The Lowcountry's standout spots for shrimp and grits
You can find dozens of variations on this classic Southern dish in restaurants across the country. But there's something special about eating shrimp and grits in the Lowcountry, where the main ingredients are so close to home. Shrimp and grits have been a staple in coastal Southern kitchens for generations, but when and where did the dish originate? Sources like the Levine Museum of the New South suggest shrimp and grits was likely the result of a convergence of Gullah Geechee, Indigenous and European cooking traditions that started centuries ago. An early recipe for "Shrimps and Hominy" appears in the 1930 cookbook, Two Hundred Years of Charleston Cooking. Over time, the dish was eventually popularized (and fancied up) by restaurants like Crook's Corner in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and Husk in Charleston, South Carolina. Our list of standout shrimp and grits highlights crowd-favorite versions of this dish, both traditional and creative, where local ingredients like these are always the focus. That's thanks to farmers who still grow heritage-variety grains, like the Sea Island Yellow Guinea Flint Grits from Rollen's Raw Grains in Hardeeville, South Carolina, and purveyors like Tarvin Shrimp of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, who catch shrimp off the
