Thursday, April 22, 2010

An Egg A Day Experiment, Part 30


Years ago, I interviewed a Memphis Grizzlies player named Bo Outlaw. I heard he was a chowhound, so I said, let's break bread together.

It was challenging. He was a one-word answer kinda guy. And when I asked why some folks didn't consider his native Texas part of the South, I thought he was going to thump me. He drew me a map on the placemat of the Barksdale, a diner in Midtown, where we met.

But finally, he cheered up when the food was set in front of him. He slid his fried eggs into a bowl of grits and stirred furiously. Hmmm. I was new to the South and had never seen that done. Well, that was the first and last time I saw a wild scramble of eggs into grits.

Now, a beautifully poached egg nestled onto a heap of rustic polenta-like grits is a whole 'nother ball game. I am madly in love with David Chang's version of shrimp and grits, which calls for an egg and bits of bacon on top. The egg serves as the sauce for this dish, the golden yolk spilling out and adding richness.

I wonder what Bo Outlaw would think of Momofuku's shrimp and grits.

2 comments:

David Blaine said...

I love David Chang's "long poached egg" technique. The book is brilliant.

David Hinske said...

I went to CK's last week while in Memphis and had the Paul Bunyan. Good times, good times.