Lost City: Fredericksburg, VA, Edition: Goodrick's Pharmacy

Goodrick's Pharmacy, on Caroline Street in downtown Frederickburg, Virginia, claims to be the oldest continually working soda fountain in the nation. If their founding date of 1863 is right, and the fountain installed in 1912, I'd have to say that may be true. Confederate veteran William Barber Goolrick was the veteran.

This sort of ideal is the sort of thing neo-soda fountains like Brooklyn Farmacy are trying to imitate. There's a long counter at front, a few small tables to the side, and a simple menu of refreshments and sandwiches. (The low prices at Goolrick's are something the newer fountains have not been able to match. Most of the dishes hover around $5.)

I ordered a chicken salad sandwich with egg and tomato. It came with a pickle spear and potato chips, which where taken out of a larger bag of chips and placed into a little Baggie. Cute. The sandwich was what sandwiches should be: fresh, simple and delicious, the bread perfectly toasted. I could have eaten five.

My son ordered a cherry egg cream. I was skeptical, as this was the first egg cream I've ever ordered outside of NYC. I didn't know if the South could do this drink well. It was served in an old-fashioned Coca-Cola glass and was certainly one of the best egg creams I'd ever tasted.

There was a pharmacy in back, and a few rows of shelves were you could buy necessary sundries and household goods. You always know you're in a old-style place when you see a Russell Stover Candies sign displayed prominently.

As for the Snack Center, what can I say except that I love that there's a Snack Center.