The Pop Shop, Collingswood, NJ

My only experience eating in Collingswood up until now was a really awful Taco Bell before a Billy Bragg concert. So I was pleasantly surprised to read about The Pop Shop -- which had been featured in a grilled cheese match on Bobby Flay's Throwdown.

It's a super cute place right on the main street in downtown Collingswood - a retro soda shop all done up in bubble gum colors and black and white checks. On a Sunday at noon, the place was packed with families with young kids.

Redneckhunter ordered a black and white milkshake to start. He decided to go for breakfast with his milkshake, while I chose from among the 30 varieties of grilled cheese. I opted for the one that had been invented by Bobby Flay for the show: brie and goat cheese with applewood smoked bacon and tomato on country white bread. Redneckhunter got biscuits and gravy with cheesy scrambled eggs.

So the problem wasn't with the food itself - just that it came out kind of cold. Since we sat at the soda counter, we had a front row view of the waitresses clearly getting ready for some sort of kids make-your-own-sundae party. They must have scooped 40 dishes of ice cream and put out 30 dishes of toppings in front of us. Unfortunately, the waitresses were probably a little too busy to get our food out hot. Poor Redneckhunter - sausage cream gravy is not something you want to be eating lukewarm...

I liked this place despite all that. I think if I lived in Collingswood, we would be at this place often. It's fun, I love the retro vibe, and there's ice cream...

The Pop Shop
729 Haddon Avenue
Collingswood, NJ
856-869-0111