When times are tough, these biscuits and gravy from Dish Society have your back. Image: Kimberly Park

When the nightly news makes my heart ache, what I really crave is dough, not a drink. Yes, a terrific martini can take the edge off a rough day, but a well-constructed baked carbohydrate, maybe with a gentle pat of butter or smear of jam, provides more lasting solace. National events of this past week in combination with some familial-in-law strife had me seeking this type of sustenance, and upon pondering I realized it had been a minute since I had a really, really good biscuit. In fact, I couldn’t recall having that eyes-roll-back-in-the-head reaction to a hot, flaky biscuit since visiting Callie’s.

And though I don’t need an excuse to return to hop on a plane back to Charleston, so bountiful are that city’s edible offerings, I knew my beloved Houston had biscuits to rival those at Callie’s and then some. If you, too, are interested in a biscuit tour (de force), your first stop should be Dish Society for their unbelievably dense, delicious buttermilk biscuits, so rich and buttery that the crispy fried chicken accompanying them seems “light” in comparison. A generous pour of peppery cream gravy covering all of the aforementioned would cause you to make a royal mess of yourself if you ate them with your hands. But I can tell you from personal experience if you get them to go and enjoy them in the comfort of your own home while your husband is out of town, only your cats will judge you.

Breakfast at Urban Eats will further convince you that biscuits are one of Houston's best man-made resources. During breakfast hours, this popular Heights spot uses their flaky white biscuits as the base for a solid stack of sausage biscuits, eggs-your-way, and a side porcine gravy. In this case, I recommend deploying utensils in order to make sure every bite contains a bit of biscuit to balance your protein, before dunking the whole forkful in the baby gravy bucket for good measure.

Brunch at State of Grace is another place I can calm my core with biscuits. They pair their buttermilk version with serrano ham and sweet berry jam for a lovely interplay of sweet, salty, and fatty.

Tony Mandola’s isn’t afraid to complement their biscuits with, well, more carbohydrates, and I respect that. I think you will, too, after sampling the biscuits, whose lovely crinkly crust exterior belies a soft, flaky interior, alongside their seasoned diced breakfast potato partners in crime. Together both serve as delectable dough sponges for the runny yolks of the fried eggs and sausage gravy, under which hides (surprise!) a fried chicken breast.