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\n <\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n GemStocksy\/Shutterstock<\/span>\n <\/div>\n
If you’re a road-tripper\u00a0whose heart jumps at “historic district” signs, or you simply can’t resist a dusty Main Street with charming structures \u2014 then Highway 395 in California is calling your name.\u00a0Weaving through mountains, plains, boulders, gullies, and deserts along the Sierra Nevada range, this highway spans endless vistas, surprising twists and turns, and small, quaint towns.One of the quirkiest detours is a throwback stop at Randsburg General Store, where an old-school soda fountain from 1904\u00a0still serves genuine phosphate sodas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Referred to simply as “phosphates,” these old-fashioned drinks are made by combining flavored syrup and soda water with a small dose of acid phosphate, which creates a bright, tangy zip on the tongue. The mouth-puckering sensation is somewhat similar to lemons or limes, but lacking the citrus taste. They were especially popular from the early to mid-1900s when soda fountains were all the rage, pumping out fizzy treats from gleaming counters, often inside pharmacies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fast forward to today and you can still order a phosphate soda in a place that’s served them since Randsburg’s gold-boom days. What’s now named the Randsburg General Store came to life in\u00a01896 as a drug store, which was consumed by fire multiple times and rebuilt in 1904, the same year the showpiece soda fountain arrived from Boston. Though the pharmacy transitioned into a general store in\u00a01949,\u00a0the fountain tradition survived.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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What’s inside and on the menu at Randsburg General Store<\/h2>\n\nThe so-called “ghost town” of Randsburg \u2014 home to about 100 people \u2014\u00a0is both culturally and geographically far from the stereotypical California vibes of beaches, Hollywood, wineries, and high-tech corridors. It’s tucked\u00a0between\u00a0Death Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains,\u00a0and most folks discover the tow when journeying the 395 corridor on road trips.<\/p>\n
Randsburg General Store calls itself “home of the world famous 100-year-old soda fountain” \u2014 who could resist pulling off the highway for that? If you do find your way there, expect vintage-style nostalgia at every turn, from the genuine soda fountain and red vinyl stools to the drink menu, which includes not only phosphates but traditional sodas, as well as malts, milkshakes, and freezes, including the specialty Aunt Ernies’s Freeze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The phosphates \u2014 including the Muddy River chocolate soda phosphate and a lime soda phosphate called the Green River, tagged as an “1897 Miner’s Favorite” \u2014 undeniably steal the show. With all the fizzy guzzling, travelers do have a way to temper the rush: A full food menu offering hearty breakfast dishes, including country biscuits with gravy, and a lunch menu with the likes of homemade chili and cornbread, plus a western BBQ beef sandwich and side of miner’s slaw. To dig deeper into bygone food-and drink culture, check out our articles on\u00a0old-school soda fountains and sour soda shop ingredients, including phosphates.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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The so-called “ghost town” of Randsburg \u2014 home to about 100 people \u2014\u00a0is both culturally and geographically far from the stereotypical California vibes of beaches, Hollywood, wineries, and high-tech corridors. It’s tucked\u00a0between\u00a0Death Valley and the Sierra Nevada Mountains,\u00a0and most folks discover the tow when journeying the 395 corridor on road trips.<\/p>\n
Randsburg General Store calls itself “home of the world famous 100-year-old soda fountain” \u2014 who could resist pulling off the highway for that? If you do find your way there, expect vintage-style nostalgia at every turn, from the genuine soda fountain and red vinyl stools to the drink menu, which includes not only phosphates but traditional sodas, as well as malts, milkshakes, and freezes, including the specialty Aunt Ernies’s Freeze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The phosphates \u2014 including the Muddy River chocolate soda phosphate and a lime soda phosphate called the Green River, tagged as an “1897 Miner’s Favorite” \u2014 undeniably steal the show. With all the fizzy guzzling, travelers do have a way to temper the rush: A full food menu offering hearty breakfast dishes, including country biscuits with gravy, and a lunch menu with the likes of homemade chili and cornbread, plus a western BBQ beef sandwich and side of miner’s slaw. To dig deeper into bygone food-and drink culture, check out our articles on\u00a0old-school soda fountains and sour soda shop ingredients, including phosphates.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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