Rate the Best Meat and Three in Nashville

To rate the best meat and three in Nashville, score the meat, the sides, the bread and the plate as a whole separately. A meat and three is a Southern lunch tradition: you choose one meat and three sides from a daily list, with a roll or cornbread. The rules are loose and the arguments are fierce.

The method is a card you can carry to any cafeteria line in the city. Meat and three plates reward the same plate on different days.

Ask what is on the board that day and compare the same meat across kitchens, since a daily list changes. Write the date with each score.

What exactly is a meat and three?

It is a cafeteria-style plate. You walk a line, point at a meat such as fried chicken, meatloaf, country fried steak, roast beef or baked ham, and then pick three sides from a board. Sides are called vegetables on the menu, even when they are mac and cheese, fried okra or a scoop of banana pudding. Cornbread or a yeast roll finishes the plate, and sweet tea goes alongside.

Plates change daily, and many kitchens have a fixed schedule: meatloaf on Monday, chicken on Wednesday, fish on Friday. Ask what is on today.

How to rate the best meat and three in Nashville, in four parts

Break the plate into four parts: the meat, the sides, the bread and the whole. Each gets a hit, a fine or a miss, and a few words.

This keeps you from letting one great side hide a dry chicken, or the other way round. A plate that is excellent in two parts and fine in two is a reliable lunch. A plate that is excellent in one and weak in three is a story, but not a repeat.

How do you judge the meat?

Fried chicken should have a crisp, well-seasoned crust and juicy meat, not oil pooled in the paper. Meatloaf should be moist and savory, with a sauce that adds tang. Roast beef should be tender and sliced, with gravy. Country fried steak should keep its crust under the gravy. Whatever the meat, ask yourself whether it tastes of itself or of salt.

Taste it alone first. Then taste it with a side, since the point of the plate is the combination.

What makes a good vegetable side?

Greens should be tender and savory, with the pot liquor, the cooking juices, worth a spoonful. Mac and cheese should be creamy and baked at the edges. Green beans should have a smoky depth, not a limp gray color. Fried okra should crunch. Mashed potatoes should hold gravy without turning to paste.

Try to choose contrast: something creamy, something green and something sharp or fried. If three sides taste alike, you have wasted a chance.

How do the roll and the dessert count?

Bread is the quiet judge. A yeast roll should be soft and slightly sweet, and cornbread should be crumbly or tender depending on the style. Either should help clean the plate.

Many meat and three kitchens also have a dessert board: banana pudding, cobbler, pie or a cake. Treat dessert as a bonus mark. A good cobbler can lift a plate, and a weak one need not sink it.

How do you build a Nashville meat and three list?

Visit a few kitchens and order the same type of meat each time, such as fried chicken, so you can compare like with like. Write the date, the meat, the three sides and your four marks. Add a line about the room: a cafeteria line, a booth, a lunch crowd.

A Nashville meat and three list can also record the day, because Wednesday chicken is different from Saturday chicken. After a handful of visits, you will see which kitchens are consistent, and which are best on a particular day. The Atlanta peach cobbler list guide covers the dessert side of the Southern plate.

How do you turn the list into a Nashville Southern food ranking?

Sort by meat first, then by sides, then overall. A kitchen that tops all three is a keeper. A Nashville Southern food ranking of your own will be shorter and more honest than a public list, and it will change as you eat more.

Give reasons, not scores. "Best greens, average chicken, great cornbread" helps a friend pick a lunch. Do not forget lunch hours: most meat and three kitchens serve a limited window and run out of popular items.

How do you share Nashville favorites?

Pass on a short card: the name of the kitchen, the day to go and the plate to order. If you are hosting out-of-town guests, plan a lunch and let each person choose a different meat. The table will teach you more than a review.

For the wider view, the US guides hub lists more cities, and the guide to starting a food list for your state shows how to scale from one dish to a whole region.

How this works in the app: Rate places.

On your next plate, get the Mosey app, rate the meat, the sides and the bread and build a list of the Nashville lunches you would defend.