DEL.ICIO.USThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/12/08
WARWICK — Grits, I'm told, are best served warm, with butter, maybe a little sugar or cheese.
You can eat 'em that way at the National Grits Festival in Warwick, Ga., but by the time I dove into a plastic kiddie pool packed with 5,184 ounces of Quaker Instant Grits on Saturday, they were clammy, sugar-free, cheese-less.
 Jamie Gumbrecht/AJC | ||
| Michael McDaniel, 12, came in third in his division last year. 'It's against the rules to wear trash bags. I'd come in first then, I know that for sure,' he said | ||
 Jamie Gumbrecht/AJC | ||
| Chandler Key, 2, cried after his mom, Connie Key, dunked him in the grit pit. | ||
 Jamie Gumbrecht/AJC | ||
| Cheyenne McComas, 11, won first place in her division in the grit pit competition. She gained 42 pounds in grits. 'It felt cold and icky,' she said. | ||
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They weren't so much served; it's more like I was.
The grit roll is a culmination to a day of celebrating what's left behind when corn meal is made. Packets of grits are tossed to parade watchers. A cook-off brought in 22 dishes that each had to contain at least three-quarters of a cup of grits. (This year's winner was a key-lime cake. Delicious.)
But the rules in the grit pit are clear: weigh in, jump in, flop around for 20 seconds and weigh out. May the grittiest win.
I strategized. Peter Ludovice, an associate professor in Georgia Tech's School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, pointed out that grits are tiny, maybe 100 to 600 microns across, like a large grain of sand. (Instant Grits like those in the pit are even tinier.)
He recommended I wear denim, a material that would soak up the water and keep grits from escaping. And don't forget to seal off the cuffs.
"Don't just tight-roll them," Ludovice warned. "I would go after the engineer's favorite tool: duct tape."
Folks in Warwick already had that strategy down. By the time I arrived, they were duct-taping the legs of their pants, the sleeves around their wrists and the backs of their shirts. They wore extra-large T-shirts and pants, overalls and cotton one-piece jumpsuits.
"It's against the rules to wear trash bags. I'd come in first then, I know that for sure," Michael McDaniel told me. He's a pro. He's 12.
Alas, I'm not a pro. They taped me up. They cheered me on. When I was standing in that pool with chilled grits squishing between my toes, I was ready.
I belly-flopped. I dunked and turned and wiggled and flopped and shuffled and stuffed and probably breathed somewhere in there and wrestled and piled and when they said time was up, I tried to stand. And I slipped, because grits are creamy, even when cold, and no good for traction.
In the end, the adult winner was Sandra Knight of Atlanta, with 40 pounds added to her weight. The runner-up was her fiancé, Rich Coombs, with 35 pounds of grits attached to his gut.
After my grit walk and weigh-in, I was way behind with 22 pounds.
Strategy fails. I was beaten by a breakfast food that I'll still be picking out of my hair next week.
Just keep 'em warm for me. Next year, I'm in.
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