Grits

Whenever I hear the word “grits,” I think of The South. However, I’m a Yankee, born and bred, and while also a foodie, I’ve never eaten grits as an adult. S and I were headed to Wisconsin via Atlanta. (I’ll bet you can’t guess that we were flying Delta airlines....) We stopped at “Waffle King” to grab a bite to eat. As we looked at the menu, S asked me if I had ever had grits and what were they like. Well, when I was about seven, and my best description was “they’re like Cream of Wheat” (never having eaten Cream of Wheat.)

In the end, we each ordered a breakfast special that came with eggs, hash browns, bacon, and a bread. The server was asking us if we wanted grits with that. No, thank you. Somehow, we ended up with grits instead of the hash browns. We asked the server about the grits explaining that “we’re not from around here” and “we don’t know how to eat grits.” She told us that grits are actually made from corn and that people eat them with butter. She said she’d get us some. Still waiting for that butter. The grits were very plain tasting. Salt made them better, but I’m not convinced. My mother told me that one of her friends makes terrific Parmesan grits, but I haven’t yet experienced that. Maybe you have to be from the South, maybe it has to be in your blood. I’m not sure that grits can be an acquired taste.