Brenda’s French Soul Food Shrimp & Grits With Tomato-Bacon Relish Recipe
Brenda’s French Soul Food in San Francisco serves this rich and flavorful Shrimp & Grits topped with a zesty tomato-bacon relish, blending Southern comfort with a Creole twist.
Make Straight-from-the-Restaurant Recipe for San Francisco Favorite, Brenda’s French Soul Food Shrimp & Grits with Tomato-Bacon Relish Recipe at home and your Shrimp & Grits will taste just like Brenda’s.
Photo by Joanne Wan
Brenda’s French Soul Food Shrimp & Grits With Tomato-Bacon Relish
A Local & Regional Favorite Master Shrimp Copycat Recipe
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Straight-From-the-Restaurant
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Brenda’s French Soul Food Shrimp & Grits With Tomato-Bacon Relish Recipe is a Straight-From-the-Restaurant Recipe.
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Brenda’s French Soul Food Shrimp & Grits With Tomato-Bacon Relish Recipe is a Master Recipe
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Local and Regional Restaurants require a drive or plane flight to enjoy, star chef’s restaurants are expensive and hard to get into and the truly great and innovative blogger and home cooks are rare and hard to find.
For those reasons – and so that you can enjoy these wonderful dishes as much as we do! – we have chosen to share these recipes we find and love here on Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes with you.
Brenda’s French Soul Food of San Francisco
Brenda’s French Soul Food in San Francisco is a beloved culinary gem that has brought the rich flavors of Creole cuisine to the West Coast. Established in 2007 by Brenda Buenviaje, a Louisiana native with a deep passion for Southern cooking, the restaurant quickly gained fame for its authentic yet innovative approach to Creole and soul food. Brenda’s menu reflects her New Orleans roots, combining traditional recipes with a modern twist, which has captivated locals and tourists alike.
The restaurant’s warm, rustic interior and welcoming vibe make it a favorite destination for brunch and casual dining. Brenda’s French Soul Food became especially popular for dishes like the buttery, flaky beignets, offered in sweet and savory varieties, including the signature crawfish-stuffed beignet. Another standout is the Shrimp & Grits with Tomato-Bacon Relish, a dish that epitomizes Southern comfort with its bold flavors and creamy textures. Other favorites include the Hangtown Fry, a decadent oyster and bacon omelet, and the fried chicken, which is crispy, juicy, and expertly seasoned.
Brenda’s French Soul Food has garnered critical acclaim and a loyal following, cementing its reputation as one of San Francisco’s go-to spots for soul food. Its success led to the expansion of the brand, with Brenda’s French Soul Food Meat & Three opening in Oakland, continuing to share the flavors of the South. Blending traditional recipes with West Coast flair, Brenda’s French Soul Food remains a shining beacon of Southern hospitality and culinary excellence.
Shrimp and Grits
Shrimp and Grits is a classic Southern dish with deep roots in the culinary traditions of the southeastern United States, particularly in the Lowcountry regions of South Carolina and Georgia. Originally a humble breakfast dish for coastal fishermen in the early 19th century, it combined freshly caught shrimp with simple, ground corn grits, providing a nourishing and hearty meal. Over time, this dish transitioned from a regional staple to a celebrated part of Southern cuisine.
The popularity of shrimp and grits surged in the 1980s when chefs began to reinvent it, introducing it to upscale restaurants and adding their own creative twists. Traditional versions often feature shrimp sautéed in bacon fat with garlic, onions, and bell peppers, served over creamy grits. However, variations abound, with some chefs incorporating spicy sausage, rich gravies, or different types of cheese to enhance the dish’s flavor. The combination of shrimp’s sweet, briny taste with the rich, comforting texture of grits makes for a versatile dish that can be customized in endless ways.
Today, shrimp and grits is widely enjoyed beyond its original region, appearing on menus from casual eateries to fine dining establishments across the U.S. It is a popular dish for both breakfast and dinner, celebrated for its balance of savory, spicy, and creamy elements. Whether served in a simple, rustic style or with modern gourmet touches, shrimp and grits remains a beloved symbol of Southern hospitality and culinary heritage.
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Brenda’s French Soul Food Shrimp & Grits With Tomato-Bacon Relish Recipe
Brenda’s French Soul Food in San Francisco serves this rich and flavorful Shrimp & Grits topped with a zesty tomato-bacon relish, blending Southern comfort with a Creole twist. Make Straight-from-the-Restaurant Recipe for San Francisco Favorite, Brenda’s French Soul Food Shrimp & Grits with Tomato-Bacon Relish Recipe at home and your Shrimp & Grits will taste just like Brenda’s.
Yield: 4 Servings
Ingredients
Tomato-Bacon Relish
- 1/4 pound smoked Bacon cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips
- 1 to 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1/4 medium Red Onion finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
- 4 teaspoons minced Garlic
- 1 cup diced Tomatoes with some juice reserved
- 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons Louisiana-Style Hot Sauce (such as Tabasco or Crystal) or to taste
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon Dark Brown Sugar or to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon Sherry Vinegar or to taste
- Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
Grits
- Pinch Kosher Salt
- 1 cup Yellow Grits (Bob’s Red Mill preferred by Brenda's...And SCRR, for that matter)
Shrimp
- 1 cup grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese about 2 ounces
- 2 tablespoons Canola Oil
- 2 teaspoons minced Garlic
- 1 pound large Shrimp (26 to 30 count) peeled and deveined, tails on or remove, your choice
- Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste
- Cayenne Pepper to taste
- 1 cup Dry White Wine
- 2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted Butter softened
- Thinly sliced Green Onion for garnish
Instructions
Tomato-Bacon Relish
- Place a medium skillet over medium heat. Add bacon. Cook until crispy and the fat renders.
- Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Set aside.
- Drain the skillet, discarding excess fat and wiping away any burned bits. Do not wash.
- Place skillet back over heat and add olive oil, onion and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion reaches a medium brown color, about 3 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, hot sauce, brown sugar and Sherry vinegar. Bring mixture to a simmer. Cook briefly until slightly thickened.
- Stir in reserved bacon, and season with salt and pepper.
- Can be done in advance. Store in a tightly sealed container, in the refrigerator, until ready to use. Bring up to room temperature before using.
Grits
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place a medium saucepan over medium -high heat. Add 4 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil.
- Stir in grits. Reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the grits are soft and spoonable, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.
Shrimp and Assembly
- Portion hot grits into four large, oven-proof bowls.
- Sprinkle cheddar cheese over each.
- Place in preheated oven. Heat for 3 to 5 minutes to melt cheese. Remove from oven and keep warm.
- Place a sauté pan over medium-high heat.
- Add canola oil.
- Add garlic and sauté briefly until golden.
- Add shrimp, seasoning with salt, black pepper and cayenne to taste. Cook just until shrimp edges turn pink.
- Add wine to deglaze pan and cook until liquid reduces by half.
- Stir in prepared Tomato-Bacon Relish and butter and cook for another minute until the sauce thickens and shrimp are cooked through.
- Divide shrimp and sauce among the bowls.
- Garnish with green onions and serve immediately.
Brenda’s French Soul Food Shrimp & Grits With Tomato-Bacon Relish
A Local & Regional Favorite Master Shrimp Copycat Recipe
To See ALL of Our Local & Regional Favorite Copycat Recipes - Click HERE To See ALL of Our Shrimp Copycat Recipes - Click HERE To See ALL of Our Seafood Copycat Recipes - Click HERE To See ALL of Our Cajun and Creole Copycat Recipes - Click HERESPOTLIGHT RECIPES
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Photo of “Shrimp & Grits with a Bacon Relish” is by Joanne Wan and is used by permission under the Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic Creative Commons License. Read the Full License Here – https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode.en. Thank you, Joanne. Great Picture. Photos may be “representative” of the recipe and not the actual finished dish. All photo licenses listed were correct at the time of the posting of the page. Recipe courtesy of Brenda’s, Sarah Fritsche and the San Francisco Chronicle. Recipe source – often, but not exclusively, the restaurant’s website, a magazine or newspaper article, a promotional video or a promotional book or handout – is presumed to be honest (this is the recipe used in the restaurant or a scaled down “home version” of a larger recipe) and accurate (no mistakes were made in the presentation). Recipe has been changed only to fit the style and format of this website – Ingredients and instructions are exactly the same as presented in the shared recipe. Additional Information is from original research done by SCRR and/or courtesy of Wikipedia and is used by permission.
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