In Hawai’i, we have a melting pot of ethnic foods like Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, etc. Shockingly, finding a really good BBQ, nay, Southern food is nearly impossible until now. Kiss My Grits is located in Puck’s Alley, which is only a few blocks away from University of Hawai’i Manoa. It’s a cute quaint small restaurant. The decor reminds me of a Southern woman’s kitchen/dining room. Puck’s Alley’s parking lot is quite tight and during the early evening, it’s quite busy.
I was greet with Southern hospitality at the door by the most sweetest (and prettiest) girl with the cutest Southern accent ever. She gave myself and my party the Southern treatment, which made us feel right at home.
The menu was simple one pager. There was the classic oyster Po’ Boy, fried chicken, of course grits, and more. Any true Southerner would be proud of this menu. I got the classic biscuit and gravy ($8.95) to start. All silverware and plates were picnicware, which I found cute and fitting for this restaurant. Some may think it’s cheap or tacky, but to each is own.
The biscuit and gravy came with green onions, which I didn’t really care for, but everything else tasted awesome. The biscuit was soft and chewy. The gravy was hearty and had the right amount of saltiness. My friend, Jenski from Florida, said it was good, but she had better.
I got the 5 HUGE Carolina Chopped Barbecue Ribs special, which came with my choice of three sides ($16.95). I picked candied yams, mashed potatoes, and fried okra. No true Southern dish would be complete without corn bread and a deviled egg. At first, I thought $17 for dinner was kinda steep, but the quality and quantity was worth way more than $17.
I hate when places *cough, Tony Roma’s, *cough say their ribs are “falling off the bone,” because 9/10 times they aren’t falling off of anything. Anytime I see that phrase, I roll my eyes. At Kiss My Grits, I kid you not, was literally falling off the bones. I actually had to eat my ribs with a fork, because when I picked up the rib with my finger, it would simple fall apart. The ribs were hearty and full of meat, unlike other rib joints where you pay $20 for a few strands of meat.
My only complaint with this dish was the corn bread’s butter. I didn’t know I had an option of regular butter, homemade jam, or apple butter. If I had the choice, I would pick the apple butter. With that said, the corn bread was perfect moist-crunchy ratio.
The candied yams was really sweet, which had the consistency of really mushy bread pudding. If you hate really sweet things, I would pass on this one.
Honestly, I don’t quite remember what the mashed potatoes tasted like. It didn’t taste bad, but it was good enough for me to remember it. The fried okra and deviled egg on the other hand was memorable. OH MY GAWD! I loved the okra. It was crunchy and slimy, trust me, it was yummy. The deviled egg was the way I liked it, creamy yolk with a hint of paprika.
In a nutshell:
- Parking is quite tight and small during the early night
- Great service and friendly staff
- Dining area is quite limited (maybe about 6 tables inside and two tables outside)
- BYOB (I’m not too sure if there is a cork fee)
- No beers or liquors available
- Sweet Tea has free unlimited refills
- Food came out in a timely manner
My recommendations:
- Sweet tea
- Ribs
As a born and bread southerner I found this post very interesting. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the photo of the sweet tea. And it was in a mason jar. Not only was it sweet tea in a mason jar, but it was about as far away from the south as you can get! Kudos to “Kiss My Grits” for opening this establishment! The rest of the meal looked wonderful too, though I will admit I’ve never gotten a deviled egg with any meal. Great post! I’ll be back.
LOL *phew* I got an approval from a true Southerner. Thank you. I’ve only had Southern food a bunch of times, but never on the island. The owner is from North Carolina or was it South, anyway, she is the most sweetest things. I just loved it when she called me darling or sweetie. LOL Around here, we call strangers Aunty and Uncle. It’s a sign of respect that we see strangers as family, but I found non-Hawai’i people think it’s creepy. I say that because my Hawai’i friends found being called darling or sweetie weird/creepy. LOL I just couldn’t stop laughing. “Bless your heart,” is all I could say to them. LOL
Great post!
Thank you for your kind comment. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment!
I remember when this place used to be L&L! My mom and I used to go there all the time when we lived in the University area, eat dinner and watch my dad on TV haha… I remember being OBSESSED with their ice machine, cause it was right where the tables were, not in the kitchen or anything.
Anywhooooo… Southern food doesn’t exactly fit my current “diet” so I prob won’t be headed there anytime soon, but I’ll keep in the back of my mind
And bummer that the biscuits and gravy didn’t work out, cause they look damn good!
After you are pau with your “lifestyle change,” we go! It’ll be my treat. LOL