re: Since the off season has made this the food board, best meat and 3 in your state

City Cafe in the early 90s was a meat and three with the fourth one free. You’d get a meat, four sides, cornbread and rolls, plus a pitcher of sweet tea on the table for $3.23. You could also buy a punch card with ten meals for right at $3 per.

As to the best in Alabama, I believe the current top in AL is Johnny’s in Homewood. It’s fairly expensive but very good quality and flavor.

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never heard that term until now. for a second, i thought it was cause i was too young. now it seems like im just too old.

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Yeah apparently.

Obviously I'm very familiar with country kitchens and diners that sell meals like this for a good deal. Favorite places to eat lunch back when I was young building pole barns where we'd be all over different rural areas.

Never heard it called that though. Just always called them by the name, which was often "someones country kitchen", or "someones diner", maybe a "someones restaurant" occasionally.

And since these places are a dime and a dozen in the south, for anyone who has the misfortune of finding themselves in San Fransisco and want some good food, I recommend Tommy's Joynt. You might have to wait in line outside the door, and the tables are shared and you sit where ever and it's not exactly southern, but about as close as you can get in California.

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City Cafe in Northport.

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Easy answer for Alabama

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Yeah it's not. It's an old term used to describe what may also be commonly called cafeteria style lunch. Used to be really common even in gas stations and some grocery stores throughout Mississippi. Doesn't have to be a diner.

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And yet magically I've gone over 50 years and never heard the term until today despite having eaten at I don't even know how many such places over my lifetime.

And I grew up where the term supposedly originated. Yet magically, nobody ever once called a restaurant such a thing even while I was in them eating.

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off season has made this the food board

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July 15-August 15 are the dog days of SEC sports. Off season topics are allowed and even welcome for the next couple weeks.

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TELL everyone that you are a terrible carpetbagger without actually telling anyone that you are a terrible carpetbagger!

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The fact you think you need things like this to define yourself as a southern just highlights my previous point about people like you just saying whatever as a desperate measure to fit in.

I've never in my life done anything to "be southern" and I sure as frick won't be starting today.

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And yet magically I've gone over 50 years and never heard the term until today despite having eaten at I don't even know how many such places over my lifetime.

And I grew up where the term supposedly originated. Yet magically, nobody ever once called a restaurant such a thing even while I was in them eating.

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I am with you I was born and raised in the south never heard that term either. I understand like you what they mean but when our family went to it you called by name.

This sounds like a term some gen z hipster would make up to feel associated with something. The term may have been around for some time but only got popular this century.

I looked up a list of current Meat & 3 in NC and most of them were opened this century. Many of what fit this category are not even listed. I could probably name 50 with ease not listed.

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A what?

I missed the memo on this.

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Depends on who you are

Black = soul food

Southern White = country cookin

Blue Collar = meat & 3


For those in CKY a pit stop at Jackson's is well worth the trip

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I spent about half my life in Nashville, and the other half in north Alabama. Never once heard the term.

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I am so old I dated dirt's midwife. Term has been around forever.

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Reminds me of people acting like Nashville Hot Chicken is some ancient thing. Once again, grew up there and never heard of the shite until a few years ago.

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No offense, my guess is you are white and probably grew up in Brentwood. It has probably been just the last decade since white people in Nashville became aware of hot chicken. Black folks have known about it for ages.

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I one south of me maybe 20 minutes they make everything fresh. All the side dishes are made from scratch. The desserts as well. Tuesday my favorite for the banana pudding which will sell out before they close that evening.

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I really enjoy these few that actually have "homemade" food.

In recent years, there was a very good one called Micheal's in the little town of Brantley, Alabama, near where my brother lives in Troy, which just used locally grown corn, okra, peas, collards etc and made it all from scratch.

Ironically, I now find it easier to find homemade southern food with the type of farm fresh ingredients my grandmother would have used here in Brooklyn than traveling around the south.