Lowcountry Cuisine Spring 2018

lowcountry cuisine LC 37 www.LowcountryCuisineMag.com | www.CharlestonRecipes.com I s there such a thing as too much shrimp ‘n’ grits? The comforting Southern dish is a Charleston institution, at least as much as rainbow row, carriage tours and oyster roasts. Grits have their origin in the hominy of the Native American Muskogee tribe and early Gullah Geechee culture, when hominy was often used as currency. From there, the dish wound its way through settlement history all the way to James Beard Award-winning restaurants and The New York Times foodie reviews. Grits might not be currency any more, but at restaurants like Charleston’s Acme Lowcountry Kitchen in Isle of Palms and Hominy Grill on the Charleston peninsula, shrimp ‘n’ grits on the menu is as good as gold. Chef Robert Stehling of Charleston’s famous Hominy Grill first encountered shrimp ‘n’ grits in the kitchen of Cook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, North Carolina – the James Beard Award-winning kitchen that won the attention of The New York Times food section in 1985 and made shrimp ‘n’ grits a worldwide sensation. “I was there at ground zero,” said Stehling. “That was my first kitchen job, washing dishes there when I was a freshman in college. Long after college, I was still in the kitchen. I watched it (the dish) grow and people just fall in love with it.” At Hominy Grill, which Stehling opened in 1996, he still crafts that same iconic dish in the classic tradition of Cook’s Corner. “It’s really simple,” Stehling said. “You just crush a clove of garlic, add some lemon and tabasco. That’s it. You don’t need cream or gravy.” Simple grits with “that sunny, warm corn feeling” and local shrimp are the vital not-so-secret ingredients as far as Stehling is concerned. “There are many longtime Charlestonians who feel that shrimp ‘n’ grits now are way too complicated,” said Stehling. “They’ll ask that their shrimp be just sauteed in butter and put over grits.” Acme, on the other hand, likes to play with its grits. “It started with one. Then we added another and another,” laughed owner Bobby Simons, a born-and-raised southerner who rests a good part of his business on the dish. Now Acme Kitchen dishes up anywhere from eight to 10 different variations of shrimp ‘n’ grits. “Growing up, your mom or grandma had a special take on it,” said Acme chef Charles Arena. “Going around Charleston, every restaurant has their take. We’ve taken it to the next level by having eight to 10 variations on any given day.” You have your classic blackened shrimp and sausage over steaming grits; short ribs grits topped with fried eggs; a Lowcountry version with tasso ham gravy and sweet corn; a barbecue version with bacon and smoked gouda; and a Southern version laced with collards. For the “Whistle Stop” rendition, Simons said the kitchen “put all the Southern stuff together into a super-dish.” The result By Enid Spitz Southern Hospitality at Its Best Shrimp‘n’Grits Photo by courtesy of Hominy Grill.