Monday, April 9, 2018

SWEET TEA'S SOUTHERN CUISINE - RICHMOND, VA

Sweet Tea's Southern Cuisine is located one block away from the previously reviewed Southern Kitchen. We discovered Sweet Tea's as we were leaving Southern Kitchen. A couple was entering the restaurant and we stopped to ask their opinion. They told us Sweet Tea's was much better and advised us to give them a try the next time we were in town. So we did!

We arrived before opening on a Sunday afternoon and were quickly ushered out and told to come back. The hostess was pleasant enough although it was obvious she was irritated that someone had left the door unlocked. But after a brief walk to take in the neighborhood, we returned. Our waitress was very sweet and despite still trying to get things rolling for the day, she was extremely attentive and very friendly.

Sweet Tea's is family owned and operated and little less formal that it's competitor up the street. The atmosphere is as pleasant. The décor was simple and slightly homey. From the start, my only major complaint was that someone really needs to give the menus a good wipe down. Menus covered in food and fingerprints was a turn off and these were foul.

 Now, like their competitor, they started the meal with bread. But corn muffins instead of corn bread. The muffins were basic and not at all exceptional. They were slightly dry and could have come out of a box. We could have done without the muffins.

Now one of the highlights of the meal for both of us was the sweet tea! They have the monopoly on sweet tea and I hate that I can't get it every day. We both started with basic sweet tea which was the perfect blend of strong and sweet. It was great sweet tea! Our server then convinced us to give the flavored tea a try. She'd just made it and was very excited to share. The day's flavor was peach sweet tea. With real, fresh peaches. The presentation in a Mason jar with the fresh fruit spilling over the top was absolutely divine! This just made me smile! It was liquid sunshine in a glass and it tasted like heaven!


This time I ordered the Big Easy's Chops, two pork chops perfectly seasoned and fried. They were mouth-watering and tender. They were good! I partnered my pork chops with macaroni and cheese and candied yams. Now I was slightly disappointed with the macaroni and cheese. It was just okay. It was slightly dry, with burnt edges and I wondered if we'd gotten the previous night's leftovers. The flavor was great mac and cheese goodness but it missed the mark on creamy and cheesy. Now, the candied yams were exceptional. I actually wish I had a bowl of them right now. They were the perfect blend of sweet with a hint of citrus. They were cooked perfectly and made up for what was lacking in the mac and cheese.

He ordered the chicken wings. Big Daddy is usually a breast man but the waitress insisted they were delicious and well worth trying. He got four large whole chicken wings and they passed the test. Nicely fried, perfectly seasoned and good! He also ordered the macaroni and cheese but did the mashed potatoes and gravy instead. He's a big mashed potato fan and although he enjoyed them, he wished he had known they were garlic potatoes which would have been better paired with beef and not chicken. They were just okay.

What we both agreed on is that Sweet Tea's and Southern Kitchen both have their own high notes and low points. Depending on what we wanted to eat would dictate which restaurant we would choose. Both had items on their menus that we hope to one day try and look forward to visiting and experiencing again.

Would we eat at Sweet Tea's again? Most definitely yes! My only regret was that we didn't try the banana pudding cake for dessert because it looked absolutely sublime!






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