So… I don’t typically write restaurant reviews in the reviews section, but one thing I’m learning, especially on the longer trips, is that sometimes you just have to find a really good restaurant and treat yourself. Every time I come see family, I pass Erica Davis Lowcountry and think, “I should eat there.” My family speaks well of Erica’s culinary record, but for reasons, I never got there. Well, today was that day, and I’m here to tell you the food there is absolutely amazing.

First, however, for each type of cuisine, I always have a reference dish. Thai? Red curry. Italian? A good lasagna. American? Their burger. German? A good beer that complies with the purity law of 1516. Southern food used to be a number of things for me, but in recent years it has always come down to shrimp and grits.

When I first started coming to Savannah, I always raised an eyebrow at shrimp and grits, as grits were a breakfast food, right? After a few years of pushing back against the suggestion, I finally relented, and wow, was it good. I didn’t think seafood and grits would pair well together, but I was absolutely wrong on that one. As I’ve traveled around the deep south, I’ve taken every opportunity to eat shrimp and grits. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s better. I’ve had a few misses, but that doesn’t necessarily discount the culinary paring.

What sealed it as my reference dish was, of all things, Delta Air Lines. I decided to fly first class and spoil myself a bit, as it was going to be a more challenging trip back east. As I got closer to the trip, Delta sent me an email to choose my food, and it outlined shrimp and grits designed by Chef Mashama Bailey, the award winning chef and was based in Savannah, which is exactly where I was headed. I clicked through, and the pictures, the chef’s biography, and the marketing totally had me hooked.

I boarded fully expecting that bowl, and the flight attendant smiled and said, “Sorry, the shrimp and grits are westbound, not eastbound.” I was disappointed but not discouraged. By the time I finally flew home, I was way over invested in this bowl of grits and shrimp, and it delivered in the moment: the marketing, the lead up, and the delivery.

So today, I finally pulled into Erica Davis Lowcountry. It’s converted from an old gas station right on the river in Thunderbolt, and the renovation really works. Painted white, light and airy, it blends the old blue-collar look of an auto shop with a well-to-do darling of a restaurant. Originally, this building was going to be the hub for their catering business, but as the pandemic unfolded they opened it up as a restaurant with it’s big airy roll up garage doors to help with the social distancing protocols. They started with lunch a few days a week, and as my waiter told it and it grew from there.

I was quickly welcomed and seated for lunch, and when the waiter came up, I asked, “So how are your shrimp and grits: 1 to 10?” She looked at me confidently and said, “We just came back from the Shrimp and Grits Festival” (I’m thinking, that’s a thing?) “and got top marks.” Okay then, this is settled. Shrimp and grits it is.

What unfolded in my mouth was the perfect blend of flavors that still stood on their own. The dish had sausage, bacon, and corn in it, and the sausage was cut into small semicircles, so it was a nice accent that didn’t overwhelm or take away from the shrimp or the grits. It was a little bit shrimp and grits, a little bit Lowcountry boil, and a lot of wonderfully complementary flavors. The shrimp come from Darien, Georgia, the stone-ground grits come from Freeman’s Mill in Statesboro, and Erica’s family still owns the seafood market at 40th and Abercorn, so this kitchen knows where its food comes from.

Georgia Wild Shrimp from Darien over velvety stone ground grits, with hints of bacon, peppers.

-What pulled me in from the menu

As for the festival, it is in fact a thing, and Erica Davis was among the restaurants serving at it. The Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits Festival just wrapped its 19th year, with more than 20 food vendors, live music, and fireworks on opening night, and admission is free. I had no idea it was happening, and had I known, I totally would have gone down to Jekyll Island as a shrimp and grits convert. It’s going on the calendar for next year.

Delta’s bowl delivered in the moment, but Erica Davis was just out of the park better. My waiter called it a 10. I’ll call it a 15. Erica, I have a new standard for this culinary delight!