Does NOVA still have an Southern Vibe???? (Winchester, Fairfax: 2013, home builder)

[HokieFan]

If you can't order biscuits and gravy at a McDonald's - I don't consider the area southern.

[hilsmom]

The person who mentioned grits - do you mean as a stand alone item? Because I can name several restaurants that have shrimp and grits on their menus.

An appreciation of grits is about the only southern thing I picked up going to school in NC. That and the use of the word "y'all"

[VADude]

I have lived in the area of thirty years and I have never seen grits on a menu. That's not to say it's not available somewhere, but if it is it is probably at a place like the Virginia Kitchen in Herndon.

[marie5v]

I am from NY and even NoVa is definitely the south to me. Not as southern as Georgia or South Carolina or even southern Virginia, but coming from NY to here, the southerness of NoVa is very obvious.

[hilsmom]

VADude - we just went to Stone's Cove Kitbar in Herndon yesterday and my husband got shrimp and grits. BTW, highly recommend that place - we liked it a lot and will definitely go back.

I also know we have gotten a shrimp and grits entree at Coastal Flats in Fairfax Corner, though there is also a location in Tyson's. Not sure if it is on the menu at any of the other Great American Restaurants, but worth checking out.

[alexei27]

Culpeper is sort of in the south. We've been here about a year...and the differeneces are pretty clear between here and the rest of NOVA

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by goofy328

Virginia is Mid-Atlantic. It is in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps Virginia was Southern 40 years ago before the transplants moved in.

I feel that way about NoVa to an extent, but not the state as whole which is still Southern in my eyes.

Shrimp and grits is a SC Lowcountry dish that has gotten popularized and exported beyond the region. The availability of that particular dish shouldn't be seen as an indicator of "Southernness."

[hilsmom]

I wasn't saying it was an indication of southernness - I was just saying you could find grits in a few places. Yes, I realize shrimp and grits is not exactly the same as JUST grits. Hence, why I asked my original question.

I'm pretty sure I have had just grits somewhere in NoVA, but it has been a while as I have cut back on that kind of thing as a breakfast food.

Edited - it was Silver Diner. They have grits on the menu.

[Charlesaf3]

I moved from Boston to Richmond. Richmond isn't southern, more mid Atlantic. It gets southern around a half hour south, not so much east and west due to Charlottesville and Hampton roads.

Basically, lots of northern transplants live in these areas now. So while they used to be southern, I rarely hear a southern accent, and frequently see Boston Red Sox hats

[VRE332]

I work with a bunch of guys from Tennessee and they make me feel like I'm in the South sometimes. Sweet Home Alabama too.