Classic Semi-Rare Carnival Rides in New Jersey..This Week Only!

Zeppoles are of Italian descent, but basically they're just fried balls of dough (Doh!) lightly fried in oil and coasted with powdered sugar. Think similar to funnel cake, but in different form, denser and heavier.

I prefer the ones that spin..the rides, not the zeppoles.

At least one can ride the Tilt-A-Whirl as a single.

*EDIT*...Hee hee. I typed "coasted" for "coated." Freudian slip? I'll leave it.

rollergator said:

Simple way to remember: Roll-O-Planes "roll" or spin. Loop-O-Planes only loop, in that the car doesn't "spin" as the ride rotates.

Thanks for the clarification, gator. What I rode then, was a Loop-o-Plane. The ride's actual name was Dragon Loops.

Were you talking about some specific birch beer in NJ?

I'll take any birch beer I can find (usually end up with Stewart's or PA Dutch). There is no birch beer to be found until you hit MD on the way up, so I drink it when I can find it...plus, you have to get to NY/NJ for good pizza (Cesari's > LaRosa's, but that's damning with faint praise), so it works out.

I bring home a few six-packs of birch beer when I visit PA. Yummy!

PA Dutch is the best! And it's even available in diet, just as good. Don't see diet birch beer very often. The clear birch beer at Knoebels is really good too.

I still have yet to try birch beer - that I remember, anyway. I got all the "make sure you get it at Knoebels" when I went last October, but there is so much to do there that I never got around to finding this darn birch beer everyone goes on about.

There was birch beer in Cleveland when I was a kid at the Royal Castle Hamburgers. (Real similar to White Castle but little round ones instead of square) If you ate at the counter they'd bring it in cold frosty mugs and it was awesome. I tried the stuff at Knoebel's but I don't remember it.

Now my adult tastes have led me to ginger beer. Nothing better than a refreshing Moscow Mule or two!

Wow, I don't think I would fit in a Loop-O-Plane now. Last time I rode, I must have been 9.

What is a Bullet?

Birch beer is very similar in taste to root beer, so if you have had one, don't worry about the other.

I miss root and birch beers. I developed a very bad allergy to root beer (wth, right?), and so I just stay away from both. I used to love me some Barq's or some Stewart's.

janfrederick said:

Wow, I don't think I would fit in a Loop-O-Plane now. Last time I rode, I must have been 9.

What is a Bullet?

When the Loop-O-Plane was at my parish carnival when I was a kid in the 70's, it was called the Bullet. I didn't know it as anything else until I became an enthusi-ass.

bunky666 said: Birch beer is very similar in taste to root beer, so if you have had one, don't worry about the other.

So it's just a cool commodity because it has a different name than the standard root beer I can get anywhere?

bunky666 said: I miss root and birch beers. I developed a very bad allergy to root beer (wth, right?), and so I just stay away from both.

I'm now allergic to shellfish and have to carry an epinephrine injector with me all the time. I miss linguine with clam sauce. And lots of other stuff I can't have anymore as well. Not complaining, but I feel your pain.

I'm no expert, but the birch beer I've had (at Knoebels and somewhere else I can't remember) is *similar* to root beer but not quite. It's not foamy, and it's clear... think of it like root-beer-flavored 7-Up. :) And if that sounds nasty, I apologize for the poor analogy. I think birch beer has a sweeter taste too.

If root beer and 7-Up got married, then 7-Up had an affair with Vernor's ginger ale...

You're right about the sweetness factor, bird. Most birch beer you'll find won't be clear like Knoebels'...rather, reddish.

All birch beer I have ever had has been clear. Heh. Now I want to try the reddish kind.

Birch beer is comparable to, but not exactly like, root beer. I'll reiterate with my description. Birch beer is clear, and although bubbly, it's not frothy like root beer. It's like the old Crystal Pepsi in consistency. It kind of tastes to me like black jelly beans, but not as strong, and a little bit sweeter. It's taste is smooth and not tart. The bubbles compliment the flavor very well. It does not seem to have vanilla or cream like root beer does. It seems to have a more natural flavor than root beers manufactured flavor does. The "birch" flavor might be a single ingredient in root beers many flavors.

It's not really the greatest soda pop in the world, but it is always nice for a change.

Travis, I dislike black (licorice) jelly beans intensely. I remove them the way Van Halen banned brown M&M's back in the day. I like birch beer a lot, and there's not the slightest similarity to me.

Everyone's tastes are different. I find it similar for some reason.

Hey! Look what I found! Here is a Wiki page about Birch Beer! Very interesting! ...And no, there is no mention of the black jelly bean anise flavor on the page anywhere, so I guess it's just my interpretation of the flavor.

I find the creation of artificial and natural flavors fascinating, like root beer, bubble gum, and cotton candy. They are tasty too.

Having grown up in PA, and went to college in WV, I've had the pleasure of enjoying about a half dozen or so brands of Birch Beer over the years, and as I recall they were all varying shades of red, never saw a clear one. On the left coast it's considered a luxury item, sold at specialty stores or Beverages and More. At a starting price of two bucks a 12 oz bottle on up it has become an occasional treat.

When I was growing up we always called the Roll-O-Plane the "Bullet". I believe the ticket booth (each major ride had its own ticket booth) had Roll-O-Plane with the slogan "Ride of the Century".