I remember as a child walking to the K & K, which was the neighborhood luncheonette on the corner of Monroe & Market Streets, and purchasing an ice cold Manhattan Special. Nothing quenched the thirst on a hot summer day like a Manhattan Special, which was purchased for a quarter. The guy behind the counter would open the bottles for us and we'd take off - back to the park on Cherry St. to continue our games of Chinese jump-rope, Johnny-on-the-Pony, stickball, tops, handball, or just walking around the block a few times while sipping our soda and talking about the boys.I paid $1.39 for this bottle. One sip takes me back to NYC, any summer between 1965 and 1970. Even when we spent the summers in Long Beach, you could find a bottle of Manhattan Special in any deli in NY. Through the years it was difficult to find but now it's making a comeback in specialty stores and high-end food markets and can even be purchased online.
The espresso flavored soda will always be about NYC and Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where it's still made today.
