Soul food

I cannot get enough of Sean Priester's cooking. It's like crack for me. And I know that there isn't really much good for me in it (hello, it's southern cooking at it's best) but that doesn't keep me away.

BBQ sandwich

 Fried chicken plate...love the cornbread, veggie chili and collard greens

 Pecan pie with whipped cream

Every month when I end up at Eat the Street (love to support them, plus it's right by my office in Kaka'ako) I get drawn magnetically to the Soul truck. Even when I want to try all the awesome new trucks.

I've been an original customer at Soul, ever since the Groupon debut, and I became complete obsessed with the cornbread. 

Today I found some competition for Soul...another stick to your ribs, clog your arteries, want to take a kanak attack kind of meal that is so good even though you know all that about it, you can't stop eating good soul food.

Kiss My Grits is a tiny little hole in the wall at Puck's Alley (University Ave) that just opened this fall. They specialize in bbq - North Caroline Style or Southern (Georgia?) style, and also have fried chicken, catfish, shrimp & grits, and more.

Owner Kirstin Jackson moved to Hawaii 17 years ago and was initially working as a very successful publicist but finally gave up her steady job to follow her dream of opening a southern restaurant a few months ago. You can tell that she's thought about all of the small details that go into running a restaurant while she's been hatching her dream, as evidenced by the cute table setting below.

We started with the fried green tomatoes, a recommendation from a friend who was dining there.

Then moved onto our mains: the Dixie Chicken sandwich (which I read about on Yelp and had to try) and the BBQ plate with North Carolina sauce. (vs. a sweeter southern BBQ sauce). The Dixie Chicken is a must-try: a homemade freshly baked biscuit, ham, fried chicken, egg and pimento sauce. To die for.

Then the bbq beef plate: complete with cole slaw, a deviled egg and hush puppies (friend cornmeal dough), served with honey butter! The hush puppy was my highlight.

To end, we had to get the bread pudding, which truly was the best (and most sinful) bread pudding I've ever had. Read this review at Yelp which convinced me. Next time I'm gonna try the banana pudding though, another southern favorite of mine.

Now I'm going to go take a nap...

Kiss My Grits

1035 University Ave

Honolulu, HI 96826

348-0626

Yelp