Southern Style Home Cookin’ Right in Central Mass.

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Monday, April 30, 2012

Ashley Klann, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Worcester has its share of eclectic eateries. Sushi, Italian, Armenian, Jamaican – you name it, you can find it here. But one style of cooking that wasn’t very prominent until recently has been brought to town – good old Southern cooking.

Thanks to Sweet T’s Southern Kitchen, located at 35 Blackstone River Road, you don’t need to travel down South to get a heaping plate of all the Dixieland staples. The restaurant specializes in making an affordable Southern experience that y’all can’t miss.

The restaurant opened only sixteen months ago and has been delighting customers with Southern style soul food ever since.

“I think we’re being well received. We have a very diverse clientele and we like that,” said part-owner, Michaun Fowler. “Mostly we just built our restaurant on the idea of comfort food. My business partner is from Georgia, and we both had an interest in comfort food. It’s better than a quick, thrown together meal. You want food to taste like your mom’s or your aunt's. We took this idea, and Sweet T’s was born.”

While the only Southern origin Fowler has is of Southern California, she – just like the rest of the friendly staff at Sweet T’s – will make you feel right at home at their restaurant.

She and her business partner, Tony Sanders, are committed to giving each of their customers a homemade, welcoming experience and they know that they best way to a customer’s heart is through the stomach.

“We want to keep it traditional from the South and homemade,” Fowler said. “We put in the same attention you’d put into it at home. Everything is done by hand. We don’t purchase anything premade. Everything takes effort. We can definitely tell you exactly what’s in it,” she said with a laugh. “Butter. What else do you want to know?”

What you’ll find at Sweet T’s might not be what you need to shed some pounds for summer, but their dedication to preparation and fresh ingredients will win you over.

The Menu

The menu at Sweet T’s is always changing to bring customers a uniquely satisfying meal that’s made from scratch, every time. While you can’t always predict what’s on the menu, Sweet T’s offers a lot of specials that you can count on.

“Our number-one seller is the chicken fried chicken. People would probably picket if we took it off the menu,” she said, adding that their staff enjoys the changing menu. “We play around with different options, but that and the pulled pork are here ninety percent of the time. “It’s definitely fun, and we take a lot of the input from customers on what to try. We try to talk to each and every one of them.”

They prepare plates with meat and sides including a main course of country fried chicken, pulled pork, Southern ham, and baked barbequed chicken. Sides include all those Southern favorites you’d expect – mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, green beans, fried okra, sweet potatoes, and more. Gumbo, chili, and cornbread are also on the menu, and you can wash it all down with a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

New to Southern cuisine?

Haven’t tried collard greens? Not sure how you feel about gumbo? Not to worry. Sweet T’s is used to the New England palate and won’t leave you hanging if you are curious about trying something new.

“We get people who haven’t had Southern cooking all the time. Basically, we’re set up cafeteria style. Most of what we make is to order, but anything on the steam table, you can sample, if we’re not crazy busy,” she said.

Fowler’s recommendation for someone new to Southern soul food – the chicken. “I always recommend it. People are looking for fried, and we can give them something a little different. It’s delicious and smothered in the gravy of your choice.”

While her personal favorite changes week to week with the menu, Fowler says she can’t get enough of the chicken fried steak. “We just added it back to the menu. It’s richer, chewer. Right now that’s my favorite,” she said.

Fowler also recommended the now “world famous” buttermilk pie.

“It’s our signature dessert that you can’t get anywhere else,” she said.

Start the day off right

For those who want a heaping helping of soul food in the morning, Sweet T’s offers a classic Sunday Southern Brunch. A cool $14.95 plus tax will get you all you can eat of Sweet T’s loaded Southern breakfast.

Sweet T’s uses their Sunday menu to test out new items and mix it up.

“Sunday brunches usually have a theme,” Fowler said. “We pick Southern states and focus on what they’re known best for. If items do well, they’ll come back more often.”

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