Much of Panera's food arrives at the stores frozen and is simply reheated. There soups can be found in many grocery stores in the frozen section although at $7-8 something are to me expensive.

I think I could eat grits every day of my life, I love them so much. However, my family hates it and I won’t cook them just for myself. Never sweet though.

i once had some fried sticks made of polenta and I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Fattening!!!

who said shrimp and grits is not real? It is total yumminess.

Paneras is GROSS

I'm going to disagree with watchme, I've rarely encounter grits in the coastal California I was born in and have spent almost my entire life in, and so I agree with gardengal and sephia.

watchme, are you in the core Bay Area itself or have you spent time in or closer to the Central Valley? If so, that's a different story. I hadn't even heard of grits until my first visit to the South when in my 20s. Where I live in the southern SF Bay Area I can't tell you one place that serves grits, excluding maybe the few places that feature southern cooking.

Polenta is a recent phenomenon. Most of the Italian immigration to California in times past, and they formed a significant ethnic community that settled the state (especially in central Cal and the Bay Area), was from southern Italy and Sicily. Polenta is more typical of the more northern parts of the country and has become more visible here as Northern Italian cuisine has become more commonly seen, maybe in the last 20-30 years.

"I was raised in Maryland, Hawai'i, and California and I still eat them. I don't get the region thing!"

rob, you seem to cringe when anyone suggests there are regional differences but they exist all the same. Your travels as a kid were, I believe you said, in a military family? And I think you've said in a family with roots in a Southern state? If so, that influences your experiences. Back in the 1970s, I visited a friend for several days who was in the service and living on a large Army base in Germany. From the conversations heard in the PX, O Club, etc., you would have thought you were in North Carolina or Louisiana. I'm sure lots of those people ate grits at home but from knowing that, I wouldn't suggest that grits are popular in Germany because it wasn't the case in the population outside the US military and not at places adjacent to bases with significant southern servicemen and women and their families. Likely it was the same for you too, rob.

I don't like grits and never order them or anything that comes with them when I'm visiting the South. I don't care for polenta either.

My stepdaughter's wife in talking about Greens where she was a chef there shortly after they opened talked about the use of polenta then and that was 30 some years ago. A lot depends on if you are a vegetarian or not if you had polenta although grits is a more recent addition. In non-vegetarian restaurants until about 2000 you seldom saw either.

Plain with a little salt and lots of real butter is what I prefer. But if Anglo is cooking, I will have some of hers. I do like cheese grits, but only if they are prepared with Gruyere and Parmesan! Oh man I may have to get some ingredients and make some now! And that is the very best way to make them with shrimp, only maybe add a little apple smoked bacon & scallions for garnish.

I prepare my grits like rhizo except I like pepper on mine.

What I haven't seen mentioned is the importance of how the grits are cooked since I find most restaurants either undercook or overcook them. I usually buy the 5-minute Quick grits in the grocery store ( Bob's Red Mill also has grits) but there is no way the grits can be fully cooked in 5 minutes. Plus, it always takes more water than the recipe on the box calls for. Nothing worse than undercooked grits!

Has anyone else noticed the grind of the corn in the Albers Grits is much coarser than it used to be? It now takes even longer to cook the grits to the right texture.

Just finished a dinner of shrimp and grits. Used Bobby Flay's recipe instead of winging it. Turned out great, called for lemon juice, which I would not have thought to use. Used crumbled crisp bacon, sharp cheddar and 5 min quick grits, etc. Have stone ground , but DH does not like the texture. Home made grits always taste best, restaurants make them very bland.

I live in the Southwest, but love hominy and grits. I want to try shrimp and grits soon.

Elmer grits are available right here in the Silicon Valley and elsewhere in the greater Bay Area. Of course you won't find them at the overpriced mimosas with brunch type places. You have to get down to the hole in the walls with real food. ;-)

Buy these. Follow directions on package. Add butter.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Jim-Dandy-Enriched-Quick-Grits-5-Lb/10448848

watchme, you been to any of the couple of locations of locally owned Bill's Cafe? I recommend it for real food. No mimosas and also no grits.

Elmer, this is a breakfast place.

BREAKFAST

MONDAY - FRIDAY TILL 11:00AM | SATURDAY TILL 12:00PM | SUNDAY TILL 1:00PM

Breakfast SpecialCountry Ham with 2 eggs$9.001/2 Slice Country Ham w/2 Eggs$7.00

No.1Two Eggs with Sausage$6.30No.2Two Eggs with Bacon$6.30No.3Two Eggs with Regular Ham$7.00No.4Two Eggs$4.45No.5One Egg with Sausage$5.40No.6One Egg with Bacon$5.40No.7One Egg with Regular Ham$5.85No.8One Egg$3.80No.9One Egg with Bologna$5.40No.10Two Eggs with Bologna$6.30

Above orders are served with Grits and choice of Toast,
Bran Muffin, or Fresh Baked Biscuits.

Egg Beaters Available - No Extra Cost

No.113 Pancakes with Bacon or Sausage$6.00No.123 Pancakes with Regular Ham$6.50No.13Three Pancakes Only$4.50

TWO EGGS WITH HAM SERVED
WITH GRITS

Child's Plate (under 10) onlyOne Pancake or One Egg and Biscuit$3.25With 2 slices of Bacon or 1 Sausage$4.50

Old Fashioned Gravy$1.75Bran Muffin with Peaches$3.00Toast (White or Whole Wheat)$1.502 Pancakes Only$3.60Grits$1.05Cereals$4.25Sausage & Biscuit$1.80Bacon & Biscuit$1.80Regular Ham & Biscuit$2.002 Biscuit Only$1.80Country Ham Biscuit$2.30Bologna & Biscuit$1.80BLT$4.00

Juices:
Orange, Apple, Tomato, or Grapefruit
Sm. $2.00 Lg. $3.00

Coffee and Soft Drinks
Sm. $2.00 Lg. $2.50

Nothing but the plain eggs at Bill's Cafe would be considered breakfast here. Brunch maybe, breakfast no. Although it sound fine, it is not a plain breakfast place. It is a brunch place and yes, we have brunch places here, but they know enough to serve grits.

I grew up eating "corn meal mush" as a hot breakfast cereal with milk and brown sugar. Then the leftover mush was put into a loaf pan and chilled until the next day. Then turned out of the loaf pan, sliced and panfried in a cast iron skillet in butter. We ate that with maple syrup. No bacon, no cheese, no shrimp, no sausage gravy...

sherry, thanks for the follow on. The menu online dowloads with lunch first. The second page is breakfasts - 9 kinds of eggs benedict, over a dozen omlettes, pancakes, french toast alternatives, Waffles, South of the Border items (my favorite is the Jalisco scramble), scrambles, skillets, and plain breakfasts as you describe too. These are all breakfast items around here. No grits, no biscuits (southern style). But I see they do have a full bar, next time, a mimosa!

I'm on the Cdn. west coast and had to look up grits. I don't think I would like them but if offered them I would certainly try them especially if they had cheese on them.

Elmer it's been some years since I have been to a Bill's Cafe. But they did have grits 7 years ago and they do serve mimosas. It's billed as their famous mimosa. LOL Their menu has become less interesting due to expansion. They have 8 restaurants now.

From their Yelp page.

When I was growing up in the PNW, we had grits with butter and salt, loved it. Too carby for me now though.

Below is a link to Wikipedia that has a fairly good description of grits and related products.

Description of Grits

This article mentions that the origin of 'grits' is Native American. It would have been made from maize.

Although my mother was familiar with grits, she rarely used it in her cooking. Down on the farm, our diet was heavy with starches so mother looked for other foods to complete a meal. However, she did make cornbread about 3 times per month.

Anglophilia, its sad that some people look down their noses at Southern food, or any food, for heaven's sake. They are to be pitied for their ignorance and bad manners.

My only problem with southern food is how difficult it is to find vegetarian food! We went to New Orleans and I had to settle for pasta at an Italian place because no other restaurants in the area had anything. I was disappointed as I wanted to try the local cuisine.

I had a similar problem on a road trip in Alabama. I finally settled on French toast thinking it was safe and it was grilled in bacon grease and I couldn't eat it.

I'm sure there are vegetarian friendly places but not where I was!

I'm on a cooking Facebook group, and the majority of posters are from the U.S and southern states. A lot of biscuits and creamed gravy gets mentioned, grits, black-eyed peas, pineapple upside down cake, fried chicken and even fried squirrel. I don't make any negative comments on anything that doesn't interest me, I just look and move on.

I love grits, I like sweetened with butter and brown sugar. Or we go the cheese route with chopped up crispy bacon. If I’m really being bad, we do biscuits and gravy to go with that and hubby will do a slab of country ham in the cast iron skillet.

Cooked at home? Boiled in salted water and served with butter. Scrambled egg on the side. Out, I might order some fancy grits cooked with cheese, but it is not necessary for me.

I grew up in the PNW as well and had never heard of grits while growing up. Moving to The Bay Area in my early 20's I had only read of them and never saw them offered on any menu, though we rarely went out for breakfast--are they strictly a breakfast food? I think I finally tasted some years ago, and figured they're an acquired taste. Watchme, it is only recently that I've seen them on menus at a very few restaurants--I haven't been to Bill's yet because of the crowds.

Janie, who is putting down Southern food? As with any other region or country, the food commonly eaten may be uncommon-tasting to those who are not familiar with it.

I hear you, Chi. When I visited Memphis many years ago, I had a harder time finding even side-dish vegetables on menus--I'm not sure why. Hopefully this has changed by now.

Sjerin, I don't know who but I was referencing a quote from Anglophilia " Many parts of the country look down their noses at southern food - think it's all Cracker Barrel or Paula Dean type of stuff."

And my point was (if I didn't state it clearly) exactly what you said - people unfamiliar with something shouldn't look down their noses at things.

I'm not sure what "looking down their noses" really means but there's no denying that many traditional Southern dishes are unhealthful. Too much deep frying, too many carbs and too much greasy food in general. Take good veggies like greens, and drown them in bacon fat, and cook until they're no longer squirming. Yuck

For the good, I've seen a proliferation of exciting restaurants in many cities with young and skilled chefs, trained in broader cooking styles, who are doing delicious and exciting non-traditional things. There's lots of good food to find in the South but it's usually not in restaurants or in homes that prepare "typical" Southern food. Nor in the many chains and franchise restaurants that seem to be quite common.

No one is putting down Southern food; it's perfectly OK if someone doesn't like grits.....they are an acquired taste!

I was raised in the Northeast by two Midwestern parents. I never heard of grits until I moved South to go to college. It took me years of tasting before I could appreciate the earthy flavors and textures of corn grits, field peas, collards, and other traditional foods. I certainly don't expect anyone from back home in NY state to order a serving of grits for breakfast!

A couple of decades ago, former hubby and I went on a road trip to Louisiana. We tried grits for the first time at a Shoney's. They were also on a buffet when I was on a cruise. Neither of us cared for them, but I certainly wouldn't condemn anyone for liking them.

As I said I had no idea what grits were but they don't sound gross to me particularly reading the way some people prepare them. I know it's southern and I have never been south of Williamsburg VA( except as a 6-year-old to Florida on vacation). However, grits sound benign compared to scrapple which someone mentioned here. My ancestors came here 300 years ago from Germany (and Switzerland) and I'm sure this is a recipe they brought along. Very popular among PA Dutch and is the most revolting stuff you can put in your mouth. My mother made it, I think, but I never had any and when were married my husband made it for a few years. I almost gagged after smelling it being fried. It's ground up anything that you wouldn't think of eating and made into a loaf which you slice and fry and then hide the hideous taste with maple syrup. My grandfather loved it and called it pudding. I asked for it once and saw it wasn't the chocolate pudding I thought. He ate it all the time. He did keel over dead on the street at age 65 no doubt from eating so much his arteries exploded.

I have found a couple of types of scrapple in my life. One my mother made used a pigs head cooked to remove every thing from the bone then mixed with cornmeal, poured into loaf pans. When set fried. Once instead of cornmeal it was in potatoes. The server at that restaurant had never heard of using cornmeal. I do wonder since lily did not mention cornmeal if what she had was more commonly known as "Headcheese". I could eat the scrapple but never the Headcheese. Mom made it worse by either using lemon or vinegar in it. The natural gelatin held it together. Perhaps rolling it in coating you could fry it.

I have no clue if cornmeal was used. I never even wanted to look at it let on smell it or eat it. It's a cultural thing ,I guess and although I was raised in the PA Dutch way of eating which is mostly good..chicken pot pie, chicken corn soup, chicken and waffles, I don't eat any of the foods I grew up with.

Lily, you don't need to leave PA to find grits on a breakfast menu. Most breakfast chains and family owned restaurants in PA offer grits with breakfast. Check out the PA Dutch for the best cheddar grits.

The very best clubhouse sandwich I know is about 35 miles away. Real carved roast turkey, not deli or rolled, thick cut bacon, tomatoes are actually red, fresh sliced avocado stacked so high you can barely bite into it etc. Really good club sandwiches are getting harder to find. I was craving one the last few days so a friend and I went last night. Old school Greek/American diner. Checked the menu. Yes they had grits on the menu.

I was up north (Detroit) for a few days last weekend and I had grits with breakfast...at an Albanian family owned restaurant.

Where is that, watchme?

Ever been to Harry's Hofbrau? I don't think they do club sandwiches but everything else is the real deal, freshly carved ham, turkey, etc etc.

Harry's is my go to place on evenings when I'm running late. I can get relatively healthy food with all the choices available and they are open late. Just last week I had their roast beef, horseradish mashed potatoes and brussell sprouts which were delicious the way they did them. Smaller senior/child plate and I subbed fruit for the ice cream or jello.

Last night I went to Nick's in San Leandro since we wanted a 24 hour place to sit and linger at. Plus the clubhouse sandwich is the best I've had anywhere. It's a bit of a dive, middle of the line food, but what they do well, they do really well. Prices are reasonable compared to SV prices. If you sub fruit instead of potato there is no upcharge, and it's fresh fruit including bananas and berries not that frozen bagged stuff.. My friend likes their Joe's Special. Not my cup of tea but it is a generous looking one with more spinach, meat and mushrooms than egg. Definitely an old school diner.

San Leandro's a bit out of my normal territory. Sit and linger? You had a chance to do that driving there and back up 880 (depending on where you live) !

I've only been to the South twice, well, not counting Texas and Maryland (are they considered the South?) both times to NC. I couldn't wait to try grits, as I was raised in the PNW, too, and as others have said, grits wasn't (weren't) ever served anywhere I frequented. We did have hominy out of a can, that I loved to eat - but I didn't know that's how grits were made. And no other family I knew ever had hominy, so not sure why my little family did. Both my parents were born in the PNW, so who knows.

Anyway, when I was in NC we went to a lovely restaurant that had shrimp and grits on the menu. It was delicious and did remind me of the more familiar polenta that is served in many restaurants here. Now there are so many transplants moving to the PNW, some restaurants are starting to serve grits. They're a little bit trendy here, lol!

I like to have grits with butter, salt and a fried egg on top most of the time. I have tried the shrimp and grits at a restaurant but it was just ok. I am writing down Marco recipe and Anglo your Mother's Cheese Grits, they both sound delicious, I should plan to make them soon. The best grits in my opinion are Jim Dandy.

Speaking as a southern gal who likes to cook!

Sorry for the sidebar going on here, but Watchme, are you saying you had that good (real) turkey sandwich at Nick's? I actually went there a long time ago while visiting my mother's friend, but I don't remember ordering a turkey sandwich. She told me Nick's was an institution in SL and that it had been there a long time. Just last week I was wishing for a REAL turkey sandwich, but can't see schlepping up 880 for that. :) Can't make my own because dh doesn't care for turkey so I'd have to it a whole or half breast myself. Ugh.

And now back to the grits discussion--sorry, op.

I don't think anyone is looking down on southern food. For me, I just wasn't raised with southern foods. I was born and raised in Seattle and my mother was from Sweden. Grits and greens weren't things ever served when I was growing up. I don't know of any places in Seattle that serve grits, but then again, I don't look for them on the menu. Just because someone doesn't like something doesn't mean they are looking down their nose at it.

Sjerin - Yes. Real roasted turkey. I'm in the same position as you. DH will eat turkey at Thanksgiving and that is about it. You can also get a real turkey sandwich at Harry's Hofbrau but not a traditional clubhouse. I used to buy the smaller boneless breasts for myself but I haven't been able to find them recently. I mean the ones with skin on that you roast just like a turkey. All I see in the markets are fresh turkeys tenders. I seldom see the bone in breasts either. I guess commercial facilities buy them up.

A lot of people don't understand when we say real turkey. I have had to explain when I ask about the turkey in restaurants. Is your turkey real? LOL But the people who like turkey immediately know.

There is a mini chain of Holder Family restaurants that has real turkey on their turkey dinner and hot turkey sandwich. However they use deli turkey on the club sandwiches and melts. But if you ask they will make your sandwich with real turkey.

What I was saying, is that people assume that all southern cooking is like Cracker Barrel or Paula Dean - i.e., very unhealthy. It was for decades as it was a VERY poor area, and people ate what they had and made the best of it.

But today, very few still cook that way on a regular basis. In fact, I think we have pretty much lost our regional cuisines as most people are eating carryout/prepared foods that are sold in all grocery stores all over the country. And none of that is healthy, either.

Yes, in the South, for special holidays etc, all the old standards come out - the cakes, the pies, the green beans cooked all day on the stove (my grandmother's were the best on earth!). But not day to day, anymore than all the West Coast foodies are cooking everything fresh and healthy like the French Laundry.

The reality is that there is very little cooking going on in most homes these days, due to lack of time, knowledge and interest.

The best shrimp & grits ever are served in Louisville at Jack Fry's and include Red Eye gravy. OMG but that stuff is good!! I need to pay a visit there soon - been thinking about these.

As for who makes the best grits, that's easy; it's Weisenberger's <http://www.weisenberger.com>; They are fabulous!

I don't normally post in this forum, but found myself here thanks to GW/Houzz new landing page - didn't check which forum I was posting. Born and raised in the South. Love grits with a little butter and bacon bits. DH likes cheese grits. The best grits are not instant (oh, Lord!), just like instant oatmeal isn't the same as slow cooked. We order these from Amazon

Our three adult children (30s) cook meals daily, and they are always healthy choices. None of my friends fry food at home anymore, and most don't eat fried foods often (if at all). But Mom used to make the best fried chicken and her mom made wonderful fried fish (caught by my grandfather) and delicious hush puppies.

McEwen & Sons grits are served at locally owned Big Bad Breakfast. They are also delicious.

Very little cooking going on in most homes, anglo? Speak for yourself, please! The best stone ground grits I've had are from Palmetto Farms in SC. Logan Turnpike Mill in Georgia also produces an exceptional product.

I like to think that the 'best' of any kind of recipe depends partially on the freshness of the ingredients. My first taste of shrimp and grits was in the early 80s, while sitting on the deck of a large shrimp trawler from Bennett's Point, SC. We had become friends with the captain and his beautiful wife who invited us to spend the day on their boat. The first haul was dumped on the deck before dawn, and that's where breakfast came from.

There is no 'best' recipe for this delicious dish. My husband and friends say that I make the best! ;-)

rhizo, I DO cook daily, just not the way I once did when my husband was alive and when there were 2 children at home.

But a trip to my local Kroger store sure shows me what most people are eating and it's a LOT of prepared food. I also watch the delivery trucks going up and down my street at night, delivery pizza to many families with children. And then there are the VERY long lines at the "gourmet" carry-out counters at a couple of neighborhood stores. And the restaurants filled to capacity with the entire family there on a school night. I stand by my statement that there is far less cooking today than there once was, for many, many reasons.

Totally disagree. Don't ruin shrimp and grits with the instant stuff.

Instant grits are fine for cheese grits, but not for shrimp & grits - need the real stuff for that.

What do I like with grits? Roscoe’s chicken and waffles of course! Sadly there aren’t any here, used to go to Roscoe’s from time to time when we lived in SoCal.