Delta Blues Rice
Ruleville, Mississippi
Not corn: rice grains, or middlings, broken during the polishing process.
1 lb., $5; deltabluesrice.com
Food for the Southern Soul
Pickens, South Carolina
Ground at an 1845 water-powered gristmill that is now the centerpiece of the Hagood Mill Historic Site & Folklife Center.
2 lb., $8; foodforthesouthernsoul.com
McEwen & Sons
Wilsonville, Alabama
The backbone of Frank Stitt’s beloved baked grits at Birmingham’s Highlands Bar & Grill.
1.25 lb., $7; mcewenandsons.com
Woodson’s Mill
Lowesville, Virginia
Revered by Jeremiah Langhorne of the Dabney in Washington, D.C.
1 lb., $8; woodsonsmill.com
Delta Grind
Water Valley, Mississippi
Chattanooga chef Erik Niel serves these at his Easy Bistro & Bar.
2 lb., $9; deltagrind.com
Beaverdam Creek Mill
Centerville, Tennessee
“There may not be finer grits in the land,” says Karl Worley, Nashville’s Biscuit King.
1 lb., $8; beaverdamcreekfarm.com
Weisenberger Mills
Midway, Kentucky
The pick of Kentuckians such as chef Ouita Michel and author Ronni Lundy.
2 lb., $4; weisenberger.com
Farm & Sparrow
Mars Hill, North Carolina
“We love their deep-yellow Cateto, from an Italian variety,” says Asheville chef John Fleer.
14 oz, $10; farmandsparrow.com
Millers All Day
Charleston, South Carolina
Marsh Hen Mill grows red corn to make these pink “Unicorn” grits for Millers All Day restaurant.
20 oz., $10; millersallday.com
Anson Mills
Columbia, South Carolina
These blue corn grits trace back to the Cherokee Nation.
12 oz., $7; ansonmills.com
MORE: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO GRITS
CJ Lotz Diego is Garden & Gun’s senior editor. A staffer since 2013, she wrote G&G’s bestselling Bless Your Heart trivia game, edits the Due South travel section, and covers gardens, books, and art. Originally from Eureka, Missouri, she graduated from Indiana University and now lives in Charleston, South Carolina, where she tends a downtown pocket garden with her florist husband, Max.
