Nitty Gritty: American-Singaporean Soul Food

Got to learn about the existence of Nitty Gritty whilst scrolling through the internet some day — these folks are family-owned and operated establishment that had recently set up shop within the Outram Park neighbourhood. Situated along Teo Hong Road in the same stretch of shophouses where one can find other establishments such as 99 Old Trees, Rod Dee Thai Cafe and Mad About Sucre, the establishment is within close proximity from Outram Park MRT Station Exit 4 and Dorsett Singapore. Nitty Gritty is situated at 21 Teo Hong Road within the ground level of a conservation shophouse; its dining hall being split into two sections given how the layout of the shophouse is — the zone within the entrance of the shophouse is the smaller dining hall is one that comprises of the reception and seats that would suit diners in groups of two (2) to four (4) pax, while the larger dine-in area within sees couch seatings and a mix of tables that are catered to smaller groups of diners as well as larger groups as well. The entire space is decked in a rather modern, contemporary vibe that is classy without much clutter; the furniture and fittings mainly comprises of wooden elements and also a shade of brown that compliments the wooden fittings — all that with brightly-coloured elements like the yellow lamp shades used for its ceiling lamps to spruce the interior up even further. Nitty Gritty segregates its operations into both brunch and dinner service where the items served are slightly different between the two; the dinner menu comprises of items that are segregated into categories such as Grits, Nitty Dinner Specials, Sides and Desserts. Beverages available at Nitty Gritty includes a line-up of coffee, tea, soda and cider options.

For those whom hadn’t heard of grits before, this is more of a American soul food dish that can be described as an item “made from ground corn” that is “boiled to a creamy, porridge-like consistency”. Still in its soft launch phase when we made our visit there, the menu at Nitty Gritty consists of only four (4) different dishes in the Grits section of the menu; these folks are planning to push out a bigger variety of grits when they move into their official launch — of the four items in the Grits section of the menu that they have to offer, two (2) of them are more classically American, while the other two comes with a fusion approach incorporating Singaporean flavours to the American dish. The Nitty Gritty Shrimp & Grits is one of those dishes that falls under the former category; the menu at Nitty Gritty describes the Nitty Gritty Shrimp & Grits to come with elements such as honey garlic shrimp, creamy cheesy grits, fried egg, fresh torched baby Nai Bai, cherry tomatoes and chili crisps. Having grits for the very first time, we were surprised by how we liked the grits here in general; despite being made out of ground corn, there wasn’t a particularly strong note of the sweetness of corn per se here — definitely worked out for us since we aren’t too much of corn lover in general. That being said, the grits came in a texture came with a thicker, starchier consistency as what one would have expected from the cantonese-style congee; there is a very slight cheesiness that went well with the rather subtle note of the corn that really provided a bit of flavour to the grits that would make it go especially well with the other elements that it came with. The honey garlic shrimp does come with a bit of sweetness from both the shrimp itself with a slightly floral note of the honey; whilst providing a bit of bite that also gave that contrast to the consistency of the grits, the garlicky notes does bring the Nitty Gritty Shrimp & Grits as a savoury dish — the chili crisps being more of this Lao Gan Ma-esque chili that is smoky and savoury with a spicy kick of flavours that tickle the tastebuds whilst providing a texture to bind the shrimps with the grits altogether. When it came to the fresh torched baby Nai Bai, these reminded us of the florets of broccoli that had been charred using the blowtorch that we have had from other establishments; carried a rather smoky note whilst still being particularly savoury. We also liked how the fried egg came with an entirely crisp bottom; while we note that the yolk could be more runny, we also appreciated how the sunny side-up did not reek of any undesirable odour of overused oil.

The Hainanese Chicken Grits would be the item in the Grits section of the menu that comes with a local twist — Nitty Gritty describes this dish to come with elements such as that of sous-vide chicken, ginger garlic grits, diced pickled cucumber, spicy chili sauce and the same torched Nai Bai that also came with the Nitty Gritty Shrimp & Grits. It is actually difficult for us to pick a favourite between the two grit dishes that we had ordered; while the Nitty Gritty Shrimp & Grits was an item that would probably showcase Nitty Gritty’s grits in a way that grits would be like as an American dish, the Hainanese Chicken Grits was something that doesn’t take away that experience of that American dish, yet carrying that familiarity of a local dish that we all love right down to its core. The sous-vide chicken here is undoubtedly tender and juicy — the only thing it would lack is the poached chicken skin that not all would necessarily prefer having; whilst the sous-vide carried a clean flavour, there is the use of ginger and garlic in the preparation of the grits here that helps to bring back those familiar notes of the flavoured rice in Hainanese-style chicken rice while not losing the plot of how grits should fundamentally be liked. Whilst elements like the diced pickled cucumber aren’t typically found in the usual Hainanese-style chicken rice, the addition of the element provides a refreshing, tangy crunch that can be likened to that of having pickled mustard greens with Teochew-style porridge. The spicy chili sauce is said to have been infused with Tabasco here — delivering quite a spicy kick that would tickle the tastebuds of those whom have moderate tolerance to spiciness, the chili sauce does also come with that same zippiness and kick of raw chili padi notes that one would expect out of the typical chili that accompanies a plate of Hainanese-style chicken rice as well.

Skimming through the menu for its dessert offerings, the Krispy Sachima Treat was something that really stood out considering how we wouldn’t really find Sachima being offered outside of Chinese eateries to say the least. This is yet another one of those fusion items that the folks at Nitty Gritty serves up — rather than calling it a Sachima that uses Rice Krispies instead of fried batter, we would liken the Kristy Sachima Treat to be more of a crispy rice cake that some would call 米饼 or Mi Tong that is bound in the same stiff sugar syrup as that of Sachima. The result is this sweet, ooey and gooey snack that came with a bit of a crunch — all that whilst carrying a slight smokiness considering how the Krispy Sachima itself has been blowtorched to allow for the sugar syrup to melt further before being served to the table. The addition of whipped cream helps to neutralise all the sweetness and smokiness happening in the dessert, whilst giving a smooth texture that further enhances the mouthfeel of the dish in general. Whilst being one of those coffee offerings that didn’t really impress us by how it looked, the Spiced Vanilla Latte which we were informed is being recommended to be served hot really blew our minds upon our very first sip — this almost felt like a concoction of coffee that came with a boozy infusion that certainly piqued our tastebuds; definitely a hit for us.

Despite being in its soft launch phase, Nitty Gritty does seem to be able to impress from the dishes that we had decided to go for — each dish was a hit to our tastebuds and one could definitely tell all the effort that the folks behind the establishment are putting in their creations; every plate being one that had seemingly gone through quite a fair bit of research and development so that they can bring their very best to their patrons. Their dishes that consists of a local fusion element do seem to be painstakingly made with attention to detail, allowing the familiarity of local flavours without altering the main core component of the dish that they specialise in. Prices of the individually-sized mains in their dinner menu starts from $19 for the Hainanese Chicken Grits to $33 for the Any Given Holiday Meal from the Nitty Dinner Specials section of the menu. These folks seem to have presented a very good start for an establishment that is just in its initial days of opening — the dishes mostly reasonably priced for an establishment of its type, whilst its offerings showcases quality and good execution overall to hopefully expose the masses to grits as a American soul food dish; would like to take this opportunity to congratulate these folks on the opening of Nitty Gritty, and wishing them all the best in what is to come in the future. We are definitely looking forward to returning after their official launch to check out the other grits that they would be releasing by then!