Many, many decades ago young HG was an after school soda jerk at Bonder’s Candy Store on West Kingsbridge Road in The Bronx. The most requested beverage was simple: A Two Cents Plain. What is that? Well, it is a glass of cold seltzer that cost two cents. A very modestly priced thirst quencher. The older Bronx population believed seltzer was an aid to health and digestion. The local tradesmen would pop into the candy store a few times every afternoon, swallow a two cents plain and emit a hearty belch.(A greps in Yiddish). Bronx digestive therapy. A seltzer bottle (siphon) was always on the HG family dining table (along with a nice jar of schmaltz). A delivery service picked up the empties and replaced them with full bottles. The seltzer truck was a familiar sight. There is one last Seltzer delivery service in New York — Brooklyn Seltzer Boys According to HG’s research, other than New York, seltzer in its familiar siphon is still delivered on a daily basis in Vienna, Toronto and some Argentine cities. A nice urban amenity.
