Shrimp and grits take a backseat at the Jekyll Island Shrimp and Grits Festival

My Saturday afternoon at the Jekyll Island Shrimp and Grits Festival started with plenty of reasons to smile. Happy and welcoming people greeted me all along the way, from parking at the airport and riding the shuttle to walking under the welcome banner. Everyone I encountered in a blue festival uniform was helpful and pleasant, and I was impressed by how many workers were available.

It was a gorgeous day. Artisans gave me reasons to stop and browse, music drifted from the stages, and I picked up a drink as I made my way through the grounds. Somewhere along the way, though, I started to wonder…where are the shrimp and grits?

Behind the main stage where a band was playing great music, I found some food vendors, but no shrimp and grits. I kept walking. It wasn’t until I reached the waterfront at the back of the festival that I found the restaurants serving the dish on the banner. It was an attractive spot, but I had walked past most of the festival—and plenty of other food—to get there.

By then, I was ready to see what the restaurants had brought to the table. A look at the menus made it clear that trying them all would take a bigger appetite—and a much bigger budget—than I brought with me.

The price of trying them all

One of the pleasures of a festival devoted to a single dish should be comparison: a little tomato gravy here, a creamier preparation there, a different approach to the grits around the corner. Buying several small tastes ought to be part of the attraction.

The festival parking and admission are included in the $15 per vehicle charge to get onto the island.

The seven featured vendors offered enough variety to make that interesting. Their menu prices made it costly.

Menu prices only; totals exclude the vehicle entry fee, drinks, and any separately charged tax or tip.

Halyards did show a $12 sampler, but the sign read “Friday ONLY.” For a Saturday visitor, the listed option was $18. Del Sur and Coastal Cucina deserve credit for offering half portions; without those choices, the food bill for a complete circuit would have crossed $100.

Beer and the canned drinks I encountered were $7 apiece. Cocktails were $14. Sodas and water were $2 or $3. Add a beer and a water to the least expensive seven-stop circuit and the total becomes $100; with all regular plates, $117 (not including the $15 already spent on admission).

I bought two shrimp and grits dishes, spending $32 on the food. Neither made a persuasive case for continuing an expensive tour of the remaining booths.

Two plates, two missed opportunities

Halyards’ menu promised wild Georgia shrimp and stone-ground grits with tomato gravy. At $18, the plate felt small for the price. The grits were creamy but could have used more time on the stove, and the shrimp were overcooked.

The tomato gravy tasted to me like a overly spicy Italian fra diavolo sauce. An Italian-leaning plate can still be excellent. Here, though, the sauce’s personality did not make up for the shrimp or turn the grits into something memorable.

Wee Pub’s $14 bowl had only four shrimp, with their tails still attached. The shrimp themselves were tasty and properly cooked. The stone-ground grits were creamy, cheesy, and enjoyable. Those were real strengths.

The sauce was thin and short on flavor, and the sausage contributed little. More frustrating were the tails left on the shrimp. I couldn’t find a place to sit and eat unless I wanted to go straight criss-cross applesauce on the ground. Juggling a bowl, spoon, napkin, and drink while standing and sticking my fingers into the sauce to finish preparing the shrimp wasn’t how I pictured enjoying my $14 plate. Shrimp and grits should be easy to eat together.

After these two, I was finished. I might have had room to sample one more, but I thought it better to leave my wallet where it was.

A mostly Golden Isles lineup

The restaurant lineup was concentrated close to home. Coastal Cucina, Jekyll Island Club Resort, Wee Pub Beach, and Zachry’s Riverhouse are on Jekyll Island. Halyards and Del Sur Artisan Eats are on neighboring St. Simons Island. Erica Davis Lowcountry was the sole Savannah entry among the seven featured shrimp and grits vendors. [5][6]

None of those seven represented Charleston, Beaufort, Bluffton, or Hilton Head. They may be across the state line, but they’re hardly strangers to shrimp and grits. It makes sense that a festival on Jekyll should celebrate its neighbors. But bringing in more cooks from across the Lowcountry would make the comparisons more interesting and give visitors a broader view of the dish.

When sampling was part of the draw

The festival began in 2006. Earlier coverage also called it the Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival, linking the event to both the coastal ingredient and the place serving it. [1][2]

In 2012, Deep South Magazine described Friday-night samples priced at $3, alongside amateur and professional cooking competitions and cooking demonstrations. By 2015, the Associated Press reported a $5 Friday sample night and separate contests for amateur and professional cooks. [2][3]

Those sampling events were held on Friday nights. Giving visitors a way to try several versions without buying a full meal at every stop is an idea worth extending throughout the weekend.

The entertainment was there, too. This was never simply a row of cooks and a judging table. The 2017 program promoted more than 100 art and craft vendors, three music stages, a craft brew festival, chef demonstrations, public voting, and a statewide shrimp and grits competition over three days in September. [4]

The people got the welcome right

The festival workers deserve more than a passing compliment. Their numbers, helpfulness, and consistently pleasant attitudes stood out from arrival to departure. That kind of welcome matters, particularly at an event where visitors need directions and assistance throughout the day.

The surroundings helped, too. The old hotel, broad lawn, waterfront, and pier give this festival a setting worth spending time in, with plenty more of Jekyll Island to explore beyond the grounds. There is every reason to want the event to succeed.

One practical detail was surprisingly difficult: finding a trash can. At an event built around disposable plates, bowls, and drinks, getting rid of the empties should be straightforward. I had to make a real effort to locate one. More visible disposal points would remove a small but persistent frustration from the experience.

Give the namesake dish the lead

The solution I propose is a complete tasting ticket available throughout the weekend: one price to sample every shrimp and grits dish, with a ballot to vote for your favorite. Give people a reason to try them all and a say in which one stood out.

Make the shrimp and grits easy to find, give people somewhere to sit and enjoy them, and put a trash can nearby when they’re finished. The setting is already beautiful, and the people working the festival couldn’t have been more welcoming.

The shrimp and grits deserve that same attention.

Sources

1. Associated Press / WABE, September 2015: festival origins and tenth year.
2. Deep South Magazine, September 2012: Friday samples, competitions, and early identity.
3. Associated Press / WTOC, September 2015: $5 Friday sample night.
4. Jekyll Island Foundation / JIA, 2017 program.
5. Jekyll Island Authority, 2026 festival overview and featured food vendors.
6. Restaurant locations: Coastal Cucina, Jekyll Island Club Resort, Wee Pub Beach, Zachry’s Riverhouse, Halyards, Del Sur Artisan Eats, and Erica Davis Lowcountry.

Food descriptions and event observations are firsthand. Menu prices are supported by photographs taken during the visit; historical details come from the linked reporting and organizer materials.