It's Not Your Grandfather's Soda Fountain - Blueplate Soda Fountain Celebrates One Year Anniversary

Portland, OR, November 11, 2007 --(PR.com)-- It’s not your Grandfather’s Soda Fountain, or is it? Tucked away inside the main floor of the historic Dekum building in downtown Portland, Oregon, lives a tribute to a piece of America’s past, Blueplate Soda Fountain. Today coffee shops dominate every street corner, but in the early 1900’s it was the Soda Fountain that dotted our Main streets and brought us together for a pick-me-up. Owner and Chef Jeffery Reiter has built a soda fountain in modern day Portland.

Why soda? As a medicinal cure all, soda water became a must have in the local pharmacy. Flavors were added to simply entice more customers. In the Dispenser’s Formulary, a handbook of recipes for fountain owners (published in 1925) compiled by the Editors of The Soda Fountain Magazine, includes over 2,500 soda fountain recipes. These recipes contained exotic fruits, sugar and spices to create an intense concentrated syrup to add to the soda water. The popularity of these complex flavors did increase and proved an effective way to bring in more customers. In response, some of these recipes were standardized. According to Anne Cooper Funderburg’s book, Sundae Best: A History of the Soda Fountain; Tufts, a major producer of fountains, created unique flavor options such as: Queen’s Favorite which included pineapple, raspberry and vanilla and the Juliet made with ginger, pineapple and grape,

The Dispenser’s Formulary was Jeff Reiter’s handbook. As a graduate of California Culinary Academy with over ten years of experience, Jeff was drawn to the complexity of these recipes. He wanted to get into the kitchen and experiment with those 1925 guidelines. And experiment he did. “He was like a mad scientist”, says Beth, Jeff’s wife. “He would drag himself home after working a dinner shift and cook up batches of syrups in our kitchen until the wee hours. I knew Jeff discovered something he was more passionate about than duck fat,” she exclaims.

After continuing to research and test flavors, Jeff also fell for the nostalgia of the early pharmacy fountains. “It was a piece of history I wanted to see again, I knew the simplicity and all natural ingredients would be embraced by the Portland food community”, says Reiter. “As a self proclaimed soda aficionado, I am constantly frustrated with the bottled soda options. They all contain concentrated white grape juice or high fructose corn syrup, they are missing uniqueness and flavor”, says Reiter. “Sugar, fruit and spices are all you’ll find in my sodas. Just like the original recipes.”

Reiter, a graduate of California Culinary Academy and former Sous Chef under Portland’s Scott Dolich at Park Kitchen, builds upon the Dispenser’s Formulary and his culinary training by creating artisan handcrafted sodas at Blueplate. The two most popular sodas are the Chai Bomb and Purple Haze. The Chai Bomb syrup is made with cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, cardamom, cloves and star anise. The Purple Haze syrup (named for it’s natural purple hue) is made with hibiscus, allspice and star anise. Other notable sodas offered are the Eastern Connection (orange, ginger, lemongrass, kefir lime leaf) and the Tooted Fruit (lemon, lime, orange, strawberry, ginger).

Since opening in 2006, Blueplate has been getting rave reviews from the local Portland press.

Mike Thelin with the Willamette Week, picked the Chai Bomb as part of the Perfect Portland Takeout Plate. Thelin states, “Blueplate's chai bomb soda is a complex marriage of cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger and anise on crushed ice. Sweet and peppery, it's one of the most unique and delicious soda concoctions you'll ever try…” (March 28, 2007)

Portland Monthly Magazine rated Blueplate’s Milkshakes Best of Portland 2007 (August 2007).

Oregonian awarded one of the "Best Bites" in Portland for the Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup (October 2007)

The 28-seat cozy space, includes 6 stools at a counter and is decorated and modeled after an early 19th century fountain. “It was important to develop the right atmosphere”, says Reiter. “Many people first think soda fountain and they picture a 1950’s shop, I was going for a much earlier era”. Take a look inside Blueplate on Youtube by searching "Blueplate Soda Fountain"

Of course, it’s not all about the soda. Reiter’s fountain menu extends to milkshakes, sundaes, egg creams and soda floats. He serves classic American comfort food Blueplate specials for weekday lunch and dinner. The classic American dishes are prepared with gourmet care, such as a Chicken Fried Steak, Grandma’s Pot Roast, Chicken Pot Pie, a BLT Salad, Meatloaf Sandwich and Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup.

After being open a year, Blueplate has revitalized the early American Soda Fountain. It really is your Grandfather’s soda fountain. And it’s in Portland Oregon.

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