Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Moon Pie and a RC Cola

I don't know where I first heard of this very Southern combination.  I think it may have been at Bob Baumhower's Wings Restaurant  where they had a Blue Collar Combo on the menu.  It consisted of one wing, a Moon Pie and an RC Cola.   (For those that don't know RC stands for Royal Crown).

In my limited research I found out that some miners wanted something filling for a snack as they didn't get time for a proper lunch break; Mr. Earl Mitchell, Sr., a bakery salesman, took the challenge.  At the time the workers had taken to dipping graham crackers into jars of marshmallow fluff they could buy in the company store.   Mr. Mitchell took this idea and ran with it.  It became known as the workingman's lunch.  for 10 cents the worker could get a Moon Pie (the biggest snack on the rack) and a 10oz. RC Cola.  A Southern classic was born.

They are still made in Chattanooga, Tennessee and have a web presence at MoonPie.com and even a Facebook Fan Page.  You can actually buy the shirt to the left and it's definitely on my birthday short list this year.

If you've ever been to a Gulf Coast Mardi Gras you've no doubt caught a mini Moon Pie.  In the 70's parade floats used to use Cracker Jack's as throws but the sharp corners of the box became problematic and they looked for a softer snack and Moon Pie stepped in to fill that need.

I can't find RC Cola, though I used to drink it pretty regularly back in the day.  You can buy it from the Moon Pie shop in tubs, baskets and boxes for nostalgic friends and family members.

I still get a hankering for a Moon Pie now and then and it has to be chocolate or a banana. What's your favorite RC and Moon Pie memory, or your favorite Moon Pie product?  Let us know in the comments!

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2 comments:

Brian Mauter said...

Vanilla moon pie and RC cola -- only way to fly.
Well, I also like the strawberry moon pie with a Mountain Dew. Yikes!

Toto said...

I'm not a cola fan ... However a Vanilla Moon Pie ... Can't be beat! I wish I had one rite now!

Ph and RC cola is a bit easier to stumble Upon in Kentucky ... If your seeking...