Find your perfect shrimp and grits with this guide to Wilmington restaurants

It’s the ultimate coastal Southern triumvirate: shrimp, corn and pork. It sounds simple but the classic shrimp and grits dish is endlessly adaptable with the addition of vegetables, choice of bacon or sausage, and the type of gravy. That’s one reason that there are dozens (possibly hundreds) of versions at restaurants in New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties.

It's on breakfast and brunch menus. It’s served for lunch and dinner. It’s a popular occasional special at places like On Thyme Restaurant on Castle Street and is even an appetizer at eateries like South Beach Grill in Wrightsville Beach.

The earliest published recipes for shrimp and grits, which date back a century or more, refer to it as a breakfast dish where shrimp were quickly cooked in bacon fat and served on a bed of creamy grits. The explosion of the dish in restaurants, though, is often attributed to Bill Neal, who popularized shrimp and grits (with the help of a New York Times article) in the 1980s. His version served at the (now closed) Crooks Corner restaurant in Chapel Hill and Crooks by the River in Wilmington, featured shrimp sauteed with bacon, mushrooms and garlic, and served over cheddar cheese grits.

From there, restaurants have offered both traditional and creative versions. Here's how you can navigate the local options and find the perfect one for you.

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Carolina inspired

Several restaurants use similar ingredients to the Bill Neal version and offer their own Carolinas-focused take. The signature dish available at the four area Cape Fear Seafood Company locations offers shrimp and bacon, with tomatoes, scallions and mushrooms, topped with a Low Country cream sauce. Look for similar ingredients at Keg & Egg and The Pilot House in downtown Wilmington, with the addition of kielbasa and collards.

Chef Keith Rhodes of Catch has a long history of supporting local seafood and local grains. Over the years, he's offered a Gullah-inspired shrimp and grits, but it has evolved. The current one uses Benton's Bacon, onion, pepper, ginger and thyme. It's finished with no sauce, but a simple pat of butter and splash of wine. The "Well Kiss My Shrimp & Grits" at Savor Souther Kitchen uses North Carolina grits, and the chef's Low Country cream sauce is infused with bacon and thyme. Newcomer Burgaw Brewing also has a shrimp and grits special on Sundays, using local shrimp and Anson Mills grits.

Longtime residents also know that the grits, and all the tasty accessories, are just as likely to be served with fish when shrimp isn't available or preferred. You can find this option at breakfast places like Gulfstream Restaurant in Carolina Beach where you can get shrimp or flounder over cheesy grits. At the fine-dining restaurant Port Land Grille in Lumina Station, you can order a selection of fresh seafood (like tuna or swordfish) with a choice of three Southern inspired bases, including one of stone-ground grits, shrimp succotash and tasso ham sauce.

New Orleans flavors

At Cast Iron Kitchen near Porters Neck, chef Josh Petty wanted to elevate his shrimp and grits with classic French techniques and ingredients and flavors that come this way via Louisiana. He adds both andouille sausage and bacon and then creates a sauce with tomato, basil and blackening seasoning. It's got a bit of heat on the back end, he said. and then he finishes it with cream and tops it all with a red-eye gravy for another dimension of flavor.

Other places to find shrimp and grits that lean into these influences? Mr. P’s Bistro in Southport, where the dish includes andouille and is topped with a white wine butter sauce, or at the nearby Fishy Fishy Cafe, which has peppers, okra and a Cajun cream sauce. At Boundary House in Calabash, their award-winning cheesy grits come with the addition of the sausage and a silky velouté sauce, which is also frequently found in New Orleans fare. Elsewhere in Brunswick County, Oak Island's Salt 64 restaurant uses stone-ground grits and an etouffee sauce.

At The Basics in downtown Wilmington, look for shrimp poached in a Cajun spiced green tomato-bacon sauce. A few blocks away at Rooster & The Crow, andouille sausages is added to the sauce, and the shrimp are blackened.

Good Gravy

Purists and Gullah Geechee chefs who are descended from those who helped originate the dish say a brown gravy is one of the most traditional ways to top shrimp and grits. But look at local menus and you'll find a rainbow of sauces from the simple butter-and-wine favored by some chefs to tomato-forward sauces at three Wilmington Brunches locations and at Wrightsville Beach Brewery.

Chef Ryan O'Janpa of The Second Glass in Wilmington's South Front District serves his brunch shrimp on a bed of cheddar grits, greens and mushrooms with a ladle of flavorful jus.

Restaurants with creamy gravies (or sauces) include Hieronymus Seafood Restaurant & Oyster Bar on Market Street (lobster cream sauce) and at Shagger Jacks in Oak Island, whose shrimp and grits come with a creamy bacon garlic sauce, pico de gallo and an over-easy egg. And fans love the roasted garlic cream sauce at Wing & Fish Company in Shallotte.

And, if you've seen a lot of "Cajun cream sauce" versions of shrimp and grits, there's a good reason. It seems to be one of the most popular local choices for shrimp and grits. Just near Wrightsville Beach, for example, The Bridge Tender, Bluewater Grill and Boathouse restaurant all have their own version of the sauce.

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True Grits

For the most part, local dishes are served over a generous serving of creamy stone-ground deliciousness. (We'll add a mention here of the popular version served at CAM Café in Wilmington's Cameron Art Museum.)

But, for those who want some extra texture and crispness, chefs also serve their shrimp on fried grit cakes that (some say) better set off the sauce. Look for them in dishes made at Front Street Brewery in downtown Wilmington and at Sweet N Savory Cafe and South Beach Grill in Wrightsville Beach. It's also the way it's served at the Shuckin' Shack locations in Leland and downtown Wilmington with a chorizo and smoked sausage gravy and grilled shrimp. At Michael's Seafood Restaurant in Carolina Beach, look for a house-made grit cake with shrimp, smoky bacon, fresh tomato and a garlic parmesan sauce.

Cheese, and more cheese

It's true that cheese isn't necessarily traditional, but what better way to ramp up the flavor of shrimp and grits? Many local places take a cue from Bill Neal and use cheddar. But there is so, so much more. Havana's Restaurant in Carolina Beach gilds the dish, and their Cajun cream sauce, with an extra topping of cheeses. At Fish Bites on Carolina Beach Road, they add Pepper Jack cheese to their grit cake and more cheese on top.

The Boat Landing Restaurant in Sunset Beach uses gouda pimento grits and adds tasso ham and an egg, with a white wine butter sauce. Marina Grill in downtown Wilmington uses a base of gouda-enhanced stone ground grits for the sautéed shrimp, mushroom, tomato, pork belly and tasso cream sauce.

King Neptune's version is another take on the classic bacon-mushroom-green onion dish, with a goat cheese grit cake. Molly Pitchers American Grill on Wrightsville Avenue adds a pecan pimento cheese. And Rucker Johns in Monkey Junction has earned fans for its parmesan garlic sauce.

Something Different

Of course, there are also a few restaurants that go a little bit further. At Oliver's on the Cape Fear in Southport, the shrimp are butter-poached and topped with chorizo sausage and sherry gravy. Downtown brunch favorite Savorez incorporates Latin flavors with chorizo gravy, goat cheese polenta, black beans, pickled corn and jalapeno-lime pea shoots.

In Surf City, chef Jordan Keen has been refining his version for years. The latest in available on the menu at Beach Shop & Grill in Topsail Beach with different seasonal tweaks. He's thought about every aspect and starts with slow-cooked grits (a trick he learned from his grandmother in the Midwest). Other enhancements include chemical free tiger shrimp, and the broth made with pork belly and Japanese togarashi. There's also a touch of mirin, along with shiitake mushrooms and cream. For him, it's about fully embracing all of the varied influences of Southern cuisine.

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Allison Ballard is the food and dining reporter at the StarNews. You can reach her at aballard@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Best shrimp and grits at Wilmington restaurants