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All Around Town
Probably Nashville’s most famous meat-and-three (a visit from “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” as well as a lot of national press) closed in January 2022 because it looked like the property was selling. The deal fell through so the restaurant is back in business. It’s open Monday-Friday 11am-3pm offering its time-honored heroes: roast beef, meatloaf, fried chicken, and some mighty fine desserts. Now offering Saturday brunch 11am-3pm.
This little cafe’ moseyed out of folksy Leiper’s Fork to downtown Franklin and expanded bigtime in the heart of downtown Nashville. Unlike almost every other place, it has a full bar. Meat-and-three items form its core offerings but you can order salads and its awfully fine pit barbecue. It’s popular so don’t expect immediate seating during dining rush hour. For speed, sit at the bar.
Just north of the Ryman Auditorium, this hybrid is a sports bar with a slate of southern favorites including meatloaf, barbecue, country fried chicken, and catfish.
The name’s a head scratcher but they’ll serve you breakfast and lunch cafeteria-style. Country ham is a staple on their morning menu. If I tell you that oxtails and chitlins are in regular rotation, do I need to mention it’s a soul food joint? Almost entirely locals. Not a lot of seats so be prepared to make your order to-go if you hit it at a busy time.
It barely fits as a meat-and-three because Big Al is a real-deal chef who creates curveballs like chipotle raspberry chicken in addition to sandwiches and meat-and-three regulars. The best scrambled eggs I’ve ever eaten. So unhip, it’s hip. If he’s not too busy, you might coax a gospel tune out of Big Al.
The menu is of the meat-and-three variety–but not the dining arrangement. Here you join other diners at long tables and pass platters of food around family-style. It’s all-you-can-eat and the price reflects it (about $18 for lunch at this writing). They have the same arrangement for breakfast so prepare to eat like a lumberjack. There’s also a Monell’s at the Manor near the airport.
The original, born in 1939, closed in 2020 but it’s been reborn in a larger building next door. In addition to traditional burgers and shakes, you can order a “plate lunch” which translates to “meat-and-three.” It’s a short list of popular items including meatloaf, roast beef (excellent!) and fried chicken. Bonus points because the menu notes which vegetables are gluten-free. The place is noted for the mile-high meringue on its signature pies. (See photo.)
For an out of the ordinary dining experience, sit down to a Southern meal in an antebellum mansion. Originally built in 1898 and rebuilt following a fire in 1929, the food line-up here is similar to its Germantown location but it gushes with genteel charm. The manor is tucked away in a grove of trees on what we locals consider the back side of Nashville International Airport.
Show some self-control at Ramzy’s because you have to walk past a plethora of pies before you feast your eyes on the meats and vegetables in the cafeteria line. Oh, heck. Dessert first! We tried the moist German chocolate and coconut cakes; both were worthy of seconds. Next time, it’s Pie Day. (Chess is recommended by my buddy John.) Choose from six meats and maybe 8 or 10 vegetable/salad options. We went with the planks of crunchy, flaky catfish. The mac’n’ cheese was creamy good though not memorable but there was some love in those green beans. My lunchmate, another meat-and-3 fan, proclaimed Ramzy’s a winner.
A bit off the beaten path (unless you’re a truck driver or cemetery worker), this little place vaulted to my hall-of-fame list. Mac’n’cheese is one of my litmus tests and theirs is creamy with a real cheese kick. The roast beef was of the carved-when-you-order variety–good stuff and unusual for a meat-and-three. Other highlights: zesty meatloaf, Chef George’s killer chicken tortilla soup, a ridiculously dense chocolate brownie. perfectly seasoned red beans and rice, and a spicy broccoli casserole. TIP: a cup of soup can count as a vegetable. (Photo of CCE)
You’ll also find homestyle meals at the airport at Puckett’s, Acme, and Swett’s. Here are all the local restaurants at the Nashville airport.
Yes, they serve more than biscuits although their country breakfasts are popular. The fried chicken is tasty and they’re known for their pies so save room for dessert.
Just up Gallatin Road from Nashville Biscuit House is this hidden jewel. Hidden? You’ve got to want to find it because it’s in the basement of a building. Look for the red awning. I went with the fried chicken, mac’n’cheese, hot water cornbread and green beans. High marks for the first three but the green beans have a killer flavor that make me want to know their secret. Trivia: has the only billiards table I’ve seen in a family cafe’.
A few years after closing, this wonderful meat-and-three has relocated and reopened with OG’s son running the show. He’s faithful to their recipes including their as-good-as-my-grandma’s chicken and dressing. Nicely flavored green beans and mac’n’cheese too.
The well-worn little diner on Charlotte Avenue used to serve up second-hand smoke and good (though barely seasoned) eats but, for the past few years, it’s only been the latter. Mostly locals. Great neon sign is icing on the cake. Open for breakfast. If you don’t like their dessert options, cross the street to old-school Bobbie’s Dairy Dip.
Don’t confuse this working-class restaurant with a bar called The Centennial a few blocks away as I did. Located in an industrial area, the emphasis here is on a budget-priced southern cooking. A meat-and-three will set you back $9.75 at this writing. My hamburger steak wasn’t all that flavorful and the brown gravy may have come from a can. Yet, the kitchen scored big with the seasoning of their cabbage and green beans. I hear breakfast is righteous too. Not my favorite destination but a good pick for inexpensive eatin’. Closes at 2pm
They’ve been in business since 1954 serving up the meat-and-three’s greatest hits; in fact, it seats more people and has more extensive offerings than most places, plus a few hard-to-find items like pigs’ feet. My last visit was the best in recent memory: country style steak with well-seasoned green beans and baked squash. On my previous visit, I got off to a bad start with the beef tips–a fatty first bite–but things leveled off after that. Bonus points for making their rolls from scratch. They also provide the culinary power for the restaurant in the Johnny Cash Museum and serve a limited menu in their mini-restaurant in the Southwest concourse at the airport.
Don’t let the website photos mislead you; there’s a special event room up front but the magic for me is the next section. That’s where you’ll find the cafeteria line and dining area–and pure deliciousness. Meatloaf, fried chicken and baked chicken are featured daily with other southern and soul food entrees as specials. Choose from about 10 vegetables. I opted for chicken and dressing with sweet potatoes and green beans. The seasoning was on point on all. And they win the trophy for the most moist cornbread squares I’ve ever tasted. My only negatives: they didn’t offer butter for the cornbread and the music was too loud for conversation. Return trip: the fried chicken is good but not award-winning.
The atmosphere of this Bellevue outpost is a little uptown but meatloaf, catfish, white beans and fried okra are regular offerings so I think they make the cut. In addition to its comfort food menu, you can order salads and items off the grill.
We’re talking way out west for this iconic little roadside inn that has become a big-time legend, primarily due to its heavenly biscuits. Breakfast is big here but there are meat-and-three selections and a few gourmet-ish items thrown in for good measure. Liked the flavors of the green beans and sweet potatoes last time I visited. Two parting words here, friends: peach preserves.
Biscuits are a beautiful thing here and breakfast is very popular but there’s also succinct lunch menu. We’re talking pot roast, fried chicken, meatloaf, catfish, and pulled pork. Take your pick, then accompany it with mashed potatoes, collard greens, mac’n’cheese, green beans or something fried: potatoes, okra, green tomatoes.
Next door to the much-loved Martin’s BBQ is a humble grocery with a secret weapon–the steam table in the back. For $7.50, I walked away with a heavy load of delicious chicken and dressing, sweet potatoes, and slightly dry cornbread. Friday is catfish day and they turn out some of Nashville’s best. Hint: get there early because steam tables can make food droopy. Lunch is served 10am-1pm (or until they run out of offerings).
Burgers, sandwiches, wraps, salads and such dominate the menu at this Brentwood location but they maintain their roots with a nice selection of entrees and vegetables. It’s a tad more refined than some of the longtime favorite meat-and-threes but hey–this is Brentwood.
Off Hillsboro Road, near the Grasslands community, Barbara’s is a hybrid between a meat-and-three and a tearoom. Here you’ll find some of the best roast beef I’ve ever tasted and I could drink the gravy–it’s that good. The tearoom is evidenced with entrees including poppyseed chicken and crab cakes. And this is Baked Goods Heaven, led by their heavenly made-from-scratch yeast rolls. A little pricier but did I mention they make their own yeast rolls?
Located in a Franklin/Cool Springs strip mall, it is notable for a little-known fact: it birthed hot chicken sensation Hattie B’s. Yep, the place was swarming with patrons on “Hot Chicken Day” so the Bishops decided to specialize with a spin-off. All their other choices are solid too.
Look above for the details of this sweet (but sometimes loud) reincarnation of the original restaurant/country store in Leiper’s Fork. But what the heck are they doing offering a Cornish hen?
Wade through a sea of fast food shops to this very local downhome breakfast/lunch/dinner spot. Try their tasty roast beef, biscuits I’d challenge anyone in Nashville to beat, and creamy squash casserole. If it’s Friday, go for the all-you-can-eat catfish. Good desserts too. Not a tourist in sight.
A local favorite since 1993. In addition to the usual suspects on the menu, you can order off the grill (but why?) Good gravy, they’ve got country cooking in their name. If you have a hefty appetite, go Wednesday for all-you-can-eat spaghetti, Friday for all-you-can-eat catfish or on weekends for the breakfast buffet. Closed Monday.
It’s been around since the Sixties and, judging by the faded photos of Conway Twitty, Porter and Dolly, the decor has too. Seemed a bit cheaper than other meat-and-threes where you can get an entree’ like fried chicken and three sides for just $7.50. For a little place, their menu is big spanning from American grill to Greek food. It gets very mixed reviews online. I got the sense that it’s somewhat of an institution for folks in the community. Foodwise, I wasn’t fond of the hush puppies but the catfish gets my thumbs up.
The reincarnation of a soul food joint formerly located in the East Nashville/Inglewood area, it’s now in Due West Plaza, a strip center anchored by a Sav-A-Lot grocery. My barber raved about it so I stopped in for a late lunch. I went with some old reliables: The green beans were well-seasoned, the mac’n’cheese creamy with a bit of a kick. Their version of hot water cornbread is slightly sweet with the look and chew-factor of a fritter–not bad, just different. Proof that it’s into soul food: the rotating menu includes pig’s feet and ribs. (Top photo)
You’ve got to want to find this spot because it’s tucked into an innocuous building at 107 Memorial Drive. Fried chicken (served only on Wednesday and Saturday) but they’ll fry you up catfish upon request any day you please. Love the chicken and cornbread; not as crazy about the flavor of the green beans. Open for breakfast too. Note: this place is LOUD when it’s busy.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
Yes, it’s a chain but it started in nearby Lebanon, TN so it is homegrown. I tend to order breakfast and my parents always ordered the beef stew but the menu includes meatloaf, roast beef and catfish too. About a dozen options for vegetables including their tasty this-is-not-a-vegetable dumplins. Over the years, they’ve added some citified entrees too. For a high-volume operation, I give them credit for consistently delightful cornbread and biscuits. Ten locations within 20 miles of Nashville including one near Opryland Hotel. TIP: When your server asks, “cornbread or biscuit?” get one of each.
What isn’t meat counts as a vegetable (except for bread–rolls*, biscuits or cornbread–which is free with your meal). This results in the reclassification of rice and gravy, mac’n’cheese, Jello, dumplings and other odd choices as veggies. Some things you just have to accept.
*Rolls are time-intensive so most are of the pre-packaged variety with the notable exceptions of Swett’s in Nashville and Barbara’s in Franklin.
