Someone at work asked me if I know of any restaurants that serve simple syrup with unsweetened tea so you can sweeten it to your taste (and not with those packets of sugar that don’t dissolve). The Map Room downtown used to do this (and serve a mean pimiento cheese, too), but I can’t think of any other restaurant offhand that does this. Anyone? (This is how I make tea at home, by the way. Combine equal parts sugar and water and bring to a boil. Boil just until it becomes clear–30 seconds or so–stir, and remove from heat.) I like mine with lemon or lime and with a bit of mint.
While we’re on it, might as well tell me who’s got the best iced tea. I haven’t had REALLY good tea since my grandmother died, but this has less to do with her good cooking than with her bad water. She lived in the country and her tap water tasted a bit off–heavy, mineral-ly–but it made the best tea you’ve ever tasted.
Southern Exposure
Responses to “Sweet tea and simple syrup”
August 9th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
[…] Memphis to get tea served this way. She said the Map Room downtown used to offer simple syrup, and she put the call out to readers to suggest other places. She also wonders: Which place in town has the best iced tea? (You […]
August 9th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
I was typing & something happened, so I hope I’m not duplicating my comment.
I’m glad you mentioned your grandmother’s bad water making wonderful iced tea, Jennifer. My grandmother lived in the rural part of Rossville until her death in 1975. The water had a lot of iron in it & it was awful to drink by itself but it made excellent iced tea. One of my pet peeves is to order sweet tea & have it delivered needing the addition of Equal or Splenda at the table (NEVER Sweet ‘n Low!) And I prefer that it already be chilled before they serve it or else it’s going to melt all the ice immediately. I favor Jack Pirtle’s for drive thru & McAlister’s for dine in or carryout sweet tea, & Sonic for flavored sweet tea (cranberry is my favorite there). I don’t know of any restaurants that offer simple syrup to sweeten tea, but I think that’s an excellent idea.
August 9th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Carole, my grandmother was in Fayette County, too. The water probably tasted the same!
August 10th, 2007 at 9:35 am
The first place I ever saw simple syrup served with tea was at the Four Seasons in Maui. (This was also the first place that I saw pool boys walking among the chaise longues spritzing sunbathers with Evian water.) When I ordered iced tea with my lunch served on the outdoor patio, the waitron brought a tiny pitcher of simple syrup with the glass. I’ve never seen it served this way in Memphis.
August 10th, 2007 at 10:03 am
I’m sure this is heresy for this particular thread, but I’ve always thought most sweet tea in Memphis was way too sweet. Still, I’m so fond of iced tea that I rate restaurants by the kind they serve, and yesterday, I had some lovely mint-flavored tea at Sauces, that place on the mall Downtown. I also love the iced tea at Buns on the Run on Elzey in Cooper Young, but maybe it’s because I’ve been going there so long that they know just the way I like it: With lots of lemon, and in a big pitcher, so I can sit and sip and read for as long as I want.
August 10th, 2007 at 10:42 am
McAlister’s has the best tea. I don’t even like the food, but I go there anyway just because of the tea. Cozy Corner has great tea too. I like that they just set a pitcher out. One barbeque place that has awful tea is Interstate BBQ. I love the barbeque, but I won’t go there solely because the tea is so bad. I’m pretty sure it is instant.
August 10th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
My grandmother also made the best tea I’ve ever tasted. However, although she always lived out in the country (never city water) she did move around some and her tea always tasted the same. I believe her secret was to let the tea “steep” and that’s how I make it. Bring it to a boil, remove from heat and let it sit … for hours … until it’s just barely warm. Dissolve the sugar in some hot water and mix it with the tea, then finish it off with cold water. Also, the brand may have had something to do with it, and, unfortunately, I have no idea what brand she used. Was there any other brand 40 years ago besides Lipton? There’s no way mine is as good as hers, but I do know that steeping makes a great difference in the flavor.
August 10th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
I love the tea at McAlister’s - it’s not too sweet, but doesn’t need anything added. My favorite tea, though, is the peach tea at Cafe de France. I could drink that stuff by the bucket.
August 10th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Brenda, I think A&P grocery stores had their own brand of tea 40 yrs. ago because my family always shopped for groceries there when I was growing up. Not sure about Luzianne, although I think it’s been around a long time as well. In the D/FW area, people swear by Cain’s brand tea. I’m pretty sure my grandmother used Lipton.
Shame on Interstate BBQ if they are using instant tea! Anywhere that is willing to cook BBQ for hours on end shouldn’t mind spending a little extra time brewing tea. If more places would leave a pitcher on the table, they would save the servers a lot of steps just to refill glasses. But I guess that would mean a lot of pitchers if people were having different things to drink, & soft drinks would go flat.
I enjoyed the pool boys spritzing bathers w/water in bottles outfitted with battery powered fans at the Hilton Cliffs of Tapatio resort in Phoenix. Don’t know if it was Evian or not, but it sure felt nice.
August 11th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
To answer your initial question about where in Memphis one might find unsweet tea served with simple sugar, it is practically right out your front door from the Commerical Appeal.
Queztal has simple sugar that you may use to sweeten your tea to taste (you may have to ask for it at the counter) and although I myself DETEST tea (I’ve been disowned as a Southerner by everyone including my own father for this and my dislike of watermelon), I pay very close attention to others’ critiques of local cuisine — liquid or otherwise. Their tea is apparently pretty tasty. It is a very dark variety so I would take a stab at the likelihood of them using at least a black tea concotion if not purely black tea.
I personally will stick to their coffee and smoothies.
August 14th, 2007 at 6:20 am
While I worked at Quetzal we’d always make two kinds of Iced Tea - black one, sometimes with a tiny peachy or mango flavor, and something more exotic - either green&lemony, or fruity, or herbal.
I don’t believe they’ve changed their tea supplier - if that’s true all of those teas used are not concoction or powder type - but purely organic tea leaves and blends.
August 16th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
I dunno. I’m somewhat partial to the tea at Tops BBQ. It could just be that I lived within a mile or two of one my entire life, or maybe that it’s not overly bitter like that at McAllister’s deli. People rave about McAllister’s tea but I’ve found it to be skunky and bitter almost every time I get it. The Lenny’s in Olive Branch does right by me too, as it’s neither bitter nor overly sweet. I’m largely unimpressed by sweet tea in “sit down” restaurants, usually opting for water instead.
A little tip I learned for making good sweet tea at home: A pinch of baking soda in a gallon of sweet tea will neutralize any uber-bitter (i.e. pleh effect) flavors.
August 18th, 2007 at 10:40 am
I am currently reading “The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook” & was interested in their recipes for iced tea sweetened with simple syrup. They advise making tea by using 6 cups of cold water, 6 bags of Orange Pekoe tea or 6 tsp. of loose tea such as Lipton. They boil the water in a kettle & then let it rest for 2 minutes. They take the tags off the teabags & tie them to a ladle or long handle spoon & pour the hot water over them in a 2 qt. heatproof pitcher. They let the tea steep for 10 mins. They allow to cool at room temperature for about half an hr. & then another half hr. in the refrigerator. Their simple syrup recipe is 1 cup of sugar & 1/2 cup of water cooked over low heat & stirred w/a wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves, about 2 mins. They pour it into a glass jar or container w/tight fitting lid & cool to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator. They say it keeps for a month, but I wonder why it wouldn’t keep longer. To sweeten tea as they prefer it, they advise pouring 1 tbs. of simple syrup into a 14 ounce glass filled 2/3 to the rim w/ice. Then they pour in a cup of brewed iced tea & stir vigorously with a spoon. They squeeze & add a wedge of lemon to the glass & garnish w/a sprig of mint. They also advise their method of making mint simple syrup. If anybody wants the recipe for that, please post a comment & I’ll send it along when I see the post. Their ratio of sugar to iced tea if not using simple syrup is 1/2 cup to 6 cups of brewed tea, added after the teabags are removed from brewing.
August 22nd, 2007 at 3:55 pm
The best iced tea around can be had at the Eatery at 201 Poplar, the Criminal Justice Center. The sandwich shop on the first floor is open to the public and serves tea that is consistently JUST RIGHT.
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