A while back I wrote a post about my first experience eating Shrimp n’ Grits at the Charleston Farmer’s Market. Discovering Shrimp n’ Grits late in life as I had my first sample of this divine creation being broken in the right way- Shrimp n’ Grits for breakfast.

I decided that part of my journey would be sampling Shrimp n’ Grits from the restaurants on the Charleston Peninsula and the outskirts of the city in search of the best Shrimp n’ Grits, my kitchen included.

Well as life would have it the flu got the best of me this past week and I found myself housebound and not up to much but resting. A sunny Saturday morning while recuperating, prompted me to gather my folders and files of forgotten or tucked away recipes in search of hidden gems.

What I did not expect to find was a treasure trove of Southern recipes, that I had apparently cut out and saved from the 90’s and 2000’s from my local paper The Charleston Post & Courier. My fascination and desire to learn Southern cooking though short-lived began awhile ago it seems. A high pressure job and life created a detour that took me from the path of learning to cook Southern.

To my surprise and excitement the mother load of all was discovered in my pile; a three page spread of recipes from local restaraunts on Shrimp n’ Grits. I can’t begin to tell you how unusual this is for me to have saved this article. For one I am not a paper reader, and I know this is shameful to admit. I also am not fond of shrimp or rather shrimp are not fond of me. Small portions are the way to go when I do eat them. Other than curiosity, there is no good reason why I would have cut this article out and then proceeded to save it for over 7 years.

Could it be that God was at work on this Southern thing, long before I ever sensed a nudging. A still small voice that said, save to a woman who is not a saver. I must tell you that not only excitement but tears to my eyes came upon finding this gem. I am not a highly emotional person and have been accused of keeping emotions under guard when they should show. But this discovery moved me to experience a sense of connection and belonging; a woman with a purpose after all, a Southern purpose.

My dear readers this section of A Yankee in a Southern Kitchen is dedicated to these recipes and more if they find their way to me. I plan on cooking some Shrimp n’ Grits giving my hand to all thirty-five of the recipes, with my comments to go along with them. Here you will find more ways than you probably care to discover to cook this Southern breakfast/lunch/dinner food that deserves it’s place on every table whether Southern or not.

So here goes; a truly Southern list in alphabetical order of restaurants that submitted their recipe for Shrimp n’ Grits to the Charleston Post & Courier; October 20, 2000. This project is going to take the rest of the year, so if you want a recipe sooner, send me an email marked Shrimp n’ Grits and I will send you the recipe/recipes you want. If you would rather follow along, I will post the recipe and my comments as I make each recipe. Grab your sweet tea and get ready because we are going to have some Shrimp n’ Grits.

• Anson
• The Barbados Room at the Mills House
• Bistro Dejoung (Beaufort)
• The Boathouse Restaurants
• Bookstore Cafe
• Charleston Crab House
• Charleston Grill
• Circa 1886
• Edgar’s
• 82 Queen
• Fish
• Gibson Cafe
• The Grill at Boardwalk Inn
• High Cotton
• J. Bistro
• Locklear’s
• Magnolias
• Mark’s Place
• McNeill’s
• Meritage
• The Old Post Office
• The One-Eyed Parrot
• 101 Pitt
• Palmer Cafe at Trident Technical College
• Palmetto Cafe
• Peninsula Grill
• R.B.’s
• Reminisce
• The River Cafe
• The River Room (Georgetown)
• Ronnie’s
• Shem Creek Bar & Grill
• Slightly North of Broad
• Stono Cafe
• The Yacht Club (Georgetown)