Crème de Menthe Pie

In the early 1950s Alva Sullivan, Jr., could see the future of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and it was all about the New Nashville Highway.

Under the Housing Act of 1949 (part of President Harry S. Truman’s “Fair Deal” agenda), Murfreesboro had secured federal assistance to clear “The Bottoms,” an old, flood-prone section of the city filled with shacks and shanties that had no running water or plumbing, and relocate its residents, most of them African-Americans, into new housing projects elsewhere. As part of what was known as the Broad Street Project, State Route 41—the Nashville Highway—was rerouted around downtown Murfreesboro and straight through The Bottoms. The new strip of highway, situated some 30 miles southeast of Nashville, soon began filling up with gas stations, motels, and restaurants, and Al Sullivan was determined to have a piece of the action.

Sullivan already had a nice restaurant at the corner of North Maple and College Streets in downtown Murfreesboro. (“Try Al Sullivan’s Restaurant”, one of its newspaper ads said, “for that certain something extra you have been craving but haven’t been able to find.”) But in 1953 Sullivan found the perfect spot for the restaurant he had in mind on the New Nashville Highway—directly next to the 70-unit Motel Murfreesboro—and he set about building it. By October of that year he was ready to open his new restaurant, with a coffee shop, three other dining rooms (including the Frontier Room), and the slogan “Fine Food Is Our Specialty.”

In time Sullivan was billing his place “one of the South’s outstanding restaurants.” (He’d closed the downtown location in the late 1950s.) But by 1968 he and his wife, Mary, were ready to retire from the business. They sold their restaurant to Ira and Vivian Carpenter, the owners of the Cupboard Restaurant at the Ramada Inn in Murfreesboro, and George Berdanis, the owner of the Plantation Restaurant in Marietta, Georgia. They renamed it the Southern Diplomat Restaurant.

In 1974 an out-of-control blaze destroyed the restaurant and extensively damaged several of the motel units next door. It was never rebuilt.

Al Sullivan died in 1991 at age 82; Mary died in 2012 at age 94.

Here is the recipe for the Crème de Menthe Pie that for many years was a favorite item on the menu at Al Sullivan’s Restaurant.

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Crème de Menthe Pie

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Here is the recipe for the Crème de Menthe Pie that for many years was a favorite item on the menu at Al Sullivan’s Restaurant.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 teaspoons (1 envelope) unflavored gelatin
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons crème de menthe (or nonalcoholic crème de menthe syrup)
• 2–3 drops green food coloring
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped
• 1 prepared 9-inch graham cracker crust
• Lightly sweetened whipped cream, for topping

Instructions

1

In a medium bowl, soften the gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water (about 5 minutes).

2

Dissolve the softened gelatin in the top part of a double boiler until smooth and no longer grainy. Remove from heat and set aside to cool slightly.

3

Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the gelatin and stir until blended. Stir in crème de menthe (or syrup) and food coloring.

4

Fold in the whipped cream and pour mixture into the graham cracker crust. Chill at least 8 hours. To serve, decorate with sweetened whipped cream.