Biscuit Head

Biscuit Head began in Asheville, and is now four different restaurants, including one in Greenville, South Carolina. They’re extremely popular — there’s always a line of customers at the order counter — and with good reason: The biscuits are wonderful.

They’re cat heads, meaning they are large, somewhat spherical, and with a gnarled, knobby surface. Their top is crisp — almost brittle — and below that is a fluffy/creamy cloud that is eager to sop gravy, butter, sauce, jam, or country ham juices. Perhaps the purest way to savor them is to get a gravy flight, which is one big biscuit with a choice of three gravies from a list of eight, including fried chicken gravy, veggie gravy, sweet potato coconut gravy, and a “gravy of the day.” I went with espresso red-eye, pork sausage, and mushroom medley and enjoyed them all.

The many more elaborate biscuit presentations include an Asheville Benedict, a biscuit brisket, a fried catfish biscuit, and breakfast sandwich biscuits. A fried green tomato biscuit is topped with tart tomatoes, melty brie, poached eggs, and smoked tomato hollandaise. Biscuit donuts are deep-fried balls of dough rolled in cinnamon sugar and accompanied by a spill of lemon curd.

Biscuit Head bustles. It’s an energetic sort of place, filled with locals and travelers, families as well as couples on dates. The experience is all the more jolly because of a copious condiment bar where customers help themselves to house-made jams in flavors that range from Bananas Foster to Cherry Bomb.