Bob on August 26, 2007, 06:01:19 AM
You have a choice of which to buy and how much of it to eat or drink so kwitcherbellyakin! grin
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Manedwolf on August 26, 2007, 06:08:08 AM
I know what's in those sodas, and high-fructose corn syrup makes me feel ill anyway. The stuff is horrible for your metabolic system. In terms of sugar and the ability to process it, it's like drinking from a firehose, so yes, it's likely responsible for the explosion of type II diabetes.

If I have to eat from a fast-food place, I'll get something like a grilled chicken without the "sauce", which is cottonseed oil and corn syrup and adds about 400 calories, and an unsweetened iced tea.

The tea has zero calories. The grilled chicken is somewhere around 200 calories without the nasty mayo sauce. The bun, if you eat it, is probably 200. I don't eat the whole bun. The buns are made as cheaply as possible, and use corn syrup as well.

I like hamburgers, but only flame-grilled with a higher grade of meat than the fatty chuck those places use. It also seems like they're trying to kill people or something with the insistence on slapping a giant 300+ calorie 20g of fat blop of mayonnaise sauce or pesto on everything!

(BTW, look at the calorie/fat content of the sandwiches from the "fast casual" places like Panera and Atlanta Bread Company.)

I wouldn't overdo "diet", either. Aspartame waltzes right across the blood-brain barrier membrane, and they're still not entirely sure what it does once in there.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: grislyatoms on August 26, 2007, 06:16:55 AM
This has been a bit ago, but I remember when some fast food joint (can't remember which one) started selling only Medium and Large sizes. They eliminated "small" from their vocabulary.

This little marketing stunt irked me to no end.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Manedwolf on August 26, 2007, 06:19:46 AM
Also, if you really want a soda that's not crap for you and tastes better, look for sodas that use pure cane sugar instead. Boylan's Bottle Works makes an excellent Cane Cola, and other companies, like Jones, are going entirely to sugarcane instead of corn syrup.

They have a sharp bite when chilled, and you don't get that sickly-sweet, nauseating feeling upon consuming it like some people (like me) do when trying to drink something containing HFC. Cane sugar in moderation can be metabolized in a healthy manner.



Chill this stuff down to just above freezing... and drink on a hot day. Sharp, refreshing bite, good stuff!
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: wmenorr67 on August 26, 2007, 06:26:52 AM
Yes stuff with cane sugar tastes better also.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: atomd on August 26, 2007, 06:28:58 AM
They fill the things up with so much ice to save the company a few cents that it probably doesn't really make them THAT much bigger. I'd bet if you ordered a 20 ounce and asked for no ice or a little ice you would probably get more soda then one of those giant things. McDonalds makes a higher profit margin on soda than anything else they sell. As far as those extra large drinks go, I'd bet a lot of people can't finish them in one sitting (myself included). I guess it's just one more take on the "bigger is better" mentality. I think 99% of fast food is gross anyways.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Thor on August 26, 2007, 06:50:15 AM
Actually, I've done some experimentation. Y'all can do it, too. Take a 32 Oz cup from a local fast food place, fill it with ice, then pour a 12 oz can of soda in there. Guess what?? It's Full!! I can do the same with a 20 Oz cup. That 12 oz can of soda will also fit in there.

One of my first jobs was at Jack in the Box. The management was more concerned with the cost of the cups than the soda. The actual cost of a soft drink is negligible when compared to the container.

Like Manedwolf, I, too, opt for unsweetened Iced Tea vs. soda of any type. IF tea is not available, my second choice is diet soda. Almost never will I order a regular soda.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 26, 2007, 09:11:22 AM
I have not been terribly impressed by cane sugar soda.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: wooderson on August 26, 2007, 09:16:58 AM
In my entire life I don't think I've had a Big Gulp or whatever the equivalents are. They just don't look appealing - by the time I got to the last 20oz, it would be mostly melted water, sugar and no carbonation. Ugh.

Will pay for a RaceTrac 64oz (or whatever) for $.59 and fill it with their 'filtered' ice water. Stays colder and tastes better than bottled water, so paying for water seems slightly less embarrassing.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Bogie on August 26, 2007, 09:31:03 AM
Considering it probably costs more for the ice than for the soda... (those machines require maintenance).
 
I like my soda cold. Not lukewarm. I use ice.
 
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 26, 2007, 09:56:37 AM
Paying for water isn't so embarrassing when you consider that it's good for you and is actually a necessity of life that most of us don't drink often enough.  As opposed to soda, which is just liquid candy. 

I've got to get back to my unsweetened ice tea and Bible reading now.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: mtnbkr on August 26, 2007, 11:32:02 AM
Quote from: Bogie on August 26, 2007, 08:31:03 AM
Considering it probably costs more for the ice than for the soda... (those machines require maintenance).
 I like my soda cold. Not lukewarm. I use ice.
 

Every place I've been, the soda comes out of the fountain cold. 

Chris
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Harold Tuttle on August 26, 2007, 08:41:51 PM
i saw this at World Market today:
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Manedwolf on August 26, 2007, 08:46:52 PM
I was not overly impressed by Virgils. Not enough bite.

Best soda ever, I think, popsoda (from Vermont) Coffee Fiend.

It's so lightly sweetened that it might as well be unsweetened, and I like that! And only sugar!

Serving size: 1 bottle; Amount per serving: Calories: 30; Total fat: 0g; Sodium: 5mg; Total carbs: 8g; Sugars: 8g



Second, but much sweeter, Manhattan Special Espresso Soda, something that's been made for well over a century, apparently.

Third, San Peligrino Chinotto, but that's very...an aquired taste.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 26, 2007, 08:51:43 PM
Virgil's!!  The best carbonated beverage on Earth!!  Virgil's uses cane sugar.  I retract my earlier comment.  If there were gods, Virgil's would be the drink of them.  I saw one of those kegs Friday night, but I settled for one chilled bottle.  Black licorice should immediately be added to every other soda on the planet. 

Also, Sprechers is quite good.  That one also has a licorice taste. 
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Ben on August 27, 2007, 05:28:36 AM
What is this Virgil's of which you all speak? Is this a back East or down South thing? I ain't seen it in these parts.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: K Frame on August 27, 2007, 05:41:09 AM
"As opposed to soda, which is just liquid candy."

Not what I drink.

It's water with flavoring, coloring, and artificial sweeteners.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 27, 2007, 05:53:20 AM
Yes, Mike, that's liquid candy.  It doesn't hydrate you.  It surely isn't very nourishing.  It's just a sugar dump, possibly with caffeine.  Not that I don't drink it myself. 


Ben, Virgil's is usually only found at fancy-pants groceries and specialty soda shops.  If you have a Whole Foods Market or something like that, nearby, they might have it. 
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: K Frame on August 27, 2007, 06:02:44 AM
"It's just a sugar dump"

HELLO??

Did you read what I posted?

I drink DIET sodas.

NO candy, because there's no sugar, where there's no sugar, there are no carbohydrates, where there are no carbohydrates there are no calories.

And yes, soda certainly does hydrate you. Maybe not as well as pure water, but diet soda has a positive water content effect on the body.

Diet soda, by volume, is 99.965% (or so I've read) WATER.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: wmenorr67 on August 27, 2007, 06:10:28 AM
So sugar free candy is not candy?
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Ben on August 27, 2007, 06:22:06 AM
Boys.... boys. Doth a soda by any other name not taste as sweet?
Can't we all just get along?
Embrace the multicultural sweetness that is the black Coke, the brown root beer, and the white Seven Up. We are all brothers and sisters under the great sweetener.
 laugh
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Manedwolf on August 27, 2007, 06:24:26 AM
I still don't know what Coke was thinking with their short-lived Blak, though. It was supposed to be coffee flavored, but it didn't taste like it. It didn't even mention that. When I first saw it, I thought it was just blatant race market branding, like Burger King commercials do.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: K Frame on August 27, 2007, 06:26:47 AM
Quote from: wmenorr67 on August 27, 2007, 05:10:28 AM
So sugar free candy is not candy?

No, it's a pile of horse turds.  rolleyes

Does sugar free candy have the calorie or carbohydrate content of regular candy?

No.

See the difference?

Saying diet soda is just a calorie dump is wrong because anyone who is capable of reading the back of the can can see exactly how many calories and carbohydrates a diet soda contains.
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: mtnbkr on August 27, 2007, 06:28:35 AM
Quote from: Manedwolf on August 27, 2007, 05:24:26 AM
I still don't know what Coke was thinking with their short-lived Blak, though. It was supposed to be coffee flavored, but it didn't taste like it. It didn't even mention that. When I first saw it, I thought it was just blatant race market branding, like Burger King commercials do.

It's still around.  I like it, but I try to avoid soda of any kind. 

Chris
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Manedwolf on August 27, 2007, 06:58:19 AM
Just watch out for the Asian sodas.  grin





Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Ben on August 27, 2007, 07:19:49 AM
Mmmmmmm. Pocari sweat. Sweet sweet Pocari sweat. AAAUUUGGGHhhhhh......  /homer
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 27, 2007, 07:58:33 AM
Quote from: Mike Irwin on August 27, 2007, 05:02:44 AM
"It's just a sugar dump"

HELLO??

Did you read what I posted?

I drink DIET sodas.

Oh, I didn't know I was supposed to pay that much attention to you.  Tongue  It's candy, Mike.   
Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: K Frame on August 28, 2007, 07:54:55 PM
"It's candy, Mike."

It's "candy" sans calories, because there are no sugars in the product.

Ergo, there's no "sugar dump" as you claimed.

No sugars means no carbohydrates, no carbohydrates means no calories.

So, your original claims are still wrong.



Title: Re: Large is the new Medium
Post by: Perd Hapley on August 28, 2007, 08:27:48 PM
OK, so it's an artificial sweetener dump.  Like sugar-free candy.  Better?