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| The Grits Belt is an unmarked but undeniable demarcation of American culinary cultures |
| 2024-03-25 |
| [FoxNews] The United States continues to be a house divided. The so-called Grits Belt lays it bare. Political borders are well-defined, the line on the map matching the "welcome to" sign on the road. On the other hand, cultural borders are undefined and unmarked — yet their existence is undeniable. The Grits Belt, largely a phenomenon in the eastern half of the country, is a perfect example. It does not appear on a map, AAA guide or smartphone app. Yet it’s as obvious as the delicious joy that comes with eating the creamy ground corn drenched in butter and love. "The Grits Belt is a real geographic phenomenon," Matthew Zook, a professor of geography at the University of Kentucky, told Fox News Digital. "But like all cultures, it has porous and diffuse borders." The Grits Belt separates an America in which grits are at best a novelty from an America in which grits are gloriously abundant. Grits are rare in New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. But during a drive south, New Yorkers will, without notice, enter the Grits Belt. They will know only when they pull over at the country café and find grits on the menu with their sunny sides, shrimp or fried chicken. Road-trippers from South Carolina, conversely, will at some undetermined point leave the Grits Belt. They will know only when they look at a menu and find that meals come with some sort of potatoes: home fries with their eggs, French fries with fried fish, mashed potatoes with chicken dinner. Zook and other scholars mapped the Grits Belt in 2014 on the website floatingsheep.org, by surveying geotagged posts on X (formerly known as Twitter). "The South in general demonstrates a general preference for grits over the rest of the country," they wrote. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #13 I strayed into the belt many decades ago unawares. When I saw an unknown entry on the menu, I asked the waitress, “What are grits?” She reared back and mortified me by yelling out, “Griates, whas griates??” |
| Posted by: KBK 2024-03-25 23:07 |
| #12 Polenta is essentially yellow grits. In Vicenza we’d top polenta with either rehydrated dried cod (baccala) or mushrooms atop Gorgonzola. |
| Posted by: Joluger Omeremble1257 2024-03-25 14:27 |
| #11 They're a pretty good medium for flavor. Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Grits |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2024-03-25 13:03 |
| #10 Grits |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2024-03-25 11:04 |
| #9 Since moving to Texas, I have been surprised by the paucity of grits in the central part of the state. Several places don't even have them on the menu. I really have to learn how to cook them for myself. |
| Posted by: Too Old To Work 2024-03-25 10:12 |
| #8 Hummmmmmmmm! 2 x 1/2" thick Fried Pork Chops smothered in Brown Gravy, with White Rice and Black-eye peas. Desserts: Pecan Pie, Apple or Cherry pie. |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2024-03-25 09:15 |
| #7 Breakfast polenta. |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2024-03-25 09:14 |
| #6 I think my first solid food when I was a baby was grit! White Zinfandel goes well with grits! |
| Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance 2024-03-25 09:12 |
| #5 Way back when I was working in Cambridge, Massachusetts I lived in a town outside of Cambridge. There was a small restaurant named Betty's Breakfast Kitchen. I had breakfast there every Saturday morning. One Saturday I was sitting at the counter. The waitress asked me what I wanted and I said, "I don't suppose you have grits do you?" She said yes. Betty's husband is from Alabama and he likes grits so I ordered them. Just before my breakfast came a black gentleman sat down next to me. When my breakfast came he looked over and literally did a double take. He said, "Is those grits?" I said yes, they are. He yelled back to the kitchen, "Betty! You didn't tell me you had grits!" We had a nice conversation after that. |
| Posted by: Deacon Blues 2024-03-25 08:55 |
| #4 I developed a taste for grits at Coastal Flats in Fairfax - "Sauteed Shrimp & Creamy Grit Cakes, with Smithfield ham, roasted corn, asparagus, peppers, sweet onion & cajun cream". But there ain't nothin' like that in these here North Texas parts. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2024-03-25 08:52 |
| #3 Iced tea goes with grits. And everything. |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2024-03-25 08:44 |
| #2 Boone's Farm. Any flavor. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2024-03-25 08:26 |
| #1 I am proudly South Carolinian by adoption - but I have never had grits and will not until somebody can tell me what wine goes with them. Mike |
| Posted by: MikeKozlowski 2024-03-25 07:07 |