"I'd like to try some grits, please, ma'am." "Hominy?" "Oh, just two or three."

Oh, c'mon, ONE of youse was thinkin' it at least!

My first encounter with grits was just a couple years back when I drove to Florida (from near Toronto) with a couple of friends. The prevalent chain along our route was the "Waffle House" - pretty fair cheap brekkie stuff. I saw grits on the menu. Now I been hearing references to grits all my life. Hadda try 'em, y'know. Why the hell didn't somebody tell me grits was just cornmeal porridge?! BIG disappointment. Didn't taste like anything at all. Started to experiment with anything in reach, and ended up with the butter, salt & pepper combo, and got them (it?) somewhat palatable.

The fried thing with syrup sounds a lot like what one friend describes from his youth as "johnnycake".

Thread creep: I'd heard about (and even tried up here) chicken-fried steak. Loved it, right from the concept (take THAT, health nuts!) to the taste; but I knew I had to try it in its natural habitat. Last year's drive down to visit friends in Austin provided the opportunity. Just the thought of deep-fried breaded chopped sirloin smothered in chicken gravy caused my arteries to begin to collapse in joyous anticipation. In the space of a week, I managed to have it 'bout 4 or 5 times. Now somewhere between Austin and Luckenbach is a restaurant called the "Hill Country Baker" (near Johnson City, I think). What choice did we have? - sign outside said, "World's best chicken-fried steak! Nearly three dozen sold!" Best I had whilst down there, I do believe. Lookin' forward to goin' back for three reasons: my friends, the music (Luckenbach on a Sunday afternoon is a delight) and the food. Texas - good.