8/27/2008 - Beneath the Frasier logo

Left: Gridiron Ice and Pina Colada

Right: Gridiron Ice

Sam's take - The 7/11 by the Space Needle holds a special place in our hearts. Despite its complete lack of public bathrooms (this is the second time that's been an issue) it provides an easy way to enjoy a Slurpee while viewing the Needle, the super cool giant fountain (see my facebook videos for more on that) and the . . . well, the crappy carnival stuff that, for some reason, litters the area.

Pina Colada mixes well with a lot of things, and isn't disgusting no matter what Jonathan tells you. The mix here is great, but it makes me wish there was a vanilla Slurpee.

8/26/2008 - Not-quite-right

Left: Jonathan's "Traffic Light" Slurpee, made from Cherry, Banana, and a disturbingly green Blue Raspberry.

Right: Cherry and the aforementioned bizarre "Blue" Raspberry

Sam's take - Today I learned an important lesson: If the color you see through that little window in the Slurpee machine doesn't seem quite right, go find another 7-11. The in-no-way blue raspberry tasted as off as it looked. The rest of my Slurpee was a magnified, almost luminescent version of cherry.

I only drank about half of mine.

8/25/2008 - Disparities

Left: Banana and Cherry

Right: Banana, Cherry, Monster Black Ice . . . I think maybe he stuck some Twizzlers in there, or something. Who knows?

Sam's take - Could we have a better contrast between Slurpee's here? My simple, elegant combination side-by-side with Jonathan's multi-flavor blur. By the end of the car ride home, his was a homogeneous black sludge wearing a yellow hat.

8/24/2008 - Coca-banana

Left: Mountain Dew

Right: Banana and Coke

Sam's take - What's that? A chocolate-banana Slurpee? No, no, that banana and Coke, because I'm just that weird. Is it really so strange? Every other fruit flavor goes with coke. It was pretty good, even though the Slurpee's at this 7/11 were a little less frozen than normal.

8/23/2008 - Original Recipe

Right: Cherry and Coke

Middle: Monster Black Ice and Cherry, the special "Auburn game" edition of Jonathan's UGA mix.

Left: Coke . . . again, no imagination.

Sams's take - At least once on every trip, I have to hit the classic mix. Cherry and coke, the definitive Slurpee flavors.

8/22/2008 - That's not Lymon at all.

Left: Banana and Green Apple

Right: Banana

Sam's take - Banana has been long-heralded as the greatest Slurpee flavor, so we're always excited to find it. Green Apple, which is provided by Jolly Rancher, is pretty good, but I can't imagine drinking a whole cup of it.

But the real story here, perhaps the most important thing in the world, are the straws. This 7/11 has thick metal straws for 99 cents that say "Slurpee" down the side. Super-cool.

8/21/2008 - Did everything just taste purple for a second?

Left: Blue Raspberry and Cherry.

Middle: Blue Raspberry, Cherry, Gridiron Ice (orange)

Right: Cherry, because some people have no imagination.

Sam's take - I was skeptical of trying another blue Slurpee after last year's "Woo Hoo Berry" abomination, but this one was good. The combination was light and fruity, without tasting like either one.

The event horizon* between Blue Raspberry and Cherry was a neat purple highlight to the whole thing.

*Credit to Joe Selawski for reminding me of this term.

8/20/2008 Black Slurpee?

Left: Jonathan's "UGA" red and black Slurpee. Cherry mixed with "Monster Black Ice".

Right: "Gridiron Ice" mixed with Cherry. There's also a little Black Ice down there at the bottom, because I wanted to try it.

Sam's take - Monster Black tastes like some kind of ancient, primal version of grape. Gridiron ice is a pretty straight up popsicle orange, but it mixes with cherry so nicely.

Welcome to the 2008 Edition

With late August comes the Penny Arcade Expo. With the Penny Arcade Expo comes the yearly trip to Seattle, with Seattle comes access to 7/11's, and the Slurpee's that flow freely from those establishments.

Georgia's crippling lack of these concoctions leaves us with an entire year of pained, bitter looks at a host of imitators. They all try their best, but it's just not the same.

So while visiting the Northwest, where 7/11's grace every corner like so many Waffle Houses, we make the most of it. A Slurpee every day. EVERY. DAY. And in as many combinations as possible.

Here you'll find photos of all the Slurpee's we've tried, with our thoughts on each one. Enjoy!