BevMo' Better

Forget about Beverages And More, the chain also known as "BevMo," which continues to expand in L.A. (including a major store in the West Hollywood Gateway center).

If you're looking to find obscure and not-so-obscure sodas from around the country and the globe, head to Highland Park and Galco's Soda Pop Stop.

Galco's served as a Italian grocery store for well over a century, and in its Highland Park location since the 1950s. But owner John Nese, a soda fanatic, decided to switch gears about eight years ago. Galco's now almost exclusively sells soda, beer and water (although a sandwich deli remains in the back), as well as hard-to-find candy.

Nese is there himself, stocking shelves and sharing obscure soda and candy trivia. When Maria picked up a SkyBar (made by Necco) --a chocolate bar with four blocks, one filled with caramel, another by vanilla, the third with peanut and the fourth with fudge-- Nese told us how Necco owns just one machine that's capable of making the bar.

On this visit we took home a bottle of "The Original Green River" soda, as well as "Sioux City Sarsaparilla" ("The Granddaddy of All Root Beers").