# What was this U.S. breakfast dish? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 10, 2008, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527 "2008-12-10T06:46:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/61 "2008-12-11T03:49:38Z")
Them Soprano boys, they wasn’t from around here. ---
**Author:** ![PaperBlob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/58956e/32.png) [@PaperBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaperBlob)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/62 "2008-12-11T03:54:21Z")
> [@Across](#): > > Okay, I’m confused. I recently watched the complete Sopranos, and I seem to recall them talking about “gravy” when they meant “a tomato-based pasta sauce without meat”. Am I misremembering, or is this a Northern variation on the usage of “gravy”? My wife’s best friend’s Italian family calls it gravy, so I think it might just be an Italian thing. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/63 "2008-12-11T04:12:00Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Oh, you might find biscuits and gravy in soul food restaurants and in hole-in-the-wall places, but I was talking about hotel restaurants. The Marriott in Hunt Valley has a wonderful Sunday brunch, and they have some of the best sausage gravy and biscuits that I’ve ever tasted. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/64 "2008-12-11T04:24:36Z")
My Italian Gianina friend calls Marinara “gravy”. She’s from NYC. My new friend from Atlanta recently told me about real southern tomato gravy. It’s made just like onion gravy, using sliced tomato instead of onions. Anyone heard of this? ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/65 "2008-12-11T05:51:12Z")
Oh yeah. Tomato gravy. I didn’t mention it because I know that in some yankee circles they might think I was referring to spaghetti sauce. But yes, tomato gravy is just as awesome. But don’t for one minute fool yourself into thinking it might be a healthy alternative. A good tomato gravy would probably have some onions in it as well, but it’s not required. Of course, as I mentioned earlier, nothing is required. Only that an old woman taught you how to do it in the iron skillet her grandmother used while you are both wearing aprons older than you. But maybe that’s just me. But it will also be the required uniform when I am manager of the Gravy Hut. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/66 "2008-12-11T08:01:17Z")
> [@jali](#): > > My Italian Gianina friend calls Marinara “gravy”. She’s from NYC. > > My new friend from Atlanta recently told me about real southern tomato gravy. It’s made just like onion gravy, using sliced tomato instead of onions. > > Anyone heard of this? My mother made tomato gravy that was just wonderful. Breakfast thing, served on biscuits. She tried to teach me how to do it, but all I retained is that you start with bacon drippings. Bacon drippings are essential. (She was visiting, and asked for my bacon drippings, and _I didn’t have any_. But I did have bacon. So, after kind of looking at me with contempt for not keeping a dripping jar, she fried up some bacon. For the drippings. Nothing else would work. After that you fry the tomatoes in the drippings, and at some point you add flour. Unfortunately for me the process stops there.) ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/67 "2008-12-11T12:10:17Z")
> [@Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](#): > > My standard breakfast restaurant order is a giant split biscuit, with a sausage patty and an over-medium egg on each half, and peppery sausage gravy covering the whole thing. Often known as a “Country Benedict”. > > At one local breakfast place, the hash browns are so good that I just order a side of hash browns with a side of gravy on top. Yeah, I forgot about that. Sometimes my husband or daughter will order hash browns or French fries with sausage gravy on the side. My husband is particularly fond of this. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/68 "2008-12-11T12:44:22Z")
Anyone know if there are any chains in the UK that do biscuit and gravy? KFC used to do it but I think they’ve stopped. I’m fucking jonesing here man. Got a monkey on my back and it’s screaming for biscuits and gravy. Help me! ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/69 "2008-12-11T12:57:08Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Anyone know if there are any chains in the UK that do biscuit and gravy? KFC used to do it but I think they’ve stopped. > > I’m fucking jonesing here man. Got a monkey on my back and it’s screaming for biscuits and gravy. Help me! I’m jonesin’ too. I don’t know about the UK, but KFC here (japan) does biscuits, but they are NOT biscuits. They are an unfunny imitation of a cruel joke of my beloved Atlantan biscuits. They’re powdery rocks of chalk that weigh more than granite and have the same taste. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/70 "2008-12-11T13:10:22Z")
> [@legalsnugs](#): > > I agree with everything Lynn Bodoni says, but wanted to suggest another way to do this last part above. I found I got a LOT less lumps if I put the flour in a lidded jar with a little water or milk and shook it vigorously to make a slurry which I then added to the frying pan. Just my two cents on making this gift from the breakfast gods. > > \ Aye, this is similar to the method I was referring to, except I use a glass or a measuring cup and a fork to break up the lumps so the slurry is nice and smooth prior to adding to the broth/drippings. Again, rinse the container that held the slurry out fully _promptly_ with hot water because that stuff sets like concrete! ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/71 "2008-12-11T13:12:16Z")
IHOP does a passable biscuits and gravy, but so far, they are only in the US, Canada, and Mexico. So much for globalization! (And so much for the \*\*International \*\*House of Pancakes!) ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/72 "2008-12-11T14:38:33Z")
> [@ShelliBean](#): > > I didn’t mention it because But it will also be the required uniform when I am manager of the Gravy Hut. (Jumping up and down arm raised, waving wildly) I’d love to be a server of gravy - people will love me! Where do I send my resume, and what color is the uniform? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/73 "2008-12-11T14:58:01Z")
So…if I’m reading this right, there is a market for good, homemade Southern cooking in the UK and elsewhere. Something like Mary Mac’s, except located in London. Hmmmm…maybe recruit a few grandmothers, have them train up some locals and then stay on as managers…import the proper ingredients…yep, by next summer we could be serving chicken-fried steak and biscuits and gravy to the Empire. Only problem is that a breakfast plate would cost £33! ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/74 "2008-12-11T16:07:41Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Something like Mary Mac’s, except located in London. For my money, [The Colonnade](http://atlanta.citysearch.com/profile/3015361) would be a much better model. Mary Mac’s has been coasting for years. But yeah, I’ve always wondered whether a restaurant serving _authentic_ Southern cooking would do well in London or elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/75 "2008-12-11T16:47:38Z")
\ Late, as usual. But hell, I gotta sleep sometimes… I’m going to ladle this in heaping quantities over to _Cafe Society_. IMHO \> CS \ ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/76 "2008-12-11T17:17:14Z")
OK, I have GOT GOT GOT to make this this weekend. The gravy I can do - I just need spiced sausage meat. But biscuits? Not so much. I tried to make them once and they were like hockey pucks. Anyone got any pointers? ---
**Author:** ![beanpod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9adbd/32.png) [@beanpod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beanpod)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/77 "2008-12-11T17:30:00Z")
My great-grandmother often made fried chicken with breakfast for her HUGE family of farmers, teenagers, and farming teenagers. She’d also make sausage, gravy, and biscuits, of course. I love gravy with fried chicken and biscuits for dinner, but I imagine that gravy made from fried chicken drippings instead of sausage or bacon drippings would seem odd for breakfast, at least to me. **Isamu,** **Lynn’s** gravy recipe is perfect. Here’s how you make biscuits: Turn the oven on first, to 450 degrees F, because it’ll take a while to heat up. one half cup of some sort of solid fat–butter or vegetable shortening 2 cups of all purpose flour (no leavening added) 1 teaspoon salt, 3 teaspoons baking powder Combine the fat and those dry ingredients with your hands, or a fork, or knives, or a pastry cutter. It’ll make an awesome crumbly mixture. Make sure there aren’t any really big lumps of fat left. Then pour in about three-quarters of a cup of milk and stir until it’s all combined. The dough will be sticky at this point and will mostly stick together in a ball instead of be spread around the bowl. You could also use buttermilk instead of milk. It gives the biscuits a…more of a rich, slightly sour taste–like very very subtle sourdough. In that case, you need to use less baking powder–2 teaspoons–and add a dash of baking soda. I prefer to use buttermilk, but I imagine that’s hard to come by in Japan. I’ve found powdered buttermilk at the store, though, and I bet you could find some online if you’re interested. Now here’s where you get into the subjective differences. Some people like to add a little more flour and roll the biscuits out to cut them into circles. Some people like to just use a spoon and drop the dough as-is onto a greased baking sheet. Some people add some flour to their hands and pat the biscuits out into a round shape almost like biscuits that are rolled and cut. They’re all good, but slightly different. The more flour you add, the denser they’ll be, of course. I prefer to pat out the biscuits. Put them on a baking sheet or in a baking dish that’s been greased with butter. Or if you want to be lower-fat (a low-fat biscuit isn’t a biscuit at all) you can use parchment paper on the pan. Leave an inch or so between them so they rise. Brush the tops with melted butter, or just put a tiny piece of butter on top of each one. What I do is use a 9x13 inch glass baking dish, melt butter in it, and then when I put the biscuits in, just roll them around so they’re coated. Then bake them for 10-15 minutes. Tear up one or two and pour your sausage gravy over it. Sprinkle with pepper. Try to stop eating before you die of a heart attack. ETA: ha, perfect timing! **jjimm** , if your biscuits are too tough, you probably either didn’t add enough leavening or added too much flour. Stirring them too much can also make them tough. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/78 "2008-12-11T17:41:12Z")
> [@beanpod](#): > > ETA: ha, perfect timing! **jjimm** , if your biscuits are too tough, you probably either didn’t add enough leavening or added too much flour. Stirring them too much can also make them tough. I’d vote for over-kneading. That’s my biggest challenge with biscuits, knowing when enough is enough with the kneading. ---
**Author:** ![maladroit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f475e1/32.png) [@maladroit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maladroit)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/79 "2008-12-11T17:41:48Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > Not even limited to cities with significan black populations or below the Mason-Dixon. I’ve seen biscuits and gravy and chicken fried steak in breakfast restaurants all over the Midwest, including towns I’d wager a guess were 100% white, or close. Yep, here in Flint, MI USA every greasy spoon place has biscuits and gravy - now I’m not saying they’ve all got \*good \* biscuits and gravy. I always use Bob Evans sausage to make b&g, or you can buy this (not as good as homemade, but tasty) [http://bobevansfoods.com/products/product.aspx?name=Original+Sausage+Gravy+%26+Biscuits&groupid=2](http://bobevansfoods.com/products/product.aspx?name=Original+Sausage+Gravy+%26+Biscuits&groupid=2) ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2008, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/80 "2008-12-11T17:47:02Z")
I know of no greater breakfast than [Sawmill Gravy](http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/good-eats/sawmill-gravy-recipe/index.html) over a hot plate of biscuits, which is what it seems like the OP is referring to. Of course with the amount that I usually eat I often find myself miserable for several hours afterward, but it is without a doubt worth it. Crap. Now I REALLY want some. Looks like a trip to the store is in order… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527.md?page=5)