Even more intriguing is their double-identity.

They can be part of your supper as well as an after dinner treat.

At Brick Street Café, owner Sara Wilson serves sweet potatoes fried or mashed alongside several entrees. But according to her patrons, the position the sweet potato plays best is dessert.

Her specialty is a sweet potato pie, and some of the customers who want the pie order it first, Wilson says.

"They would rather go ahead and get their sweet potato pie and then box up the rest of the meal," she says.

Wilson cites uniqueness in technique and texture as a reason for the popularity.

"Most people make sweet potato pies like pumpkin pies, and so they use nutmeg and cinnamon and all these other kinds of spices," she says. "But our pies have no spices in it. The texture of it is similar to an egg custard."

Her sweet potato pie was such a hit that Wilson experimented with the recipe and added it to cake batter. The result of this experiment is her sweet potato cake, which is double-layered and slathered with cream cheese icing.

Brick Street Café
315 Augusta St., Greenville
864.421.0111
www.brickstreetcafe.com