photograph courtesy stefanie rawlinson
Originally a food truck, Sugar Ghost has found a colorful home on Broad Avenue.
I cleaned out my pantry last weekend, alphabetized the spices, crammed all the plastic grocery bags into one plastic grocery bag, and threw out a bag of tortilla chips that expired in February 2020. And in doing my inventory of all the goods, I realized that my diet is quite … beige. Pasta, potatoes, crescent rolls, grits. Beige, beige, beige, and more beige on beige shelves against a beige wall.
But then to reward myself for my two hours of organizing, I stepped into the heaven that is Sugar Ghost Ice Cream and Bubble Tea. Once just a food truck, the sweet little bright pink shop has found its home as of October 2021 on Broad Avenue.
Once inside, I floated to the counter to order — and I mean floated, because how could you not float in a room with ballet-pink walls and baby-blue tables and twinkly lights wrapped around skeletons seated in the booths? So whimsical and fun, and so not beige. The counter itself looked like a confection straight out of Candyland with pastel, sprinkle-themed wood-panellng.
The whimsical flavors of bubble tea at Sugar Ghost will sit on your tongue long after your last sip or last pop of boba — a ghost of sugary flavors past that will keep you away from a beige purgatory.
I stood on my tippy-toes to order (not because the counter was too tall, but because I felt like I was in a magical realm that I would’ve dreamed of as a wee one who always stood on her tippy-toes). At first, I was tempted to order a chocolate milkshake or a scoop of chocolate ice cream — my go-to order at a place like this — but after a beige day, I needed something new, something colorful. I asked the kind lady behind the register for her recommendation for bubble tea, something out of my normal creature comforts. “Taro,” she said. “It’s purple.” Say no more, my friend. I’ll take it.
photograph by abigail morici
When she handed me the purple concoction, she flipped the cup over, a clear plastic film keeping it from spilling out, the tapioca balls swimming around in the drink like blobs in a lava lamp before sinking back to the bottom. I’m not sure what the flipping did, but I was mesmerized and ready to sip and slurp the drink away.
Considering that I chose the drink purely for its colorful appeal, the taro bubble tea was an absolute delight. It’s a milk-based tea, I was told, but it tasted like sprinkles that had been soaked in melted ice cream, the leftovers of a birthday party where guests leave with a sugar high. Perfectly sweet and a win for not giving into the temptation to order ice cream.
Every time I took a sip, a fit of anticipation overtook me — would this sip be a sip that culminated with a tapioca ball in my mouth? It’s like when you’re bowling and you’re waiting for the bowling ball to roll down the return track — you know that when the ball returns, you’re ready to play the game. And when one of the tapioca balls hits the roof of your mouth and your teeth break through the gummy, sugary goodness, you have won the game.
My pal, who joined me on this adventure, ordered the Classic Black Milk Tea, and I sneaked a sip when said pal wasn’t looking. The tea lived up to its name; it had a very classic tea taste, if it isn’t too vague a description to say a tea tasted like tea. But it wasn’t purple. It was beige, and I was in a purple mood.
And my Taro drink did indeed satisfy my purple mood, so much so that I returned to Sugar Ghost only a few days later to try yet another drink. Once again, I was craving some color on a beige day. This time I went for a fruit tea — the Passion Fruit with popping pearls. The warm-hued pearls broke easily as I swished them in my mouth along with the sweet orange-colored drink. My first sip of the sweet orange drink triggered a memory of dressing up in my mom’s clothes for a themed day at preschool, her wicker handbag resting in the crook of my elbow. Maybe it was the colors of the drink that reminded me of the pattern of her skirt, but I swear the drink tasted like playing pretend in your mom’s skirt. Though, one might argue that the tea has a passion-fruit flavor.
Regardless, the whimsical flavors of bubble tea at Sugar Ghost will sit on your tongue long after your last sip or last pop of boba — a ghost of sugary flavors past that will keep you away from a beige purgatory.
Sugar Ghost is located at 2615 Broad Avenue, 901-425-2479.
