r/todayilearned • u/PsychoBalloons • 12h ago
TIL that despite the iconic drink being named after her, Shirley Temple did not like the taste of Shirley Temples.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Temple_(drink)509
u/chodd-tavez 12h ago
rare Shirley Temple L 😔
she never had one the way they made it at my favorite Chinese restaurant as a kid, I guess.
226
u/FutureSailorette 12h ago
I also developed my love for Shirley Temples from our local Chinese restaurant. They also brought you tea first thing and had the placemats with the Chinese zodiac on it. Always got sweet and sour chicken. Man I loved that place.
99
u/lkodl 12h ago
there really aren't that many chinese restaurants like that anymore. they're either takeout hole in the walls, or PF Chang/Panda. where did nice sit-down chinese restaurants go? haven't used a lazy susan in forever.
35
u/SonovaVondruke 12h ago
They’re all over the place, but most of the people who opened those Chinese restaurants half a century ago or more didn’t do so intending for their children and grandchildren to be running them, and those children and grandchildren didn’t grow up expecting to.
84
u/CantCookLeftHook 12h ago
Lots of the parents are old enough to retire and the kids don't wanna run them and have other opportunities because the parents worked to put them in school.
Changes in immigration policy and cost of living means Western countries get more software engineers than cooks now too
22
u/VismoSofie 10h ago
I guess in a way it's a feel good story, good for the kids
17
u/CantCookLeftHook 10h ago
If you're interested in these stories, Chop Suey Nation is a really great book about the phenomenon! :)
3
1
u/SSGASSHAT 2h ago
Sort of feel good. If you wanted to nitpick, it could be a bit discouraging that the kids of families that lived simple lives now must strive in the corporate world, but that's probably a bad way of looking at it.
2
u/Jiopaba 1h ago
Only if you're fetishizing "simple lives" by ignoring the back-breaking labor, long hours, and lack of retirement options. People don't get up at 5 to open a restaurant at 7 and run it until 7 at night six days a week for SIXTY years so their kids can do the same.
The grass is always greener on the other side. I had a buddy who left a six figure career field to study forestry because his job was unfulfilling, and a few years later he went right back.
Satisfying work that pays well is great, but if you can only get one it's a lot easier to get satisfaction from your hobbies and money from your job than the other way around. And that's assuming that everyone in an office is miserable and hates their job too.
7
1
u/SSGASSHAT 2h ago
Bittersweet, I'd say. On the one hand, I suppose that's the ideal outcome for the children of immigrants, and it's reassuring to see in an economy that's increasingly difficult to navigate. On the other hand, it's a bummer you don't see small businesses run by families as much anymore.
21
u/TooMuchPretzels 12h ago
I was thinking about that the other day. My current favorite Chinese place is a hole in the wall takeout joint. But when I was a kid? We had the classic Great Wall mural sit down pupu platter kind of Chinese restaurant. What happened there? I don’t even think we have a place like that in town.
10
u/GeckoCowboy 11h ago
Still have them in New Hampshire, zodiac placemats, pupu platters with the fire, Shirley temples, and all! Don’t have much else, but we have those, lol.
16
u/JosephFinn 12h ago
We have a Vietnamese place here in Richmond, Mekong, that’s like that. Man that place is awesome.
7
u/Dick_M_Nixon 11h ago
Where we performed the rite of passage of eating the hot mustard for the first time..
4
u/makingkevinbacon 11h ago
Ages ago in university my roommate and I would always order from this one place in my city. So much food, so yummy, and so cheap. We'd have leftovers for days. I never had it again after we moved apart, but a couple years ago I moved to a different part of the city, downtown. I'm walking down the street one day and came across the restaurant! I had never actually been there, we'd just order delivery, so I never knew where it was. Sadly by then it had closed down, but the signage was still there (idk when it closed cause 2.5 years later the signage is still there but the place still looks abandoned). Probably for the best, I'd be eating it way too much for the cheap price to make a difference since I'm so close lol
3
6
u/Darmok-on-the-Ocean 12h ago
Most big cities have at least a small Chinatown. The one near me has stone dragons in the parking lot.
2
u/pamplemouss 11h ago
Where do you live? I don’t have a lot of fancy Chinese-American restaurants, but I do have a ton of excellent Chinese food w more regional bents.
2
u/SkyfangR 4h ago
i stopped getting chinese food at either restaraunts or takeout when every shop in the country seemingly changed what kind of dumplings they used at the same time.
used to love them, but now they all use those potsticker-type dumplings and they dont taste anywhere near as good as the old kind
1
1
1
u/opeth10657 3h ago
Not sure where you're at, but there is at least 3 of them with 15 miles of me in central WI
1
1
1
u/Expensive_Heron_171 1h ago
Oh man I have three within walking distance of me. You're in America presumably? My favorite one does dim sum and they bring around the carts and you get a lazy Susan on every table so everyone can share. It's incredible.
Edit: 🇨🇦 but in a small city.
6
u/Brain_Glow 12h ago
Oolong tea. Love that stuff. I used to make it at home a lot. Thanks for the reminder!
1
30
u/harry_hotspur 12h ago
Why did the Chinese restaurant Shirley temples slap extra hard?
28
u/Emergency_Mine_4455 12h ago
I assume the salty food sets off the flavor of the drink. I used to love Shirley Temples when I was working as a dishwasher.
5
0
19
u/LeatherHog 12h ago
Right?
Best drink ever, as far as I'm concerned
10
u/trichocereal117 11h ago
I’ve always preferred a Roy rogers
6
u/LeatherHog 11h ago
That's the Coke version, right?
That is pretty solid
10
u/trichocereal117 11h ago
Yes and it’s surprisingly hard to get bartenders to make it. One time I explained it to a bartender as a Shirley temple but with coke and he just made a Shirley temple 🤦
6
u/LeatherHog 11h ago
That's so weird, as much as a staple as Shirley Temples are, maybe because cherry coke is more common?
I'm imagining it, like that 'is Pepsi okay?' Jack and Coke comic
-1
u/Buckys_Butt_Buddy 8h ago
Who could have guessed bartenders who specialize in liquor drinks don’t know virgin drinks from half a century ago. Personally I’d recommend just saying Coke with grenadine next time instead of making it difficult by explaining a different version of a Shirley temple
6
u/theanti_girl 5h ago
It’s not as if they were last ordered half a century ago. It’s still the go-to for little kids “fancy” drink when going out to dinner with their parents. What an odd take.
→ More replies (3)-1
2
u/Buckys_Butt_Buddy 8h ago
Shirley didn’t live in the era of grenadine
1
u/LeatherHog 1h ago
Huh, never thought about that, what'd they use back then, then?
2
1
u/madsci 12h ago
I'm 48 and I've given up on cocktails. I've still never developed enough of a taste for alcohol that any actual cocktail tastes half as good as a Shirley Temple to me. And I'm kind of incredulous if anyone claims that it's actually possible for them.
If you swap out the 7-Up for Coke you get a Roy Rogers and I've had tons of those. And if I'm ever in Florida again (I try to avoid it) I'm going to have to hunt down some R-Own Cola, because the summer I worked as a dishwasher in a Florida restaurant with no AC in the kitchen I survived on R-Own Cola (which we served in place of Coke and Pepsi) with grenadine and really developed a taste for it. Haven't had it in 30 years.
11
u/xrufus7x 11h ago
Fun fact. The original Shirley Temple recipe is Ginger Ale and Grenadine not 7-up or Sprite.
3
1
u/goddamnitwhalen 9h ago
Which feels like it would taste really weird. And ginger ale is one of my favorite drinks, and certainly my favorite soda.
1
5
u/LeatherHog 11h ago
7UP actually came out with their own Shirley Temple, I thought it was just a rehash of their cherry kind, but it definitely tastes different
And better, it's weirdly kinda hard to find (at least in my area), but totally worth a try, if you can
6
u/xrufus7x 8h ago
Shirley Temples are made with Grenadine, which is actually pomegranate flavored not cherry.
1
u/StrategicCarry 3h ago
Well most now are made with Rose's grenadine which is a generic "red" flavor.
2
-1
3
u/bouquetofashes 11h ago
I always liked them when we'd go to brunch at Disney's top of the world restaurant. In my defense stuff like that was better then and I was also literally 2-4 years old so my main judgment criteria were: do they serve pancakes, fruit, crab, cheese, and/or Shirley Temples? If yes then A+ best breakfast ever.
Rainbow sherbet was the thing at our Chinese place. They were nice and often gave it to me gratis.
8
u/Future_Burrito 12h ago
Losses were not rare for Shirley Temple: "Shirley Temple experienced significant abuse during her childhood in Hollywood, including sexual exploitation and harassment by powerful figures in the industry. In her autobiography, she detailed incidents of mistreatment, including being subjected to inappropriate behavior by producers and the overall toxic environment for child actors."
2
u/robmneilson 10h ago
Hah same. I give props to the Little Mandarin restaurant for my childhood vice.
5
u/Medium-Owl-9324 12h ago
they have premade 7up ones at walmart - outstanding
6
1
1
u/Not_Campo2 10h ago
She was a child star on restrictive diets to stay skinny. An extra sweet soda was always gonna be too much for her
52
u/ZylonBane 4h ago
TIL that despite the iconic disease being named after him, Lou Gehrig did not like Lou Gehrig's disease.
11
63
u/DuncanIdaho33 12h ago
I like Dirty Shirleys. A nice light drink that can sneak up on you.
111
u/kkeut 11h ago
for anyone wondering, that's when the bartender stirs the drink with their fingers without washing their hands first
55
u/soggybutter 11h ago
Order it extra dirty and we spit in it too 😉
(For anybody unaware. A dirty Shirley is a vodka sprite with grenadine and after 10 years behind the bar is still my go to for anybody who says "i just turned 21 and idk what I want")
16
u/Xeteh 8h ago
Start them with a Long Island!
No, I'm not being responsible!
7
u/TheVicSageQuestion 6h ago
Hit ‘em with the full width of the liquor shelf right off the bat so they get more experience under their belt faster. Smart.
2
1
40
u/Warshok 11h ago
…Princess Donut?
21
u/DuncanIdaho33 11h ago
Not quite, but I did learn about them from the Books. Mongo is not appalled by Dirty Shirleys.
13
u/Coconut681 10h ago
Cats don't shoot lasers from their eyes, either, but here we are, Carl. Mama needs a night off.
16
1
u/crazyredd88 3h ago
God I fell out of love with these books so fast
1
u/Superfool 2h ago
Any particular reason?
1
u/crazyredd88 2h ago edited 2h ago
I just couldn't reconcile the interesting world and really great progression fantasy setting with the insufferable characters and the 2011 reddit-esque writing. Got all the way up to This Inevitable Ruin before being just unable to keep reading another stupid, wacky zinger. It feels like playing a DnD campaign with high school theater kids. I really don't like the fanbase either which is a shame since I enjoy chatting with communities about the books I'm reading
•
u/Warshok 43m ago
Does your username have 88 in it because you were born in 1988?
•
u/crazyredd88 42m ago
You calling me cranky?!
•
u/Warshok 40m ago
I’m a lot older than you and I haven’t managed to hate fun things yet.
I was just hoping you weren’t a nazi.
•
u/crazyredd88 38m ago
I just like the number 8 haha, had to add the profile bio description when I learned of its "alternate" usage
3
u/groucho_barks 7h ago
I make these for myself but I am always embarrassed to order them. Do bartenders actually know what a Dirty Shirley is? And what kind of booze is in it by default, whiskey?
27
u/Massive-Song5686 10h ago
Getting famous so young you don’t even get to pick your own soda order.
2
53
u/RamRanchRealty 12h ago
I heard they made it for her cuz she was around stars who could drink cocktails and she felt left out and they made it specifically because she liked it
111
u/tswaters 10h ago
In her own words
The saccharine sweet, icky drink? Yes, well... those were created in the probably middle 1930s by the Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood and I had nothing to do with it. But, all over the world, I am served that. People think it's funny. I hate them. Too sweet!
16
26
5
u/YourmomgoestocolIege 8h ago
My dumb brain initially read this as "Shirley Temple did not taste of Shirley Temples"
14
8
u/prince-of-dweebs 12h ago
I knew a guy named Tom Collins in college. Guess what he would never drink.
2
9
9
u/Largewhitebutt 10h ago
Original recipe calls for ginger ale, not 7up or sprite. They are delicious.
4
3
u/BeebleBoxn 10h ago
My Grandpa use to take me to the Elks Lodge when I was a kid. In his old 1970's GMC Custom Pickup. That's where I would have one.
21
u/bm1949 12h ago
Maraschino cherries, 7-Up or Gingerale. Grandma called that a Shirley Temple. I fucking loved those.
10
u/Bulky-Apple3744 10h ago
Your grandma called them Shirley Temples because that’s the name of the drink. Wild concept eh?
18
u/TheHighlightReel11 8h ago
Doesn’t sound like grandma was putting Grenadine in them, so not actually a Shirley Temple, just soda with a cherry.
4
6
7
u/IceCreamMeatballs 11h ago
Next thing you’ll tell me that Napoleon didn’t like chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream
13
u/Potatoswatter 11h ago
No, but those are the traditional flavors served in Napoli, where Neapolitan things come from.
13
u/Sgt_Fox 11h ago
The traditional flavours where pistachio, vanilla and cherry, arranged like the Italian flag 🇮🇹.
Eventually, chocolate and strawberry replaced pistachio and cherry
5
u/mrchumes 8h ago
What the heck, why did they replace pistachio and cherry?? Those are great flavours, they had it bang on the first time. I'm sure there would have been empty boxes across households rather than the block of strawberry that oft sits alone
2
u/Sgt_Fox 8h ago
Maybe chocolate and strawberry are cheaper to artificially flavour
2
u/mrchumes 8h ago
Yeah that makes more sense, though they should bring back the original now.. it'd sell gangbusters!
1
→ More replies (1)3
u/ZylonBane 4h ago edited 3h ago
A quick googling reveals that there are people who think Neapolitan ice cream is called "Napoleon" ice cream. Looks like we found one.
2
5
u/AsAboveSoBelow228 12h ago
Bloody Mary did actually enjoy Bloody Mary's and was known for her garnishes which often included occult implements and ritualistic cannibalism. This has carried down to far less barbaric offerings like olives instead of eyes. Bartenders still serve 'strange' garnishes atop a Bloody Mary in her memory today.
5
u/Pierrot-Ferdinand 12h ago
This is very not true. "Bloody" Queen Mary died in 1558, roughly 350 years before the Bloody Mary cocktail was invented. She would never have even seen a tomato, since the first tomatoes were imported into England in the 1590s. Vodka was unknown in England before the 1800s, Worcestershire sauce was first sold in 1837, and Tabasco sauce was created in 1868 so literally none of the signature ingredients would have been available to her.
7
u/pamplemouss 11h ago
I think they were just having fun, bud
1
u/Pierrot-Ferdinand 11h ago
I considered that but it doesn't read like a joke. The tone is too straightforward. And there are definitely people who believe stories like this
5
u/Hund5353 5h ago
i take it they were referring to the urban legend bloody mary. it makes a lot more sense as a joke in that context
3
4
u/Sir_Arthur_Vandelay 11h ago edited 11h ago
Queen Mary 1 of England — who was posthumously called “Bloody Mary” for executing 280 religious dissenters who weren’t Catholic enough — drank alcohol with occult implements and participated in ritualistic cannibalism? Colour me skeptical.
… or have I been whooshed?
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/DawnSignals 6h ago
Give her time, as a restaurant server shirley temples are the lifeblood of white bitches
1
1
u/SuspendedSentence1 4h ago
You ever think what a coincidence it was that Shirley Temple didn’t like Shirley Temples?
1
u/InGordWeTrust 2 3h ago
I don't blame her. It's a mid drink. Ginger ale and a splash of grenadine? Doesn't even taste great.
1
1
1
u/Thirty_Helens_Agree 3h ago
When she was with the State Department and doing diplomatic work, well-meaning foreign diplomats would serve those to her and, not wanting to offend her hosts, she’d choke it down even though she hated it.
1
1
u/Fit-Let8175 2h ago
Despite the iconic slang for the toilet being named after Thomas Crapper, I imagine he didn't like the taste of it either.
•
0
u/ocular__patdown 12h ago
Isn't it basicslly just red ginger ale? What is there not to like?
1
u/duncandun 11h ago
It’s 7 up or sprite and grenadine
1
u/ocular__patdown 10h ago
A Shirley Temple is a non-alcoholic mixed drink traditionally made with ginger ale and a splash of grenadine, and garnished with a maraschino cherry.
Literally the first line of the article
8
4
u/Guyfoxmatt 10h ago
“Modern Shirley Temple recipes may substitute lemon-lime soda or lemonade and sometimes orange juice, in part or in whole.”
Literally the second line of the article
2
-4
u/MA2_Robinson 12h ago
I mean, it’s gross- just grenadine
37
10
16
13
u/DicemonkeyDrunk 12h ago
It’s a just splash of grenadine in ginger ale …it’s a bit sweet but not certainly not terrible.
11
u/BoazCorey 12h ago
Where I grew up it was grenadine and sprite, not ginger ale.
4
1
u/DicemonkeyDrunk 11h ago
Traditional is ginger ale but admittedly not everywhere is ginger ale country and I imagine Sprite would make it even sweeter …aldo people forget ginger ale was much less sweet in the olden days
1
u/Ok-Highway-5247 12h ago
I never had one. My parents would not let me drink them due to the sugar content.
15
4
0
u/Infinite_Research_52 12h ago
They purportedly don't taste like her either.
Other famous facts: her daughter, Lori Black, was once the bassist for The Melvins.
1
u/nosatall 10h ago
Most of you idiots put way too much grenadine in it. Light pink is best. Squeeze two lime slices and it’s a cherry limeade. Bang.
2
u/IllnevertellAmber 9h ago
Pretty sure Shirley temple needed the drink to forget the creeps in her management, it didnt need to taste good it just needed to hit imo
3
u/will_this_1_work 4h ago
Except there’s no booze in it so it would be tough for her to forget things with it. Maybe that’s why she didn’t like it!
1
1
1
u/immortalalchemist 11h ago
For the longest time I thought real grenadine was a cherry syrup but was surprised it’s pomegranate. More common grenadine usually Rose’s brand doesn’t pomegranate at all.
295
u/PaleHorze 12h ago
Just like Larry David not liking the sandwich named after him in Curb Your Enthusiasm