I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY DO TO THE GRITS, BUT I WISH THEY'D TELL ME

The Boathouse
101 Palm Boulevard
Isle of Palms, SC
843-886-8000

The Boathouse stands at Breech Inlet

I was torn between the (tilapia) fish tacos and the shrimp and grits. The waiter inquired as to whether I enjoy spicy food. When I responded in the affirmative, he suggested the ($12.00) shrimp plate. I’m glad I took his advice. I seldom pass up this plate when it’s listed on a menu, but I doubt I’ll find a better sample of this old standby, which rivals she crab soup as the signature coastal South Carolina dish. The substantial serving contained slivers of fiery andouille and a rainbow of sautéed peppers with red onions, and plenty of succulent shrimp. The mixture is double sauced with a hearty brown sauce and a lighter, buttermilk based sauce on the top.

But it’s the grits that make this meal stand out. In most shrimp and grits plates the grits are slopped on the plate almost as an after thought. Often they are bland and soupy, relying on the rest of the dish for support. Not the Boathouse grits. These grits are buttery, light and fluffy, they refuse to lay down on the plate but pile themselves around the edges; a substantial scaffold for the rest of the dish. I’ve never had grits like these, and I don’t know their secret, but I wish I did.

The restaurant is on a spit of land only a few hundred yards wide on the edge of the breach inlet, where God decided one day that there needed to be another opening to the sea between South Carolina’s barrier Islands; and from where the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley left on its heroic and fateful voyage in 1864, to give what for to the USS Housatonic during the War of Northern aggression. Both vessels ended up on the bottom of the sea with a loss of good sailors (Yankees 5, Rebels, 9), yet another Pyrrhic victory for the Cause.
Behind the Boathouse restaurant is an actual boat house where boats can be rented. You can watch the boaters come and go on the Intra Coastal Waterway while sitting on the restaurant’s screened porch enjoying your beverage of choice. I was there for Sunday brunch, but they say at supper one can enjoy a fantastic view of the Carolina sunset. I hope some day I get to see it for myself.

Diner rating: 5