Steer wrestling, a practice credited to legendary cowboy and rodeo star Bill Pickett, usually involves leaping onto a steer from the back of a specially trained horse. At the Madison

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he spot with some of the best cheese biscuits on the Outer Banks has an identity problem. Its official name is Stop Quik. Some call it Miss Helen’s. To most

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he spot with some of the best cheese biscuits on the Outer Banks has an identity problem. Its official name is Stop Quik. Some call it Miss Helen’s. To most

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he spot with some of the best cheese biscuits on the Outer Banks has an identity problem. Its official name is Stop Quik. Some call it Miss Helen’s. To most

Eastern

Good As Gold

Cheese biscuits melt hearts in the east.

by Debbie Moose

he spot with some of the best cheese biscuits on the Outer Banks has an identity problem. Its official name is Stop Quik. Some call it Miss Helen’s. To most people, it’s Biscuits N’ Porn. “We just happen to have the largest selection of adult magazines in the county,” says Julia Scheer as she calls out biscuit orders and rings up customers on a busy morning in Nags Head. (Don’t worry, dear reader: The covers are not in easy view of diners.)

Miss Helen, the original biscuit maker, died three years ago, but the biscuits go on, plain buttermilk or topped with shredded Cheddar cheese. Bakers sell about 800 on an average morning, and up to 1,500 to the summer Saturday tourists.

The eastern part of the state is known for cheese biscuits for reasons lost to history. Abrams restaurants claim to be the “home of the original cheese biscuit” and place a large hunk of hoop cheese (milder than Cheddar) inside each biscuit while it’s still hot, which is the typical approach. Mom’s Grill in Washington, located inside a convenience store, uses sharp Cheddar. In Boone, Everybody’s Loaded Biscuits food truck offers coastal transplants a taste of home, stuffed with local Ashe County cheese.

Abrams BBQ & Seafood
609 West Wilson Street
Tarboro, NC 27886
(252) 823-4522

Find more locations at abramsweb.com

Biscuits N’ Porn (aka Stop Quik, Miss Helen’s)
2112 South Croatan Highway
Nags Head, NC 27959
(252) 441-6446
facebook.com/Biscuits-N-Porn

Mom’s Grill
1041 John Small Avenue
Washington, NC 27889
(252) 946-2260
facebook.com/pages/Moms-Grill

Everybody’s Loaded Biscuits
Food truck, based in Boone; see Facebook page for locations

Rise Biscuits and Donuts
For locations; risebiscuitsdonuts.com

This story was published on Jan 28, 2019

Debbie Moose

Debbie Moose

Debbie Moose is a food columnist for the News & Observer in Raleigh. Her latest cookbook, Southern Holidays, is part of the Savor the South series from UNC Press.