Smoking Ban May Now Include Your Apartment
Access-A-Ride Nailed by Local News
Giuliani Livid Over Bringing 9/11 Trials to NYC
House Cat Terrorizes Family In Dramatic Hostage Situation
Oreo The Dog Is Dead, Blame Game Is Not
A friend of ours recently moved to New York, and although he has been here for about nine months, he still craves the good Southern food he left back home. He's been told about "real Southern barbecue," and then taken to places like Virgil's, where he's been disappointed, but the one thing he'd really like to find is grits. Grits were not really in our repertoire until a recent brunch at Home, so we turned to the Chowhounds for some assistance. We ended up with a pretty decent selection and will send him off on his quest for a taste of home armed with their suggestions:
- jalepeno cheese grits from Shopsin's
- Maroon's
- Good
- Old Devil Moon
- creamy cheddar grits at Bubby's
and in Brooklyn:
- Miracle Grill
- Applewood
There was also a strong showing of support for Anson Mills grits, which are available by mail order and at The Riverdale Garden restaurant in Riverdale.
Where have you had good Southern grits recently?
photo from nycnosh
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
HELL yes. It's about time Gothamist addressed the woeful paucity of grits in this city. Thank you, Laren!
Info on good locales for biscuits and gravy would be greatly appreciated as well.
evidently the grits at Egg are ground very fancily and supposedly great..
Well, these suggestions are OK, except that the grits that Southerners miss are the ordinary white stuff in a cup with a bit of margarine on top. They are not packed with chevre and sundried tomatoes and they do not cost $3.75. They usually just come with breakfast.
He needs to go to Cowgirl on Hudson and W 10th Street. Best chicken fried steak outside of Texas!
i've had cheese grits at relish (gigantic portion), and really, really good ones at kitchenette. love miracle grill's, as well. not sure if i'm not looking in the right places, but grits seem more prevalent than hash browns (which i love)... so far i've only come across those at clinton street bakery.
ALIAS ALIAS ALIAS ALIAS ALIAS!
omg, their grits are SOOOOOOOOOOO good
they're some stone ground hominy grits that taste more like corn than corn on the cob
they are simply MAGNIFICENT!
the chef serves them with cheese, but i'm sure he would be amenable to serving them simply with butter (or maybe even margarine!)
The only good grits and biscuits and gravy are those you make yourself. How can you recognize the goods at other folks places if you don't have the knack to recognize?
I agree with Tim Morris' post. Another way you can tell if a "Southern" restaurant is legit is whether they have sweet tea, and I don't mean iced tea that you add sugar to after it's iced.
The best grits I've found so far are in a shoddy deli next to the PSE&G building in Newark, of all places. I'm still looking for good, Southern-style grits in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
i don't like grits that much. gimme good old hash browns or home fries anyday. that said, apparently the ones at mayrose are good.
there is a paucity of real southern food up here. for some reason people haven't quite figured out that cornbread isn't supposed to be sweet or how to fry catfish properly. and don't even get me started on porkchops.
Cheese Grits????
Grits are included with your breakfast platter and should not cost 5.00
Now put out that free basket of hush puppies while I sip on this sweet tea.
Alias for grits, definitely. Their biscuits and gravy are also GREAT. My father, who grew up on a farm and can be difficult to please, proclaimed them the best he'd ever eaten. High praise.
I was disappointed with the grits at Egg, although I love the place. I know they're Anson Mills fab stone-ground etc etc, but they were really bland and undersalted and tasted like nothing. I much prefer my girlfriend's cheese grits, made with cheddar and quaker old-fashioned grits and (the secret!) Spanish smoked paprika. And by the way, if you're using the Chowhounds for an article, you should really cop to it when you put out your request in the first place.
union picnic in w'burg has some good cheese grits and sweet tea.
Oh god, I just love the instant grits that come with the bacon bits in them. Seriously, heat those bad boys up and put a pad of butter on top. Delish. I always used to get disappointed when I went out to eat and the grits would be so flavorless. (Not being ironic, and truly from the south here.)
I second Union Picnic in wburg! They serve great, no-nonsense grits there.
try the pink teacup (in the w vill). it's a sweeeeeeeet southern time.
I went to Riverdale Garden last Saturday and their grits, hands-down, were the best I've ever had.
word to quaker old-fashioned grits (quick grits work too). stir in raw egg and cheese (any will do). u can add bacon bits but i prefer it in strips on the side. and u good to go! peace...
I've gotta agree with "I'm just saying"- the best ones are the ones that your grandma makes for you, and the second best ones are the ones that you make while attempting to replicate her recipe.
i second the nomination of the pink teacup (it's on grove). their whole menu does a southern girl proud, there's enough for three people on any plate, and you can get out for less than $7 around the clock. they also have sweet tea.
I'll third the Pink Tea Cup mention! Plus nothin' beats the place as a hangover helper...
I too agree with "I'm just saying" about homemade B&G being the best (and I can whip up a batch that'll make you slap your mama, if I do say so myself), but sometimes you want it at a restaurant.
Speaking of Southern food, what's with the fucked up excuse for sausage that exists up here?
A friend took me to the Williamsburg Cafe for brunch and she ordered the extremely filling but fabulous cheddar cheese grits with blackened catfish. It was AMAZING. I think they have some other grits options, but this one blew me away.
Haven't had their grits yet, but I love the Riverdale Gardens.
Actually, the grits at Old Devil Moon suck, but their gravy's pretty tasty.
try the grits and the chicken fried steak at The Hog Pit. i know its almost ruined by the people in the meat packing district, but go on a weeknight, play some merle haggard tunes on the jukebox and enjoy. they need to learn about non-sweet cornbread like everyone else in nyc, but i swear by their grits, mashed potatoes and chicken fried steak.
For authentic Southern BBQ you might want to Righteous Urban BBQ. It's owned an operated by Paul Kirk who is a World BBQ champ and the author of several great books.
208 West 23rd Street New York, NY 10011
between 7th & 8th Avenues
Telephone: 212-524-4300
BTW I don't live in NY so I have no idea of the quality of this restaurant. I am just familiar with Paul Kirk himself - and he is a bbq legend.
Heirloom (on Orchard Street) has a grits entree with the real stuff straight outta Anson Mills, South Carolina. Also - they serve big bowls of fried spicy hominy at the bar (fancy beer nuts!) and instead of a basket of bread you get a basket of hush puppies.
All this from a vegetarian restaurant. Up is down and black is white these days.