I used to love getting the tableside “Caesar Salad” making service. At some upscale restaurants, usually Bananas Foster is another dish that is made tableside. You might not expect someone to come to your table and make drinks, however.
When we were kids, there were occasions that much of the whole family would go out to a restaurant. It may be after a funeral, on the way home from the fair, or whatever the case may be. Somehow, the parents allowed myself and a few of my cousins to sit at a table together against their better judgement. We were not bad children (so we say). We didn’t run around. We were the kids who were more likely to be “a little too quiet.” Inevitably, though, there would be culinary creations emanating from our table. Yes, even at a Big Boy’s restaurant there was enough to work with. All of those tantalizing caddies of additives and jellies awaited us.
My brother always ordered a glass of water with lemon, and then would confiscate the lemons from everyone else, not proud to ask at the “grown up” tables as well. He would take the sugar packets lined in their little caddy, too. With sugar granuals liberally littering the table, he squeezed and mixed his own lemonade. Usually, it took half a glass of tasting to get the ratio of sugar, water, and squeezed lemon wedges just right. He would then declare his creation a masterpiece and pedal his wares to the several tables our extended family took up.
Oddly enough, he got few special orders.
Here is how hand squeezed lemonade is supposed to go:
1 cup sugar (white. No fancy schmancy stuff or your lemonade is going to be awfully crunchy)
6 lemons
6 cups of water
6 cups cold water
Squeeze the lemons, pour the juice in a pitcher, add the sugar, and stir in 6 cups of cold water. If you really rather prefer your water temperature not be dictated to you, and you like warmed over lemonage, go for an alternative temperature. If you think that is not enough sugar, just go to town, but it will surely be to your taste and not mine.
Actually, since the ratio is 6 to 1 seems to be the golden mean of lemonade, maybe my brother was actually not so far off. If he combined all the lemon slices and it added up to one whole lemon, I could imagine he could dump enough of those sugar packets to make approximately 1/6 of a cup of sugar.
On the way home, we crashed in the car due to not only the ratio but the sheer volume of sugar that was consumed through a straw througout the evening, even though our breath and hands and sleeves smelled as refreshing as lemon scented Pledge. Our parents didn’t need car air fresheners. When you are doing this level of experimenting, you drink your mistakes.
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