Travel across the country and you're bound to come across some idiosyncrasies that would otherwise seem peculiar—especially when it comes to food. Like eating cereal with ice. Or adding marshmallow to omelettes. But Utah might be a front-runner for bizarre culinary practices.
In the Western state, which is predominately Mormon, there is an all-out battle among soda shops vying for the title of "Mormon Starbucks," the New York Times reports. The tricked out drinks are nonalcoholic of course, but they're producing crazy carbonated creations that are totally trending.
Two chains in particular, Sodalicious and Swig, are at odds about who has the right to sell the "dirty" drinks. Swig's founders, who opened their first of 10 locations back in 2010, are suing Sodalicious for stealing the idea and then opening eight shops thereafter.
While the legal war has yet to go down, the battle behind the the soda fountain rages on as the chains duke it out for consumers' attention and business. Both chains are using creativity as a weapon and their resulting sips are a little bit insane, ranging from orange-and-mango–laced Mountain Dew with a shot of half-and-half to Pepsi mixed with raspberry puree and vanilla syrup to Dr. Pepper hit with coconut and blackberry syrups.
These concoctions might sound overbearing or even cloying but they're extremely popular nonetheless. And they're definitely not being consumed in moderation. According to the Salt Lake Tribune, one man ordered 2,000 drinks at Swig in just 18 months. The Times also wrote about another Swig regular who drinks a Dirty Dr Pepper (with coconut added) for breakfast and a Mountain Dew Froot Loop (swirled with strawberry, peach, and watermelon) as a nightcap every single day. So even if you don't think the drinks are insane, we can at least agree that their habit-forming qualities are.
Follow Delish on Instagram.