Boyd C.
Yelp
You've probably heard about a lot of Southern chefs; most were from New Orleans, and some were from Savannah, but the biggest innovator among Southern chefs and the one with the longest shadow was Bill Neal. Neal elevated the status of Southern food that wasn't from Galatoire's or Commander's Palace to the rare air Southern food appreciates today and makes places like Dooky Chase's and Elvie's eligible for consideration for Beard Awards. (One day, I'll tell you the story of who James Beard was and why he was important.)
Of all the dishes Neal cooked and all the dishes Neal wrote about, none were as famous or as far influencing as Shrimp and Grits. Like most of Neal's recipes, shrimp and grits find its origins in the Afro-Caribbean influence of the Tidewater region and feature two of the Southland's most famous ingredients, shrimp and grits.
For Southern chefs of a certain generation, Shrimp and Grits is a dish they simply must get right or not offer at all. Damien Cavicchi, formerly from the Country Club of Jackson and now the much-talked-about new owner of Hal and Mals and Campbell's bakery, is a chef, I'm convinced, will at some point be a Beard nominated chef, if not a Beard award winning chef.
The menu at Hal and Mals is iconic and delicious, but it's also almost forty years old. Chef Cavicchi is tasked with the considerable challenge of updating the menu, making it his own, but also keeping the flavors and experiences Hal and Mals is known for.
One of the dishes he added to the menu, to accomplish these goals, was Shrimp and Grits. Hal and Mals is famous for Southern staple food, and Shrimp and Grits is a perfect match for that. It's not an elevated, gold-rimmed plate version of the dish you get at some places, like City Grocery (which is fantastic) but maintains the Hal and Mals blue plate, meat, and three level of cooking, while seriously raising the stakes with the flavor.
Shrimp and grits are three elements that must balance and must be right. Plump gulf shrimp, which are more difficult to cook correctly than most people realize, creamy and flavorful grits, cheese, and garlic are preferred, and perhaps the most important element, the sauce. Cheft Cavicchi nails all three, especially the sauce, and he does it with hearty portions that you could easily share with a sweetheart if you wanted to pair with their famous gumbo or seafood bisque.
If you think you've eaten at Hal and Mal's a million times, and it offers you no new experiences, you're wrong. There's a new chef in town, and he's bringing it on home while keeping the favorites you've come for, for the last forty years.
The downtown renaissance is happening, and a vibrant young chef at an established classic location can't help but anchor the effort. There are several other exciting elements of the new Hal and Mal's menu, but the Shrimp and Grits is my favorite.
