Pine State Biscuits

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Pine State Biscuits has been getting a lot of attention lately, being featured on Diners, Drive-In and Dives, as well as Unique Eats.

Typically, when restaurants get featured on TV shows, the restaurant becomes super crowded and the food goes downhill, usually rather quickly.

Menu

Pine State Biscuits sits somewhere between a fast food restaurant and sit down restaurant.  There is very limited seating, which is first come first serve.  After waiting in a usually long line, you order at the counter, and wade through the herds of people looking for an empty seat.

The Reggie

The "Reggie" ($7) is deep fried chicken breast, bacon and cheese biscuit sandwich with gravy.  The chicken breast has a great crunch, but remains moist inside.  The bacon adds some smoke and saltiness, but the cheese sort of gets lost.  The gravy is full of black pepper, and adds a bit of spice to the dish.  The biscuits are flaky and hold up well as a flavor delivery vehicle.

The Reggie Deluxe

The "Reggie Deluxe" ($8) is a deep fried chicken breast, bacon, cheese and fried egg biscuit sandwich with gravy.  The egg was overcooked, so instead of the sauce being another sauce, it was disappointingly just a firm egg yolk.

Shrimp & Grits

The Shrimp and Grits ($7) looks great on a plate, but just doesn't work for some reason.  The shrimp is overcooked and somewhat dry, while the grits simply had no flavor.  Some salt would have worked wonders on the dish.

Chicken Pot Pie

The Chicken Pot Pie ($7) was another dish that just does not seem to work.  The top crust is just too much bread for the amount of filling of the pot pie.  The pie filling is super rich, they must add a ton of cream and butter.  Unfortunately, frozen vegetables are used instead of fresh.

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

The Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes ($6) are a real winner.  Three large pancakes filled with fresh blueberries along with real maple syrup and butter complete the dish.  The pancakes are both fluffy and have some substance at the same time.  The blueberries add an acidic punch, while the cornmeal adds some unexpected and surprising crunch.

It seems like sticking with the biscuit sandwiches at Pine State Biscuits are the way to go.  Straying away from the basics may lead to some disappoint, but at this price point its definitely worth it to explore the menu a little, or preferably a lot.