Nothing says ‘American comfort food’ quite like a plate of fluffy biscuits smothered in rich, savory gravy. This beloved dish has deep roots in Southern cuisine but has found its way into the hearts and menus of restaurants nationwide.
From hole-in-the-wall diners to upscale brunch spots, the quest for the perfect biscuits and gravy has become something of a national pastime for food enthusiasts.
1. Biscuit Love – Nashville, Tennessee
Holy mother of carbs! Nashville’s Biscuit Love turns the humble biscuit into a religious experience that’ll have you speaking in tongues. What started as a food truck has exploded into a biscuit empire where locals willingly wait in line for hours – in Tennessee heat, no less.
Their ‘East Nasty’ – a buttermilk biscuit sandwich stuffed with fried chicken and drowning in sausage gravy – has been crowned ‘Best Sandwich in America’ by Bon Appétit. Not a casual accolade, folks.
2. Pine State Biscuits – Portland, Oregon
Forget Portland’s hipster reputation – Pine State Biscuits is where lumberjacks and tech bros break bread together over plates that could rebuild civilization after the apocalypse. Their ‘Reggie Deluxe’ is a tower of caloric insanity: a massive biscuit topped with fried chicken, bacon, cheese, and an egg, all swimming in gravy.
Three Southern transplants founded this joint after realizing the Pacific Northwest was suffering from severe biscuit deprivation. The lines that snake around the block suggest they diagnosed correctly.
3. Loveless Cafe – Nashville, Tennessee
Slinging biscuits since 1951, Loveless Cafe isn’t just a restaurant – it’s a Southern institution where the biscuit recipe is more closely guarded than Fort Knox. Their biscuits have welcomed everyone from presidents to rock stars, all drawn by the siren call of perfectly flaky rounds that somehow remain impossibly soft inside.
The gravy here isn’t an afterthought – it’s a pork-studded masterpiece that clings to each biscuit like it was made for it (because it was). Carol Fay Ellison, their legendary “Biscuit Lady,” made these beauties for 30+ years.
4. Hominy Grill – Charleston, South Carolina
Pour one out for this legendary Charleston spot – permanently closed but forever enshrined in the Biscuit Hall of Fame. Chef Robert Stehling’s James Beard Award-winning hands crafted biscuits so perfect they made grown Southerners cry into their sweet tea.
The Charleston Nasty Biscuit (fried chicken breast, cheddar cheese, sausage gravy) was their magnum opus – a dish so decadent it required signing a mental health waiver. While you can’t taste these anymore, their recipe lives online, a digital memorial to biscuit greatness.
5. Maple Street Biscuit Company – Multiple Southern Locations
Biscuit innovation reaches mad scientist levels at Maple Street, where they’ve created the ‘Five and Dime’ – a biscuit topped with fried chicken, pecanwood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, and the coup de grâce: house-made sausage gravy with a maple syrup drizzle.
Founded by two corporate refugees who escaped the rat race to pursue biscuit perfection, Maple Street has a mission statement of “help people, serve others, be part of the community.” Their signature gravy takes 12 hours to make.
6. Denver Biscuit Company – Denver, Colorado
Mountain high biscuits! Denver Biscuit Company proves elevation doesn’t mess with flour chemistry. Their biscuits stand tall like the Rockies – massive, sturdy enough to support the weight of their gravy, yet tender enough to make you question reality.
The Franklin sandwich is their masterpiece – buttermilk fried chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese, and sausage or vegetarian mushroom gravy, all on a biscuit the size of your face. After one of these, you’ll need to hike a 14er just to break even on calories.
7. Big Bad Breakfast – Multiple Southern Locations
James Beard Award-winning chef John Currence doesn’t mess around – his restaurant’s name is a warning label. These aren’t your grandma’s biscuits (unless your grandma was a culinary genius with a bourbon habit).
Their cathead biscuits – so named because they’re the size of a cat’s head – come slathered in a tomato gravy that will make you question your loyalty to traditional white gravy. Made with bacon fat, tomatoes, and enough black pepper to wake the dead, it’s Southern innovation at its finest.
8. Biscuit Head – Asheville, North Carolina
Size matters at Biscuit Head, where their cat-head biscuits are actually larger than most house cats. These behemoths require their own zip code and come with a gravy flight – yes, a FLIGHT OF GRAVIES – featuring varieties like espresso red-eye, sweet potato coconut, and smoked tomato creole.
Their jam bar boasts homemade spreads with flavors ranging from blueberry-thyme to banana-pudding. Customers have been known to smuggle these jams out in purses and diaper bags (not that we’re suggesting theft, but we understand).
9. The Wandering Biscuit – Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta’s biscuit scene runs deeper than its hip-hop legacy, and The Wandering Biscuit reigns supreme with lines longer than airport security during holiday season. Their ‘Love Cakes’ – heart-shaped biscuits smothered in sausage gravy – have mended broken hearts and started new romances.
The place feels like your eccentric aunt’s kitchen, if your aunt were a biscuit savant who collected vintage salt shakers and believed in the healing power of butter. Every surface is covered in customer-donated salt and pepper shakers – over 1,000 unique sets.
10. Bryant’s Breakfast – Memphis, Tennessee
No frills, no website, no Instagram – just biscuit perfection since 1968. Bryant’s is where Memphis locals go when they want to avoid tourists while consuming their body weight in carbs. Their biscuits and gravy come on a styrofoam plate that somehow makes them taste even better.
The gravy contains enough black pepper to make you sneeze and enough sausage to qualify as a meat dish. Cash only, because credit card machines are for establishments that haven’t perfected their craft half a century ago.
11. Monell’s – Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville’s third entry on this list proves the city takes its biscuits more seriously than its country music. Monell’s serves family-style in a historic Victorian home, meaning you’ll share a table with strangers who become friends after passing the biscuit basket.
Their biscuits arrive in endless supply, like magical multiplying carbs that keep appearing until you physically wave the white flag of surrender. The gravy comes in a boat large enough to sail across the Cumberland River.
12. Biscuit B*tch – Seattle, Washington
Seattle gets sassy with this irreverently named joint where the staff yells “What up, b*tch?” when you walk in. Not for the faint of heart or sensitive of ear, but their “Hot Mess B*tch” – a biscuit smothered in gravy, eggs, garlic grits, cheese, and jalapeños – will make you forgive any linguistic transgressions.
Founded by Southern transplant Kimmie Spice, who brought biscuit religion to the godless Pacific Northwest, this place has attitude served alongside altitude – their biscuits stack higher than most Seattle buildings.
13. Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen – Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Drive-thru biscuit nirvana exists, and it’s been operating out of a tiny building in Chapel Hill since 1978. Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen’s biscuits have sustained generations of UNC students through hangovers, finals, and heartbreaks.
The chicken biscuit with gravy could resurrect the dead, and locals swear it’s better than any medicine for whatever ails you. Cars line up around the block every morning, engines idling as drivers perform the sacred ritual of caffeine and carbs acquisition.
14. The Biscuit Shop – Starkville, Mississippi
Mississippi State University students have a secret weapon against academic pressure: The Biscuit Shop’s cinnamon biscuits with gravy. Yes, CINNAMON biscuits with SAVORY gravy – a combination so wrong it circles back to brilliantly right.
This tiny bakery sells out daily, with locals setting alarms to snag these sweet-meets-savory creations before they’re gone. Their iconic biscuits with chocolate turn breakfast into dessert while still somehow qualifying as a meal. Nutritionists hate them for this one weird trick!
15. Callie’s Hot Little Biscuit – Charleston, South Carolina
Size isn’t everything! Callie’s proves that with miniature biscuits that pack more flavor per square inch than should be physically possible. These two-bite wonders come by the dozen, meaning you can try multiple gravies without commitment issues.
Founder Carrie Morey took her mother’s recipe and built an empire, shipping these buttery gems nationwide for biscuit emergencies. Their signature “blackberry jam and butter” combo has prevented more Southern family feuds than church mediations.
16. Puckett’s Grocery & Restaurant – Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville scores again! Puckett’s began as an actual grocery store in the 1950s and evolved into a Southern food haven where biscuits achieve rockstar status. Their ‘Southern Stack’ – a biscuit tower with fried chicken, bacon, cheddar, and gravy – requires a fork, knife, and possibly a construction permit.
Live country music accompanies your biscuit consumption, creating a multi-sensory experience that epitomizes Nashville. The gravy contains a secret blend of spices rumored to include everything from nutmeg to moonshine.