Grits, like corn bread and barbecue, are tabletop rites of passage in the South: If you don't like them, or put sugar on them, then something must be wrong with you and you may as well move. Here are five spots whose stove tops know how to boil up a batch of the South's favorite breakfast grub.

Bita Honarvar/AJC staff (ENLARGE)
Ria's rocks with its intown attitude ... organic, stone-ground grits. They can come as side or unto themselves, in all their creamy, buttery breakfast glory.
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Belly General Store (not rated).

772 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta. 404-872-1003. www.bellystore.com

Belly General Store has lots to love: Funky pastel cupcakes smile up at you from the counter; oversized communal pine tables make for interesting breakfast conversation with table mates. A blackboard tells of goodies to start the day and lunchtime noshes, while the environs serve as a provender for old-fashioned candies. The bagels are outrageous; slap a fresh egg and some cheese on one and beam yourself to another galaxy. But if you're really in the mood for something that will fill your belly— and soothe your soul — try a cup of grits with a melted dab of cheddar. Creamy and hot, they come in a Styrofoam cup to go, and melt on contact with your mouth.

6:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Wednesdays; 6:30 a.m-7 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays. $$

Joël

3290 Northside Parkway N.E., Atlanta. 404-233-3500. www.joelrestaurant.com

It seems odd that the best French restaurant in the city would also serve the city's best grits. Chef/owner Joël Antunes, who won the James Beard award for best chef Southeast in 2005, is head-and-shoulders above almost any other chef in the city when it comes to precision and execution, and he'll be missed when he leaves soon to head the kitchen at the Oak Room in New York. Hopefully the restaurant will continue to dish up ditties like buttery pink salmon, beautifully sliced, resting over a small square of rice in a milky dashi broth, with a bright quenelle of mustard ice cream to offset texture, temperature and flavor.

And the grits? Made with cream and truffle oil, they're the height of indulgence — such a seemingly effortless dish elevated so simply to creamy, savory transcendence.

Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Mondays-Fridays. Dinner: 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. $$$$

Relish

590 Mimosa Boulevard, Roswell. 770-650-7877. relishgoodfood.com

Andy and Jennifer Badgett, who owned much-lauded Asher, have arrived back on the dining scene with Relish, a Southern-inspired spot that combines the exalted efforts of Asher with the casual comfort of Fickle Pickle, the couple's popular lunch spot. Set in the old Roswell Funeral Home on Mimosa Boulevard, the restaurant expands on a stable of simple dishes that are part Southern bistro, part grandma's house. The pimiento cheese fritters are fried balls of yum — crunchy with bread crumbs outside, soft and gooey with piquant pepper and cheese flavor inside. Shrimp and grits lighten things up; mouth-popping shrimp make a mad Creolelike mix with red peppers and onions in a brown roux with smoky tasso over hearty but creamy grits.

Lunch: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. Dinner: 5-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 5-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. Sunday brunch: 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. $$$

Restaurant Eugene

2277 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-355-0321. www.restauranteugene.com

One of this year's James Beard nominees, chef-owner Linton Hopkins has turned his lovely Buckhead gem into a four-star destination. From the lively, old-fashioned cocktail list to the well-sourced meats and vegetables, Hopkins cooks by the creed all chefs should: Fresh, local, seasonal. His Sunday supper menu is a testament to the notion that Southern cooking need neither be heavy nor pedestrian. Dishes such as cracklin' pork osso buco and a gorgeous shank crisped at the edges and fall-from-the-bone tender over Anson Mills grits transcend their humble origins. Often he uses ingredients — corn, okra, skillet greens — to remind us of the South, but with a new attitude, and his vegetable plate highlighted by more creamy grits is excuse enough for a visit. No matter what time of year, the food cultivates a genteel Southern accent.

Dinner: 5:30-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 5:30-11 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. $$$$

Ria's Bluebird (not rated).

421 Memorial Drive S.E., Atlanta. 404-521-3737. www.riasbluebird.com

Ria's rocks with its intown attitude, serving up a load of love from tempeh to tilapia. The latter is blackened and served with a big bowl of organic, stone-ground grits. Grits can come as a side for the breakfast burrito, the omelette of the day or the fluffy buttermilk pancakes. Or they can come unto themselves, in all their creamy, buttery breakfast glory.

Breakfast served 8 a.m.-3 p.m. daily; lunch served 11 a.m.-3 p.m. daily. $