Stone-ground white grits with sauteed Carolina shrimp, andouille, country ham or mushrooms. The canonical Lowcountry plate served at breakfast and dinner alike.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Lowcountry watermen ate shrimp over grits at breakfast through the 19th century, a working-river dish documented in Bill Neal's 1985 Southern Cooking cookbook at Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill. Frank Lee at Slightly North of Broad in Charleston reworked it for the dinner menu in the 1990s, pairing fresh local shrimp with stone-ground grits and house-made kielbasa. That version became the canonical restaurant plate. Variations now run through nearly every Lowcountry kitchen, with andouille, country ham, mushrooms or tomato gravy as common partners.
Common allergens: Shellfish, Dairy
Tip from the editors. Use real stone-ground grits, not instant. The texture is the whole point; quick grits collapse under the gravy and turn into wallpaper paste.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Slightly North of Broad in Charleston has run on East Bay Street since 1993. Frank Lee's reworked shrimp and grits became the canonical restaurant version of the Lowcountry plate.
Signature: Shrimp and grits, Maverick Grits with sausage
Order: The shrimp and grits with stone-ground grits and house kielbasa, on the menu since the 90s.
Tip: Brunch and lunch are easier seats than dinner. Bar seats are walk-in only.
Poogan's Porch on Queen Street in Charleston has plated Lowcountry brunch since 1976 from a converted 1891 home. Biscuits and sausage gravy, she-crab soup, USA Today's shrimp and grits.
Order: Buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy, she-crab soup, shrimp and grits
Tip: Book on Resy at least 5 days ahead for weekend brunch. Request a porch table; the inside rooms run small and warm.
Husk in Charleston opened in 2010 under Sean Brock and rebuilt Southern fine dining on heritage grains and hyper-local produce. Anson Mills rice, Sea Island peas, wood-fired meats.
Order: The cast-iron cornbread, plus whatever the wood grill is running.
Tip: Book on the website. Bar seats walk-in at 17:00 and serve the full menu.
Page's Okra Grill in Mount Pleasant has run family-owned Southern cooking on Coleman Boulevard since 2008. Ashleigh's shrimp and grits is the Travel Channel feature plate.
Signature: Ashleigh's shrimp and grits, Fried green tomatoes
Order: Ashleigh's shrimp and grits with andouille and tomato gravy.
Tip: No reservations. Walk-ins only; cash and card both accepted.
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