From Moonshine Whiskey to Haute Cuisine

Grits are the unsung hero of the Southern table. Serve 'em with scratch-made buttermilk biscuits.

photo by Tim Robison, Our State

Best bowl of grits I ever ate was in Beaufort, South Carolina, when there was a small place on Bay Street that introduced me to red-eye gravy. I was amazed that someone actually thought it a good idea to pour strong hot black coffee into the drippings of pan-fried country ham and serve it on grits. Unforgettable. Delicious.

They sliced some country ham and sandwiched it between two flaky halves of a scratch-made buttermilk biscuit. Now that’s the cure for just about anything.