A carbonated beverage called La Croix seems to be all the rage amongst millennials today. This pretentious drink with flavors in French (insert eye roll) and its tacky design have taken over in most recent years but like most food trends it’s on the decline.

To New Yorkers, Seltzer is not a trend – it’s a way of life. NYC is known for their pizza and bagels but also Seltzer. So few people are familiar with this yiddish word but in NYC and the tri state area it’s what you grew up on. We never drank water. Just lots and lots of seltzer. If you’re from NYC you’re familiar with the brand Vintage or if you wanted to be fancy you bought Pellegrino. Our love is so strong that some have even purchased a soda stream to keep up with their household demand. At every restaurant in NYC you will be asked “Sparkling or Still?” Something you will never be asked in Texas.

In Texas we have discovered Topo Chico, a famously known sparkling mineral water amongst southerners. Topo Chico is pretty much you’re only seltzer option when dining out in Texas. It’s the cool beverage amongst kids and the obvious choice for any Texan; it’s even fun to say Topo Chico. We have noticed that Texans love anything from Texas and shun anything not. As Topo Chico started is making it’s way north we now know why northern seltzer brands haven’t made their way south.

Texans will agree with New Yorkers that La Croix is not a new trend but will argue Topo Chico is the original and has been around for ages. A war is about to pursue for the claim to seltzer. New Yorkers are probably scratching their heads and asking what’s “Topo Chico” as it started hitting the shelves in 2018. “Vintage” seltzer, the brand up north, has never been trendy in it’s simple plastic, blue bottle but it has been a staple in every New York/New Jersey household. Whoever owns the right to this carbonated drink, club soda, sparkling mineral water, seltzer or whatever you chose to call it; New Yorkers and Texans can agree it’s more than a trend – it’s a lifestyle! Now you have been educated on what northerners and southerns call this bubbly drink. You’re basically fluent in seltzer and can order like a local.