Southpaw BBQ Restaurant And Grill | San Francisco, CA

It may seem heretical to go to a barbecue place and not eat the barbecue, but hear us out–we're encouraging you to eat cheese instead.

Because while Southpaw BBQ does a fine job with pulled pork and braised brisket, there are Delta Grind cheese grits to contend with.

Smooth and silky, the Mississippi-milled yellow cornmeal is enriched with a boatload of cheddar and parmesan ($5). The grits hail from the same part of the world as Southpaw's chef, David King, who grew up in Memphis and has cooked at Delfina and 25 Lusk.

Then there's the pimento cheese ($5), which any Southerner knows as a spread that's equally at home slathered on celery or grilled in a sandwich; Southpaw serves it both ways. Dave's is a fine example, made with cheddar, cream cheese, mayonnaise and parmesan, the pimentos lending an orange hue more commonly associated with "cheese foods."

We're not necessarily suggesting you have cheese grits, pimento cheese, and the warm potato chips topped, nachos-style, with Point Reyes blue cheese and house-made sweet potato habanero sauce ($5) all in one sitting.

But if, hypothetically, you did–well, we wouldn't stand in the way.

Southpaw BBQ, 2170 Mission St.; 415-934-9300 or southpawbbqsf.com