Hot and Hot Fish Club ★ 4.5
Hot and Hot Fish Club at Pepper Place is the Chris Hastings flagship since 1995, with the chef-counter tomato salad that became a Birmingham signature.
History
Shrimp and grits originated in the Lowcountry of South Carolina and Georgia in the late 1800s as a fisherman's breakfast and migrated west into Alabama through the 20th century. Birmingham fine-dining chefs adopted the dish in the 1990s and 2000s as a tasting-menu Southern signature. Hot and Hot Fish Club runs a Chris Hastings version with Alabama Gulf shrimp; Automatic Seafood runs Adam Evans's Gulf-anchored version; OvenBird does a wood-fired riff with paprika butter.
Common allergens: Shellfish, Dairy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 200g stone-ground white grits
- 750ml chicken stock
- 200ml whole milk
- 60g butter
- 60g sharp cheddar, grated
- 500g large Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 100g andouille sausage, diced
- 100g bacon, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Hot sauce, salt and black pepper to taste
- Chopped chives to garnish
Method
- Bring the chicken stock to a boil, whisk in the grits and reduce to a simmer. Cook 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often, until tender.
- Stir in the milk, butter and cheddar at the end. Season with salt and black pepper.
- Render the bacon in a heavy skillet until crisp. Remove bacon, leave the fat.
- Add the andouille to the bacon fat and brown 3 minutes. Add garlic, cook 30 seconds.
- Add the shrimp and saute 2 minutes per side until just pink and cooked through.
- Squeeze lemon juice, add hot sauce. Spoon grits into wide bowls, top with shrimp, andouille and crisp bacon. Garnish with chives.
Tip from the editors. Use stone-ground grits, not instant; the canonical texture needs slow-cooked corn. Add a splash of stock if the grits stiffen up before serving.
Where to eat shrimp and grits
Shrimp and grits in Birmingham
Automatic Seafood and Oysters ★ 4.8
Automatic Seafood and Oysters in Lakeview earned Adam Evans the 2022 James Beard Best Chef South, with a Gulf-anchored menu in a renovated industrial space.
OvenBird ★ 4.3
OvenBird at Pepper Place Birmingham is Chris Hastings's live-fire sibling concept to Hot and Hot, with Spanish, Portuguese, Uruguayan and Argentine grills.
Shrimp and grits in Charleston
Slightly North of Broad ★ 4.6
Slightly North of Broad in Charleston has run on East Bay Street since 1993. Brunch and lunch are easier seats than dinner. Bar seats are walk-in only.
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 ★ 4.6
Poogan's Porch on Queen Street in Charleston has plated Lowcountry brunch since 1976 from a converted 1891 home. Located in Downtown. Open daily 09:00-15:00.
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 ★ 4.9
Husk in Charleston opened in 2010 under Sean Brock and rebuilt Southern fine dining on heritage grains and hyper-local produce. Located in Downtown.
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 ★ 4.3
Page's Okra Grill in Mount Pleasant has run family-owned Southern cooking on Coleman Boulevard since 2008. Kitchen leans southern, lowcountry.
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.
Shrimp and grits in Charlotte
Haberdish ★ 4.7
Haberdish on N Davidson runs the NoDa Southern brunch programme Tuesday to Sunday in Charlotte, with biscuits and gravy, fried chicken plates and a strong.
Order: Buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy and the brunch fried chicken plate.
Tip: Weekend brunch fills early. Walk in at 11 on Saturday for the easiest seat.
The Goodyear House ★ 4.6
The Goodyear House on N Davidson runs a NoDa Southern brunch on weekends from Chris Coleman's kitchen, with hush puppies, biscuits and chicken plates inside.
Order: Hot-honey chicken with biscuits and a brunch cocktail.
Tip: The patio is the seat in spring and autumn. Reserve via OpenTable.
Shrimp and grits in Greenville
Soby's New South Cuisine ★ 4.6
Soby's anchors the Main Street dining scene in Greenville: Carl Sobocinski's 1997 New Southern flagship in a former dry-goods store, with she-crab soup.
Signature: She-crab soup, Spicy pimento cheese, Fried green tomato Benedict
Stella's Southern Brasserie ★ 4.8
Stella's Southern Brasserie runs French-influenced Southern from a Rocky Slope Road storefront: shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, bourbon-pecan tart.
Signature: Shrimp and grits, Fried green tomatoes, Bourbon-pecan tart
Halls Chophouse Greenville ★ 4.5
Halls Chophouse runs prime steaks, seafood and a 600-bottle wine list on South Main. The Sunday gospel brunch is the booking that fills first downtown.
Shrimp and grits in Orlando
SoCo Restaurant ★ 4.5
SoCo on East Central Boulevard in Thornton Park runs a modern Southern menu with shrimp and grits, fried chicken and a covered weekend brunch patio.
Signature: Shrimp and grits, Fried chicken
The Ravenous Pig ★ 4.6
The Ravenous Pig on West Fairbanks in Winter Park is the James and Julie Petrakis gastropub, with a seasonal Southern menu and on-site brewery.
Shrimp and grits in Savannah
Husk Savannah ★ 4.8
Heritage-grain Lowcountry on Oglethorpe, opened January 2018 as the fourth Husk from Sean Brock's group. Wood-grilled coastal Georgia fish, Anson Mills grits.
Vic's on the River ★ 4.3
Vic's runs in a restored 1859 cotton warehouse on Bay Street, river views from the upstairs dining room. Classic Lowcountry with white-tablecloth service.
Signature: Shrimp and grits, She-crab soup
Order: Shrimp and grits with the Carolina shrimp sauce, plus a she-crab soup to share.
Tip: Ask for an upstairs window seat at reservation time for the Savannah River view.
Elizabeth on 37th ★ 4.7
Classical Lowcountry tasting in a 1900s Victorian mansion opened by Elizabeth Terry in 1981; Terry won James Beard Best Chef Southeast 1995. Special-occasion.
B. Matthew's Eatery ★ 4.3
B. Matthew's daily brunch board runs from breakfast classics to fried-green-tomato Benedicts and shrimp and grits in a brick-walled 1850s East Bay room.
Order: Fried green tomato and crab cake benny
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