As much as I love a road trip, I really hate trying to find food on the road. Neither Dan nor I care for most fast food and it’s not easy to locate independent restaurants when you’re not sure where you’ll be at any given time.

On a recent trip to Colorado Springs it was completely by chance that, having missed a turn toward a Chipotle (sigh), I spotted a neon sign reading SODA FOUNTAIN.

We had landed at JP Fizzy’s, a 1950s-style diner boasting a full bar, a soda fountain with shakes and malts, a full kitchen and The Soda Case (more later). It has apparently only been open for a month, and is the second location of a restaurant in Wisconsin. The attention to style and historic detail reminded me of Cheyenne Candy Store Emporium.

JP Fizzy’s currently has around 85 glass bottle sodas, and is building toward 250.

They are organized by categories such as cream sodas, root beers, and sarsaparillas.

Ohhh butterscotch root beer, where have you been all my life?

We were heading to see friends after the trip so we brought home a six-pack to share, including a “spicy” ginger beer and Leninade.

Also in our six-pack: Triple XXX Root Beer, from a restaurant just outside of Purdue University. I’ve eaten there often, on visits to see my brother when he was studying there. Triple XXX taught me to put peanut butter on hamburgers.