Dessert That's Worth the Drive

There are two reasons to go to any restaurant, the food and the atmosphere—S&T's Soda Shoppe in quaint downtown Pittsboro has both. This family owned and operated restaurant never fails to leave a smile on your face and your stomach full. The ice cream is well worth the 30 minute drive from Chapel Hill or Durham.

One of us discovered S&T's several years ago through friends and have made it a point to return as frequently as possible—but not frequently enough to pack on the pounds. The menu varies between sandwiches, steak, lasagna, quesadillas, and burgers but the key when ordering is to save room for ice cream.

On a recent visit, we ordered the pimento cheese burger and the corn dog nuggets with a side of homemade salsa. One of us has a weak spot for a pimento cheese burger, and S&T's version was as fresh and satisfying as most, but not beating out Bull McCabe’s top standing. The corn dog nuggets were tasty dipped in the salsa and made for a fun meal; however, the entrée selection was purely strategic to save room for the best part.

Like all good ice cream shops, you can taste test as many flavors as you like. After trying lots of their more than 15 flavors--strawberry cheesecake, chocolate and peanut butter, pecan praline, and cookies and cream--we were set to order.  One of us went for the Hall River Mud Dessert while the other chose a banana split.

The Hall River Mud Dessert is a brownie sundae on steroids—piled high with your choice of ice cream, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, sprinkles and a cherry. It should be noted that S&T's portion sizes are bigger than most we’ve seen and after getting in good with the owners, ours a little larger still. This true GWG was able to finish the dessert, even when other males in the dinner party were not.

The banana split is an amazing sight. Although we ordered it “naked” (without the whipped cream, crushed cherries, strawberries, pineapple, nuts or sprinkles) it is still an impressive dessert. The three flavors of ice cream—sweet black cherry, banana pudding, and pecan praline—were heaped onto a banana and served with a side of stemmed cherries. It should take two people to finish this…but more power to the person who does it on their own.

S&T's is a great place for a large group of friends to hang out and get away from the stress of a fast-paced life or it can be a great date spot with a significant other (we know because one GWG got engaged here in April). Just be sure to get there before 7:30 to be seated (they don’t seat anyone new after that) and know they are closed on Sunday and Monday.