It took four months, but I've finally found it: great sweet tea.
In Wilmington, N.C., great sweet tea was always a restaurant away. Rarely would I get nervous about its quality when ordering the sugary goodness at any restaurant.
Then, when I moved over three hours south to Charleston, I figured the further south I traveled, the better the sweet tea would be. I was wrong.
When looking for apartments back in June, I ordered a sweet tea at a restaurant for lunch. It was awful. There was no actual sweetness involved, and apparently it is possible for liquid to taste burnt.
Then, a couple weeks ago, the skies lifted. I had been at Isle of Palms on an assignment, and I decided to stop at Johnny's Hot Dogs in Mount Pleasant on my way back to work.
I had heard good things, and since I was slowly becoming a local, I decided I needed to try more local foods. Sorry, Taco Bell, not today.
I ordered a combo and grabbed my chips and a cup. Hmmm...the fountain soda drinks were appealing, but when I was getting ice from Johnny's awesome wood ice chest, I noticed a big container labeled 'sweet tea.'
If it's bad, I can always dump it out and get a fountain drink by the time my hot dogs are ready, I thought.
I took a skeptical sip. If I hadn't been hobbling around with a foot injury, I would've jumped for joy.
Sweet relief. South Carolina has finally welcomed me.
Two days later, I went back for another lunch. My meal was more like sweet tea with a side of hot dogs.
What other places in town have great sweet tea? Show me the way to more sweet relief.
(Contact Tyler by email at theffernan@moultrienews.com or on Twitter at @TylerHeff.)
