420476 Thu Jul 12 10:39:27 -0700 2007 13 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 2743424 i've seen several people mention it. i'm guessing it's like diner food where you get an entree and 3 side choices but i don't really know. can you tell i'm "newly southern'? :) Thu Jul 12 10:39:27 -0700 2007 99136 AMFM 1 2743653 Yep, that's what it is. A meat and three sides. In my experience, they're usually cafeteria style where you slide you tray along and tell the folks working behind the counter what you want. For what it's worth, my favorite one in Charlotte is the United House of Prayer on Mint. It's actually a meat, two sides and cornbread. Best lunch you can get for $7 (including drink). Thu Jul 12 11:31:04 -0700 2007 2743424 80682 concordcourtney 1 2743657 You've hit the nail on the head though most places I have been two are meat and two's. Most place also give you cornbread(or roll) and ice tea in the price. Diner food with a more southernly tilt to it. Sides may be collards, green beans, mac and cheese, potato salad mains anywhere from fried pork chops, chicken or fish to neck bones, chitlins or fried bologna sandwiches Thu Jul 12 11:32:01 -0700 2007 2743424 13330 quazi 1 2743675 Yep. a "meat and thee" generally refers to a casual (often VERY casual) restaurant where you order your meat and three "vegetables". The meat choice will typically include fried chicken, roast turkey, roast beef and gravy, fried flounder, pork chop, etc. You'll note I put veggies in quotes above. That's because your veggie choices may well include rice and gravy, canned fruit cocktail, macaroni and cheese, and banana pudding. Actualy vegetables might be mashed potatoes, fried okra, squash casserole, steamed broccoli (hopefully w/ cheese sauce), lima beans, carrot salad, slaw, etc. Most meat and threes are nasty. Some are good, it's hard to tell from the outside. One I can think of borders on sublime...if you're in the right mood and you take extra enjoyment from the guilty pleasure aspect. Thu Jul 12 11:35:07 -0700 2007 2743424 10471 danna 1 2744061 I laughed aloud when I saw your post. The H and I just went to TN for the first time to visit his brother and SIL (he's from ny, she's southern). She was trying to plan dinners and such for us and emailed that she wanted to take us to her favorite "meat and three". We had no idea what she was talking about. When we got there (Christiana), the place was VERY casual, had a local band playing, and we indeed did order "meat and three" (or for me, they allowed me to order "four" instead w/o the meat as a vegetarian). The food was exactly like another poster said -- diner in a southern style. But we had a lot of fun. Now we toss around the term "meat and three" just to confuse our friends here in nyc. :) Thu Jul 12 13:04:56 -0700 2007 2743424 104084 LNG212 2 2745533 We used to live in Nashville a hop, skip, and jump away from the Sylvan Park Diner. *Classic* meat and three. Opposite end of the dining continuum from "fine" dining, and proud of it. Vegetarians have to careful though, because many of the "veggie" items are not vegetarian, such as the green beans or collard greens -- and pie crusts. Thu Jul 12 21:45:50 -0700 2007 2744061 95291 Richard 16 3 2745767 Yeah -- I was glad I asked. But they were really nice and explained which ones (like the collards) were made with ham/whatever. Very interesting term. Fri Jul 13 04:21:07 -0700 2007 2745533 104084 LNG212 3 2746952 We took some visitors, including one vegetarian, to our favorite meat-and-three in Nashville, assuring him that an all vegetable plate was an option. He got a green salad, some mac'n'cheese and a big pile of turnip greens. When he dug into his greens, though, the fist thing he found was a big chunk of very fatty side-meat! Not being veggie myself, I'd never really noticed it before, but when I started paying more attention I found that a fullbore vegan's choices in most of these places would be strictly limited to bread and salad. I will take some exception to the "most meat and threes are nasty" comment, based on my years in and around middle Tennessee. I've been to some that were just too shiny and soulless, with listless help dishing out boring food, and most branches of the original Sylvan Park are too much like that, I'm afraid. I've never been to one whose food I'd be afraid to eat, though, and two (Arnold's in Nashville, and City Cafe in Franklin, KY) we always visit on our annual trips back there. Fri Jul 13 11:03:39 -0700 2007 2745533 11478 Will Owen 4 2753524 Your pardon, Will. I amend my statement to "most meat and threes in upstate S.C. are nasty." ;-) Mon Jul 16 08:44:29 -0700 2007 2746952 10471 danna 1 2745543 There's a new trend to create upscale "Meat and Three (or two)" places. One just opened in Charlottesville, VA. The food includes things like dry-rubbed ribs with homemade barbeque sauce, cornmeal catfish, trout with caper butter, etc. Then you get to choose two sides from an extensive list of things such as beets, collards, grits, etc, all of which are upscale and veggie unless otherwise indicated. I like the traditional southern stuff, but the new trend means healthier food. Thu Jul 12 21:58:15 -0700 2007 2743424 76025 mojoeater 2 2750562 Nonetheless, I miss the places where the waitress called everyone "honey" and the menu was a two-page binder with a blue-ditto'ed list of the daily fare, usually a meat and two sides. Miss those "breaded veal cutlets" with Campbell's tomato-soup "gravy", applesauce and corn sides. Sat Jul 14 20:14:37 -0700 2007 2745543 14479 wayne keyser 1 2750419 Thanks everyone! :) Sat Jul 14 19:11:17 -0700 2007 2743424 99136 AMFM 2 2750633 Boy this brings me back to my gradual school days in Atlanta when I went to Mary Mac's Tea Room for dinner. Some things to look out for. Hoppin' John with Chaw Chaw is black eyed peas with some kind of colorful relish, not as colorful as the stuff they put on a Chicago dog but colorful enough. I had that for New Years one time, that's the tradition. Also, if you're vegetarian, beware of cracklin' corn bread. That's corn bread with fried pig skin mixed into the bread dough and baked. Oh, they might serve it with pot likker, which is the liquid from cooked collards along with some of the collards and the pork. Brunswick stew is pretty tame these days, it used to be roadkill stew or which ever meat the cook had handy stew. I love the stuff though. Sat Jul 14 20:42:33 -0700 2007 2750419 11826 Phaedrus 3 2751819 brunswick stew is one of the things i have learned to love since moving here. they are not all created equal however! had never even heard of it before, Sun Jul 15 13:21:36 -0700 2007 2750633 99136 AMFM