How do you feel about donuts?
Dense cake donuts without icing or berries? Yumm.
Surprisingly enough, Bonefish Grill restaurants do not serve hush puppies. And they are based in Florida. They do however offer Kung Pao Brussel Sprouts.
I sugar my porridge, of course, as long as it’s oatmeal. If I ate Cream of Wheat, I’d sugar it too, but I am neither 90 years old nor toothless, so I don’t eat Cream of Wheat.
But somehow the idea of sugaring grits is repulsive to me. It’s entirely irrational, but ew.
Even though South Florida is technically “The South” geographically, we really didn’t have much actual southern culture, so I didn’t know what grits were until I saw My Cousin Vinny for the first time. And even then wasn’t too sure what they really were.
Having seen grits since, I realized they were not something I would like. Like another poster said, it reminds me of oatmeal, which I never liked, flavored or not. It has much more to do with the texture.
If you ever find yourself in a semihifalutin restaurant that has grits as a side, and you’ve got an extra five bucks to spare, it might be worth the experiment. The texture is different enough from oatmeal that it might not bother you–or it might, and then you’re out five bucks.
But don’t try the experiment in a Waffle House. Their grits are terrible.
(And yes, semihifalutin restaurants have grits as a side, if you’re down here).
I might give it a shot if I have the opportunity. I tried boba tea not long ago after assuming for a long time that I wouldn’t like it, and I didn’t like it, but I was glad I gave it a shot at least.
Although I was thinking “semihifalutin” was a specific type of restaurant that tends to serve grits, only to realize you mean somewhat fancy, lol.
Yeah, I don’t like boba much. But I read somewhere that it satisfies the primeval urge to suck up frog eggs from a pond through a reed, and now I can ruin it for other people, too.
Pretty much any mom-and-pop seafood and barbecue place in the south will have hushpuppies on the menu. And they come in different shapes. Some places will have the golf ball sized ones like they serve at LJS. Others will have little marble sized ones. Some will have hushpuppy strips. I’ve even seen hushpuppy rings.
I grew up in the north and never had grits until I moved to Texas for my first post-college job. I still remember the first time I ate them. A couple of the managers at my job took me and a few other new employees to a place that had a buffet-style setup with steam trays. I saw what looked like mashed potatoes and scooped some onto my plate. When I took a bite though, I thought, “Wow, these are awful creamy and gritty for mashed potatoes.”
Good grits are heavenly, but there are so many ways they can go wrong. You can end up with anything from gruel to glue.
Some foods are forgiving. Grits ain’t.
LHoD is singing the gospel truth about shrimp and grits.
I’ve had boba. That actually makes it sound more appealing.
I tried it, because I try everything. Haven’t had it since. I do love tapioca, though.
I ate Cream of Wheat in my 20s.
As a transplant to California from North Carolina, I have the same problem; grocery stores around here only seem to have instant. I have indeed resorted to buying them online. I really like Palmetto Farms brand.
Some on this board have suggested looking for Bob’s Red Mill grits in the store; I haven’t found it where I regularly shop, but maybe you’ll have better luck. You probably want to look for them by the fancy organic non-GMO foods rather than by the regular hot cereals.
I’ve gone through spurts of eating cream of wheat. When hand feeding budgerigars, Amazons, and cockatiels I used it as part of the weaning process. After a clutch was totally weaned, I’d finish the box off myself.
That’s the brand our farm market carries, their entire line!
I have seen Bob’s Red Mill products at the store, and yes I believe they are in the “alt-grocery” section. I’ll look around there next time I’m shopping.
I thought that for the longest time but, no, there are regular grits and there are hominy grits. Note here there is a separate category for hominy grits:
Hominy grits is what you’re more likely to find at the store.
Here’s a miller out of Tennessee that makes regular grits and also compares them with hominy grits:
Son-of-a-wrek does a nice hush puppy when he fries fish. He does have a certain spoon he uses.
Long handled. (A must for the big deep fryer he designed). He picks up a certain amount of the dough and flips the spoon just right in to the high temp peanut oil. They are usually a football shape.
He’s fast. We always tell him he gonna the burn the first floaters. He’s got a system though. Knows, thru practice how many times plop in dough before starting to remove.
Fascinating to watch.
He’ll always be able to be employed.
A young man with a flare.
I’m the salter.
Quick shoutout to Jimmy Mack, a college friend who took me to a Carolina Beach Party and then to a little café on a dirt road, where we ate family-style at long picnic tables. The first bowl brought out from the kitchen was full of deep-brown, steaming Hush Puppies.