Biscuits and Gravy

It’s the backbone of any Southern brunch. Buttery, flaky biscuits dutifully barricade the rim of a weighed-down plate, ready to protect all that’s piled high and holy from spilling over. Most irresistible when smothered with thick gravy, biscuits double as an excellent morsel-delivery device, sopping up every last bit of leftover grits, grease, or syrup. Amen.

Smith Street Diner
438 Battleground Ave., Greensboro • smithstreetdiner.com • (336) 379-8666

Huge in both size and flavor at the no-nonsense Smith Street Diner, the biscuits are show-stopping and nearly the size of your plate. If you’re not a fan of gravy, you can either reevaluate your life choices or try topping your biscuit with the diner’s homemade apple butter.

Biscuit Head
733 Haywood Rd. and 417 Biltmore Ave., Asheville • biscuitheads.com • (828) 333-5145 and (828) 505-3449

Gravy isn’t just gravy at Biscuit Head with the restaurant’s inventive flavors like sweet potato coconut and smoked tomato creole complementing standby favorites like espresso red eye and fried chicken gravy. You can even order a gravy flight: your choice of three gravies to try with your biscuit.

Flo’s Kitchen
1015 Goldsboro St. South, Wilson • (252) 237-9146 

Down-home comfort is what you’ll find at this celebrated Wilson eatery. Occupying what was once a gas station, Flo’s Kitchen has limited seating but makes up for it with its buttery cathead biscuits with bubbly cheese.

Chicken and Waffles

Chicken and waffles is the indecisive eater’s answer to deciding what’s for brunch. No tormenting yourself with the question of “sweet or savory?” because you can have both with this dish.

Dame’s Chicken and Waffles
Durham and Greensboro • dameschickenwaffles.com

Dame’s dishes are decadent, right down to the butter. Try the restaurant’s schmears, whipped sweet cream butter with infused flavors like maple pecan and chocolate almond. All it takes is a couple of bites to see why these chicken and waffles are “Almost! World Famous.”

Beasley’s Chicken + Honey
237 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh • ac-restaurants.com/beasleys • (919) 322-0127

The chicken and waffles at Beasley’s feature an artful balance of flavor combinations. The crisp, fried skin and succulent meat of the chicken pair well with the fluffy waffle and light drizzling of honey. And you would be remiss if you didn’t try at least one of the restaurant’s new Southern takes on classic side items.

King Daddy’s Chicken & Waffle
444 Haywood Rd., Asheville • ashevillekingdaddy.com • (828) 785-1690

At King Daddy’s, you’ve got your options. Chicken comes fried, grilled, tossed in a ginger soy sauce, or dipped in a habanero sweet potato sauce. The list goes on, and that’s not even touching on potential waffle styles and toppings.

French Toast

French toast is only as good as the bread that it’s made with: The thicker, the better, and it’s most certainly baked in-house.

Baker’s Kitchen
227 Middle St., New Bern • bakerskitchennewbern.com • (252) 637-0304

Baker’s Kitchen doesn’t joke around about its French toast, touting it as being the town’s “BEST.” (All caps warranted.) And while freshly made bread is important, the restaurant’s homemade butter syrup is unforgettable.

La Farm Bakery
4248 NW Cary Parkway, Cary • lafarmbakery.com • (919) 657-0657

La Farm Bakery knows its bread. It’s got to, considering its owner was raised in Paris, where baguettes are practically a food group. The restaurant’s crème brûlée French toast is baked on cinnamon brioche and served with Amish maple syrup.

Melanie’s Food Fantasy
664 W. King St., Boone • melaniesfoodfantasy.com • (828) 263-0300 

Melanie’s classically prepared French toast is great, but opt for the version stuffed with a raspberry cream cheese spread and fresh fruit. Brunch is the meal of indulgence, after all, and you can rationalize your decadent choice with the feel-good knowledge that the eggs and bread are sourced from within the county.

Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict gets its reputation as being the most refined brunch dish, but here in the South, it takes on new life as comfort food.

Mozelle’s Fresh Southern Bistro
878 W. 4^th St., Winston-Salem • mozelles.com • (336) 703-5400

A heaping pile of spicy collards in Mozelle’s version of a Benedict perfectly complements the dish’s candied bacon, and the brioche bun is so soft, it can be cut easily with one swift motion of a fork.

City Lights Café
3 E. Jackson St., Sylva • citylightscafe.com • (828) 587-2233

Get your eggs Benedict fill in the form of a crepe, a specialty of City Lights Café. It includes scrambled eggs, ham, Swiss cheese, and hollandaise sauce. After your meal, take time to wander around the quaint bookshop upstairs.

Fish Bites Seafood Restaurant
6132-11 Carolina Beach Rd., Wilmington • fishbitesseafood.com • (910) 791-1117

Eggs Benedict gets a coastal twist at Fish Bites with the restaurant’s crab cake Benedict. Get yours with a side of pepper jack grits.

Shrimp and Grits

Crook’s Corner
610 W. Franklin St., Chapel Hill • crookscorner.com • (919) 929-7643

With the addition of bacon, mushrooms, and scallions, shrimp and grits at Crook’s Corner has garnered a bit of national fanfare and is considered the standard bearer.

Floyd’s 1921
400 Bridges St., Morehead City • floyds1921.com • (252) 727-1921

The dish’s roasted red peppers provide a subtle sweetness that pairs well with the sharpness of the Asiago cheese grits. Don’t forget to wash it down with a mimosa.

Tupelo Honey Café
Charlotte, Asheville, and Raleigh • tupelohoneycafe.com

The shrimp and grits are so good at Tupelo Honey Café, it’ll have you saying “shoo mercy.” The goat cheese grits are topped with a spicy roasted red pepper sauce, and you can opt for additional ingredients, including spinach, bacon, and chorizo.