I’ve been hearing about The Pop Shop for way too long to have only recently visited.
I feel like I’m behind the times; like the cool train has left and I’m racing on the track, trying to catch up and hop on.*
*Knowing me, I’d slam into the back when it pulled up to the station.
Despite my lateness to the party, I finally got there, which is all that matters, right?*
*No, it isn’t. I’ve been missing out for all this time. If you remember from this post, Medford used to be a weekly visit for me and now all these wonderful things are there and I’m not.
Grilled cheese. Dessert. Breakfast.
They were all things I’d heard raved about, so you can understand the inability I had in deciding what to order.
It was lunchtime, but my heart was telling me to go for dessert.
My stomach, however, told me if I ordered dessert only, I’d be sorry.
I compromised and ordered a cherry coke float and proceeded to slurp the entire thing down before my food arrived.
This is proper dining etiquette, right?
As it is, I’m already pretty indecisive when it comes to picking one thing to eat. The Pop Shop menu has so many enticing selections*, I could probably visit every day straight for two months and still not have tried everything.
*And breakfast all day. Breakfast ALL day, people!**
**I know, all the Jersey people are like, Yeah? Big deal. Diners, hello? But, have you ever seen pancake fries at a diner? How about nine kinds of egg Benedict? S’mores french toast? No? I didn’t think so.***
***I’m going to mention here I did not get breakfast either, but all these things tell me I’ll be back real soon.
There were around fifteen different choices floating in my mind before I settled on the Algonquin: mozzarella, grilled chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado, and balsamic mayonnaise on focaccia. It was the balsamic mayo that sold me. Though I wasn’t a fan of the dried rosemary on the bread, every other aspect of the sandwich was perfection. The avocado was fresh, the chicken flavorful, and the mayo was so good, next time I’m asking for extra!
Hubby went for a classic grilled cheese and ordered the Stokes: American cheese with tomato, apple wood smoked bacon on country white. It was everything a person could want in a grilled cheese: crisp buttery bread, ooey gooey cheesy center, a burst of acidity from the tomato, and the crunchy, fatty goodness bacon gives everything it touches.
There are seventeen different kinds of fries. We played it safe and ordered the Collingswood fries, but next time I’m going for the disco fries…or the buffalo fries…or the parmesan garlic fries…
The word that immediately comes to mind when trying to describe The Pop Shop is fun. Everything about it is fun. Built in an old bank, the atmosphere is laid back, the retro design varies from room to room, and every detail carries with it the nostalgia of the frequented drug stores of a time too soon forgotten.
The Pop Shop
1 South Main Street
Medford, New Jersey
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