Southern Food in Nashville - Meat and three

Nashville and food is a tricky situation. We are known for fried chicken and most things fried but we are also known for meat and three's. We don't have a certain thing that we are known for when it comes to food but we are slowly building an amazing network and family of restaurants, candy shops, chocolatiers and locally grown foods.

What is a meat and three? It is where you go and pick some meat from a selection of anywhere from 3 to 6 choices and then 2 or 3 choices of vegetables on the side. For the vegetarians there is always the option of getting a plate of 3 or 4 vegetables. Each dish comes with either biscuits or cornbread and the desserts are most always delicious and homemade.

The desserts are often something along the lines of banana pudding, apple or peach cobbler, pie or cake. Always some variety with some places having more choices then others. When it comes to the pies you usually have some pecan, apple, chess, sweet potato, chocolate, coconut and sometimes even more options. Cakes are usually a yellow cake with chocolate icing, coconut and some others.

When it comes to drinks most folks go with sweet iced tea but you usually also have the options of lemonade, coffee, sodas and not much more then that.

Business hours are usually lunch time which usually means 11am-2 or 3pm. Some places are open for dinner but it is always best to check before assuming because most of the meat and threes are family owned and they want to get home to be with their family as much as possible.

This will get you started and if you have any questions or thoughts, email or call me. My cell phone number is 615-400-0966 and my email address is corey@webbspunideas.com

I look forward to seeing you all out there and trying our local foods and restaurants. Enjoy the taste of Nashville, ya'll!

Recent restaurant samplings in Nashville

Tokyo (Sushi)
spider roll
volcano roll
plum wine

Noshville (New York-style deli)
salami and eggs
hash browns
everything bagel
coffee

B & C Bar-B-Q (BBQ)
pulled pork
smoked salmon
sweet tea

Caney Fork Fish Camp (Seafood, American)
shrimp & grits (shrimp and bacon in a cajun cream sauce on two chipotle cheddar grit cakes)
sweet tea

Dinner Bell Meat (Meat & Three)
mashed potatoes w/ gravy
corn nuggets
green beans
squash casserole
biscuits
sweet tea

Provence (Cafe)
1/2 roast beef sandwich
tomato basil soup
pecan sandy cookie
Tuscan bread (a loaf to take home)

Wendell Smith's (Meat & Three)
turnip greens
mashed potatoes w/ gravy
macaroni and cheese
white beans
cornbread
sweet tea

Bobbie's Dairy Dip (Ice Cream, Soda Shop)
dipped ice cream cone (butterscotch)

Dinner Bell- Doggie Bag by Smokey

Star Cafe- Meat and Three's in Nashville series

Star Cafe

429 North Main Street (across from O'Reilly Auto Parts)

Goodlettsville, TN

615-855-0903

Doggie Bag by Smokey the Caninecierge- Star Cafe

Wendell Smith's in Nashville (meat and three series, part 1)

The first in our series about meat and three restaurants in Nashville. We'll have more coming up in the future so come back and check them all out.

Chuck Waggon talks about the first meat and three to be featured in the new series by Webbspun Ideas

Coming soon...Monday meat and three

Sorry for the home repairs but it had to be done.

Baker's Cafe- "The Down Home Restaurant" Review in the Tennessean

At Baker's Cafe, years of practice have made this restaurant's food a favorite among locals.

One of Goodlettsville's popular meat-and-three eateries wasn't started by professional chefs but by a husband-and-wife team who decided that providing good food and down-home hospitality was to be their life.



"My wife and I were both in sales and just thought we could open a restaurant. I didn't even know how to make spaghetti," Brian Baker said.

Baker and his wife, Tina, first leased the building at 503 S. Main St. but knew a year later they had made the right decision and bought the place. Perfecting family recipes eventually came, too.

"I hired three cooks in the beginning, but that didn't last, and by the third day I had to shut down because I couldn't cook," Brian Baker said. "My mom said we couldn't do that, and it was about time I learned to cook."

Read the entire review in the Tennessean.

So What is Nashville Known For in the Food World?

Catfish from Bakers Cafe in Goodlettsville

Is it our meat and three's, hot chicken, country ham or biscuits and gravy? I think we are known for all of these. I know all of the things I mentioned can be found all through the south and yes, I do believe we have some of the best in the nation.

C'mon, don't you think Arnold's or other meat and three's help define us? Aren't we just incredibly proud of Loveless Cafe's biscuits and country hams? What about Prince's and 400 degrees and the other hot chicken establishments, don't they mean something to the city and our pride?

Tell me what you think we are known for or should promote as our food.

Breakfast at the Loveless Cafe

Sunday Lunch at Joe's in Hendersonville

A really good restaurant in Hendersonville with delicious food. The service has always been nice but sometimes they need some help during those really busy times. The layout of the restaurant is unique and cold. They really need to add some art, put another type of floor down or something to feel more inviting and homey.

The food is good and that is the main thing. So take your appetite and enjoy some good Southern food and be sure to save room for dessert. Maria is the main cook and she is fantastic, funny and a real talker.

What we ate:

2 Cheeseburgers
1 Grilled Chicken Sandwich
Fried Chicken with green beans, macaroni and cheese, cornbread and sweet tea.

Desserts:
Key Lime Pie
Banana Pudding
Chocolate-Coconut Pie
Peach Cobbler

Joe's Place Family Restaurant

We stopped in around 10:00am to get a bacon biscuit or something to hold us over for a while and stumbled across a gold mine of good food. They had just opened and we had the place to ourselves and we were treated like royalty. Our server Tammy told us about how they use only fresh meats and vegetables, the specials that day and showed us the homemade pies.

They had 8 or 9 pies that looked like they had been delivered from heaven that morning. Perhaps the most unusual one was a strawberry jello pie. Yeah, you read that right, JELLO. Maria, the cook, uses it for flavoring and a bit dusted on top for decoration. I didn't try it because I wanted the chocolate/coconut pie and I was happy that I did because it was incredible. I looked good and the taste was unbelievably good.

I had the beef enchilada which the only have on the second Thursday of each month. Now Maria is from Mexico originally and she puts her all into her food, especially this one since it is the only Mexican dish they have, which made the meal so refreshing and pleasurable. The meal included two beef beef enchiladas, a creamy Spanich rice, Mexican corn, refried beans, spicy cornbread and homemade salsa. The salsa was so good with lots of taste and just a hint of heat while the cornbread has a phenomenal taste and nice texture.

The salmon was fresh and we received two patties along with fresh turnip greens that were so full of taste and you could tell the difference from the canned greens that are just cooked. These were made with love and oh how it makes a difference.

I highly recommend this place. Be sure to talk to Tammy and Maria and tell them Corey says hi.

Where we ate:
Joe's Place Family Restaurant
2216 Stop 30 Rd
Hendersonville Tn.
615-826-3983
10:00am-3:00pm Monday thru Friday
10:00am-2:00pm Sunday

What we ate:
~Beef Enchilada w/ Mexican corn, refried beans, Spanish rice, spicy cornbread and homemade salsa
~Salmon patties with fresh turnip greens, mashed potatoes and corn bread
~Chocolate/Coconut Pie
~2 Sweet Tea w/ Lemon