# 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:** 8
**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 16, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/141 "2008-12-16T13:31:14Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > And for my money, American style (smoked) bacon makes a better gravy than sausage. Cooking sausage often doesn’t produce enough grease to make good gravy. I missed this one. Try using patty sausage. Neese’s Sage is good for grease for making gravy. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/142 "2008-12-16T17:02:18Z")
> [@jali](#): > > (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? Heh - I am just now coming back to this thread. Well, someone upthread mentioned that they were going to be starting the Gravy Hut so technically I just manage it (you like how I didn’t ask them, I just kind of assumed I’d get the job?) so I don’t know if I’d get a say. I’m thinking of something like the complete white uniforms that will show the gravy stains of the day so when someone comes in and says “what’s the special today” you can point to the different spills and be like “well this here (sniff, taste), that’s the tomato gravy. this one here is chicken gravy. I like it better but that might be the detergent adding a little salt to the flavor.” This is gonna be big. I can just feel it. In my arteries. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/143 "2008-12-16T17:08:36Z")
(missed the edit window) ETA - I saw someone mention fried okra and fried green tomatoes. I can do those too. Oh yeah, send me over to England and I’ll run the soul food shop! Also, for the vegetarian gravy: since one of the few ingredients is animal drippings I don’t know how good it would taste but you could try to make it with a vegetable oil and add some fake beef or chicken flavoring. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/144 "2008-12-16T17:12:50Z")
> [@ShelliBean](#): > > Heh - I am just now coming back to this thread. Well, someone upthread mentioned that they were going to be starting the Gravy Hut so technically I just manage it (you like how I didn’t ask them, I just kind of assumed I’d get the job?) so I don’t know if I’d get a say. I’m thinking of something like the complete white uniforms that will show the gravy stains of the day so when someone comes in and says “what’s the special today” you can point to the different spills and be like “well this here (sniff, taste), that’s the tomato gravy. this one here is chicken gravy. I like it better but that might be the detergent adding a little salt to the flavor.” This is gonna be big. I can just feel it. In my arteries. White uniforms are good, but they need to have a monogrammed gray “V” on the front. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/145 "2008-12-16T17:25:42Z")
That is too awesome. Yes. It shall be done. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/146 "2008-12-16T18:41:20Z")
I suppose I could be tarred, feathered and run out of the South for saying so, but [Campbell’s Country Style](http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/357632/product_review_campbells_country_style.html) [Sausage Gravy](http://www.campbellsoup.com/gravies.asp) works pretty well in a pinch, so long as it’s ladled over a big ol’ [Cat](http://www.deltablues.net/biscuit.html) [Head](http://www.mtnlaurel.com/Recipes/old_fashioned_cat_head_biscuits.htm) biscuit. Mmm mmm meow! ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/147 "2008-12-16T19:21:55Z")
Our family has a tradition of puttting a few drops of ketchup on sausage gravy. Sound a little gross but gives it a great tangy flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/148 "2008-12-16T20:13:08Z")
> [@ShelliBean](#): > > That is too awesome. Yes. It shall be done. Actually, I always envisioned my place as a gravy outlet, not a restaurant. One could buy a quart or a gallon of whatever gravy they desired, and shots would be available for those needing a fix or a taste. However, I could see it also as a gravy-based restaurant, serving only those dishes that come with gravy, such as CFS, B&G, mashed taters, perhaps open-faced sandwiches. Oddly enough, I think a place like this could succeed, given the proper demographics. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/149 "2008-12-16T20:17:10Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > Huh. I’m from Texas, but I’ve never tried Biscuits and Gravy (which I do see in Texas, it just never appealed to me as I find the biscuits to be delicious by themselves), but now I might try some next time I find it. Anybody know if Army chowhall gravy is any good? I know their biscuits tend to be at least twice as heavy as biscuits from other places (and about 10 times heavier than the super-fluffy crackbiscuits that Popeye’s Chicken sells) It can be hit or miss - but Army chowhalls are home to the aforementioned SOS. You might want to give that a whirl. ---
**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 16, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/150 "2008-12-16T20:17:11Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > However, I could see it also as a gravy-based restaurant, **serving only those dishes that come with gravy** , such as CFS, B&G, mashed taters, perhaps open-faced sandwiches. So, it’s a 57 page menu then? ALL THINGS ARE BETTER WITH GRAVY!!! Yes, that too. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/151 "2008-12-16T20:34:08Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Actually, I always envisioned my place as a gravy outlet, not a restaurant. One could buy a quart or a gallon of whatever gravy they desired, and shots would be available for those needing a fix or a taste. However, I could see it also as a gravy-based restaurant, serving only those dishes that come with gravy, such as CFS, B&G, mashed taters, perhaps open-faced sandwiches. Oddly enough, I think a place like this could succeed, given the proper demographics. Baby, now you’re speaking my language. Let me know when you have room for someone that likes to cook and has extensive management experience. Oh, and I’m going back to school to be a nurse so when I get that done with and move on to gravy server I can perform CPR on the heart attacks until the ambulances get there. ---
**Author:** ![MN\_Maenad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e95f7d/32.png) [@MN\_Maenad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MN_Maenad)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/152 "2008-12-16T22:19:38Z")
Curse you all! I have to wait until Saturday to make this lovely ambrosia! Actually, my Minnesotan mom makes sawmill gravy with the pan drippings from frying pork chops. I always used to have it over plain white bread. However, this weekend I shall attempt The Biscuit (Alton Brown’s recipe), and make some gravy with sausage. And anyone who wants to start up a discussion on the wonder that is Fried Green Tomatoes will warm me to the cockles of my clogged heart. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/153 "2008-12-17T07:30:56Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > I wonder if a vegetarian equivalent can be made. Not for me, but for when my sister comes to visit, we can have something semi-local that their kids never have. I can use fake sausages for the sausage part, but where do I get a good vegetarian base? There’s a restaurant near me that serves veggie biscuits and gravy, and it’s soooo gooooood. So yes, it’s definitely possible. Boca patty sausage are somewhat more greasy than the other kinds, so maybe start with those, perhaps frying the patties with butter if you need more grease? That way the butter will pick up some of the spicy flavor too. I think they have pre-packaged veggie/vegan gravy available at places like Whole Foods, too. Possibly in the frozen foods section. No guarantees that they’ll have sawmill along with the brown, though. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/154 "2008-12-17T11:03:53Z")
> [@MN\_Maenad](#): > > And anyone who wants to start up a discussion on the wonder that is Fried Green Tomatoes will warm me to the cockles of my clogged heart. Born and raised in South Jersey, I transmogrified from Yankee to Cracker via the circuitous route: Jersey-Philly-Cleveland-Oklahoma City-Houston-Miami-Jacksonville. The first thing I was lucky enough to acquire when I finally arrived in the land of Dixie 20 years ago was a girlfriend from the Deep South. She was a feisty spitfire of a girl who looked like Ellie Mae Clampett, dressed like Daisy Mae Scraggs, talked like [Jackie Moms Mabley](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZ7W6TQV8og&feature=related), and was afraid of nothing except her “Paw”, whom I tried very hard to avoid meeting since he \*“didn’t take a shine to anybody from New York or anyplace near it”. \* The growing fear of meeting Paw for the first time and explaining my intentions concerning his daughter (let’s call her, _Daisy Ellie_) could have gotten the best of me, leading to my seeking a safer girl to befriend (preferably a _fatherless_ one). But, I sucked it up and did what I had to do in order to keep this girl in my life…at least for a while. Anybody who could cook cat head biscuits & gravy, fried green tomatoes, chicken fried steak and a host of other southern delicacies the way Daisy Ellie did on a regular basis, was worth risking life and limb for (of course the Ellie Mae/Daisy Mae looks connection didn’t hurt either…but, I’d have stuck with her for those biscuits alone, even if she looked like Moms Mabley). Long story short: Paw was every bit as scary as the reputation preceding him alluded to. When I finally mustered the nerve and met Daisy Ellie at her father’s single-wide, she explained, \*“he’ll be back in a minute, after he takes care of one of his hounds who’s bin messin’ with the chickens out back.” \*When I heard the shot to the head, thus resolving the chicken problem, I wondered what was in store for someone who’s bin messin’ with this man’s daughter. Well, I lived to enjoy many fine meals after that day, until fate intervened, making my Southern Fried girlfriend but a fond memory. So, while some lucky guy is most likely getting fed the real deal these days, I can offer only my version of Fried Green Tomatoes as I vaguely recall them being made for me: [Fried Green Tomatoes](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10090746&postcount=10) [Again](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10123847&postcount=33) ---
**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 17, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/155 "2008-12-17T13:29:54Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It needs some help. Sausage has spices added in the making of it. Hamburger is just beef. I use lean beef and fry it in a bit of peanut oil, then add some butter at the end if necessary before adding the flour. I usually mince up some onions and garlic to cook in with it. And I like sage and pepper, but anything would probably work. I also like to put it on top of macaroni (which I just polished off about a half hour ago) or rice. Sacrilege, I know. This works pretty well. I always use onions, and usually some garlic as well. Sometimes I even add a bit of chopped celery. I discovered decades ago that poultry seasoning works pretty well on hamburger, so I might add some of that. Hamburger gravy can be served on just about any starch base, so noodles, rice, biscuits, bread, all work. Heck, add some mushrooms to it, some chicken flavor base, and stir in sour cream when it’s done, and call it Hamburger Stroganoff. That’s what I do. I think that chuck makes the tastiest ground beef. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/156 "2008-12-17T14:07:43Z")
As long as we’re starting a gravy restaurant, we might as well go multi-culti and add poutine. ---
**Author:** ![ShelliBean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@ShelliBean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShelliBean)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/157 "2008-12-17T15:35:46Z")
Freakin communist. OK, I’ll do it but I’d have to learn how. I’ve never done that before. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/158 "2008-12-17T16:51:09Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > As long as we’re starting a gravy restaurant, we might as well go multi-culti and add poutine. Have to call it Freedom Chili though;) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/159 "2008-12-17T16:55:48Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > This works pretty well. I always use onions, and usually some garlic as well. Sometimes I even add a bit of chopped celery. I discovered decades ago that poultry seasoning works pretty well on hamburger, so I might add some of that. Hamburger gravy can be served on just about any starch base, so noodles, rice, biscuits, bread, all work. Heck, add some mushrooms to it, some chicken flavor base, and stir in sour cream when it’s done, and call it Hamburger Stroganoff. That’s what I do. > > I think that chuck makes the tastiest ground beef. Wow: it’s been years since I made hamburger stroganoff. Good stuff. I use a tasty locally made ground beef that’s called “ground charbroil”. I asked what was in it and they told me “ground chuck”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Across](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Across](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Across)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527/160 "2008-12-17T23:44:04Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > A few years ago I was in Atlanta (USA) for a conference and was staying in a hotel in the center of town. I was telling my husband about this thread last night (“you wouldn’t \*believe \* what the Americans think is gravy!”) and when I repeated the question that started it all off he said . . . “Why doesn’t this guy just call the hotel and ask them?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-this-u-s-breakfast-dish/476527.md?page=9)