ok... Grits are more like oatmeal than anything that I've experienced. It's coarsely ground corn. From wikipedia: "Grits are similar to other thick maize-based porridges from around the world, such as polenta, or the thinner farina."
Generally, a true southerner does not eat grits alone... you generally put some butter and cheese in it, perhaps some meat (bacon or sausage), scrambled eggs are another favorite.... add those all in and mix them up together, and then eat it. Grits really do not have a flavor, but take on the flavor of what you add to them. I have to admit that I do NOT like grits. To me, it appears to be the glue that they use to hold the rest of their breakfast food together, so I just eat mine as separates.
Red-eye gravy is just a gravy made from the drippings of the bacon or sausage cooked for breakfast. This is generally pouted over your biscuits for biscuits and gravy, or over grits, or with the eggs. Again, generally a breakfast food.
Of course, a true southerner believes breakfast can be served for any meal, so don't be surprised when you come to the South and get offered Grits for a sidedish for lunch or supper.
For my UK friends... did any of you get a chance to meet "The Clampets" (I think?) when "My Big Redneck Vacation" (a tv show on CMT) sent the family to the UK for the summer. A Louisianna, southern, redneck family sent to the UK to live in a palace-type home and getting to live it up in the UK -- corrupting the UK.
Hey, they'd already been to the NorthEast USA (The Hamptons) and corrupted those folks, so why not make it world-wide?
