If you'll indulge me, some Charcoal Pit talk...
Posted by
rollo
Aug 21 '24, 12:46
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As a north wilmington kid I'm well versed with this 50+ year stalwart "" place where the high school kids go after the game, or the band concert, or with nothing better to do on a weekend night. The Pit was famous for its themed sundaes named after the local high schools - the Sallies, the Spartan for St. Mark's, the Bulldog for nearby Brandywine HS, etc. that all seemed to contain all the same ingredients regardless but like maybe there was 1 that didn't have wet walnuts or whatever, so get that one if you don't like wet walnuts. Then there was The Kitchen Sink which served like 4-6 and came with way too much of everything. This was mostly ordered on a dare by kids for whom $20 worth of sampled and then abandoned-to-melt ice cream was no big thing.
The Charcoal Pit had a grilled cheese sandwich on the menu whose description was just this: 'Nuff said. "'Nuff said", we would say knowingly to each other in passing in the hallways at school, with practiced pronunciative emphasis to get the 'N exactly right.
When my folks started doing poorly a few years ago and followed one another off-planet 14 months apart - he of parkinson's, she of grief - the one reliable item that could get them to temporarily forget they had no appetite was a triple thick black and white milkshake from the Charcoal Pit. It's just a chocolate and vanilla milkshake, don't let the marketing fool you. The Charcoal Pit R&D dept. hadn't figured out a way to make milkshakes any thicker than anyone else could. They were however the only place still using malt powder in like 1983 when I was ready for it, which is cool, and they're still using it today.
The look of recognition and anticipative joy to be receiving a sweet reward that Joe Biden gives when handed that milkshake... well, I've seen that look before.
Every Friday at 12:15 a calendar reminder pings my phone or computer. It just says "Pit". It used to remind me to set up the door dash order for the following week so my Mom could receive a triple thick black and white milkshake at the nursing home around lunchtime. Now it just reminds me of my Mom and Dad.
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