Sycamore Drive-In Root Beer

I’d Never Get Syc of This Stuff
Sycamore Drive-In

Bethel

rb2I’ve read a LOT of stuff about a LOT of stuff in Connecticut. I can’t recall where I first read about the Sycamore, but I made note of the fact that they made their own root beer and figured it fit into my Olde Timey Soda Pop section on CTMQ.

In fact, the Sycamore is olde timey in its entirety. As they say, “In continuous operation since 1948, the Sycamore has become a Bethel Landmark. The recipes for our famous French style steak burgers and homemade root beer have been handed down from the original owners. We are committed to providing quality food at reasonable prices in a friendly, 50′s style atmosphere with curb service”

Yeah that’s right… Curb service! You can flash your lights and someone comes out, puts a tray on your car and serves your food that way. The prices are cheap and the decor is authentic. (Note: The burgers are said to be excellent here, but we didn’t eat them. I am intrigued by the pictures of how thin they are on CT Bites though.)

rb1

Our food was rather unremarkable – but very passable as diner food. Damian spent almost the entire time there acting out and being difficult; but we can almost ignore his episodes these days. Especially when we have an ice crusted frosty root beer mug in front of us… REAL root beer.

rb says, “The best known house specialty is root beer, made on premises from a top-secret recipe and served in frosty glass mugs. The root beer varies from sweet to dry, depending on where in the barrel yours comes from, but whatever its nature on any day, it always makes the perfect basis of a root beer float.”

Did you know that real root beer actually involves a fermentation process? Yup. Now, I can’t be sure if the Sycamore goes that far, but probably. It tasted very different from the Hires or A&W you’re used to – but I chalked that up to the use of real sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. However, that’s just a guess.

If you’re ever near Bethel (because it’s not like you’ll be IN Bethel), be sure to make the stop at the Sycamore. If you eat burgers, I’m sure they are wonderful here – everyone but us were eating them during our lunch.

Sycamore Drive-In
Make your own dang root beer

2 responses to “Sycamore Drive-In Root Beer”

  1. Linda says:

    As I’m going to be heading out here to meet a couple of friends from Ansonia for lunch on Wednesday I figured I had to check CTMuseumQuest and see if you had visited and what your thoughts were. Yay! You had! I read somewhere recently – darned if I can remember where – that Sycamore has THE best burgers in Connecticut so I need to see how true that it is but more importantly I need to see how their root beer stacks up to the root beer that my dearly-departed since 1972 grandfather used to make. His root beer was phenomenal and had quite the kick to it with definitely a snap in the taste (for lack of better culinary terms!) He bottled it himself and would then keep the bottles wrapped in a blanket, nestled in a cardboard box under his bed until it had reached the proper amount of time and then would break it out for his weekly Sunday dinners. I’ve never tasted root beer like my grandfather’s anyplace else in the country – and I’ve consumed a lot of root beer in my time – so let’s see how the Sycamore Drive-In does. I’ll try to remember to let you know if they really DO have the best burgers in Connecticut too!

  2. Chris says:

    The burgers are “French style.”

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