Never underestimate the value of utility—especially when it lets you flip the bird at convention. Grits are a blank slate, a base for all kinds of indulgence, but modern culinarians forget that and needlessly take them “over the top.” I’m just as guilty. But at their core, grits are the workhorse of Southern foodways. These stone-ground grits nod to both tradition and just a touch of pretense—flavored with pimento and cream cheese, garlic, green onion bottoms, and bacon fat. Serve under tomato bacon gravy with poached eggs or whatever, or eat them straight.