09/03/17
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner or Late night in Charleston requires one dish and only one place can supplement each time of the day. The Early Bird Diner located in the West Ashley area of Charleston, SC is open normally 7am-10pm Mon-Thurs, but on Friday & Saturday it stays open from 8am till 4am for that late night craving that Waffle House doesn't quite fulfill. The menu here is extensive and has a great variety from simple hash scrambles to gourmet dishes like Ricotta Gnocchi. But the one dish I always get when here is the staple Charleston Shrimp and Grits. This shrimp and grits stands above to me because of the tomato bacon gravy sauce used to infuse the stone ground grits and sautéed jumbo shrimp. The grits have the perfect salt and butter creaminess almost like mashed potatoes in consistency and spoon hold, but with a gritty/grainy texture. No cheese is added in these grits like other places, which is the way I prefer in order to get the maximum corn grain flavor without the extra saltiness. The jumbo shrimps (7-8 pieces) are sautéed nicely with salt, pepper, butter and added on top of the grits. Each shrimp maintains that snappy bite on the outside with a soft briny inside. Then the show of the dish is layered on top as the crown jewel. This tomato bacon gravy is the missing piece with it's chunks of fried bacon pieces and thick peppery creamy tomato gravy. You get the fatty saltiness of the bacon (bacon drippings must have been added) mixed with the sweet tomato base that is thicken to a gravy which coats and holds on to every bite of the shrimp and grits below. The bacon pieces provide a smoky crunch along with the snap of biting into a shrimp. The grits act as a vehicle for the gravy and proteins to come together in a delicious romance. I have never been to Early Bird and not ordered this dish with an extra side of toast (already comes with biscuit or toast) so that any remaining gravy can be sopped up in the envy of my friends/family. This dish is $13 plus $1.25 for extra toast or biscuit. Be sure to check out Early Bird Diner anytime of the day while in Chucktown. Until the next BTB ✌🏽