Vegetarian Eating in Birmingham: Vegetable Plates

Vegetarian eating in Birmingham often begins at a meat and three, where a cafeteria steam table can offer dozens of vegetables a day. The catch is that Southern vegetables are frequently seasoned with pork or meat stock. Order a vegetable plate, ask what each side is cooked with and treat the answer as information, never a guarantee.

This guide promises nothing about any menu. It gives you the questions to ask, the dishes that are often meatless and a way to rate what you eat so the next person knows more. It is written for vegetarians, but the same questions help anyone avoiding pork for any reason.

What is a vegetable plate at a meat and three?

A plate of vegetables replaces the meat with extra sides, so you choose several vegetables and potatoes instead of one meat and three. Birmingham's local news guide lists common sides such as mac and cheese, collard greens, fried okra, creamed corn, fried green tomatoes and sweet potato casserole, and says menus draw on Southern and Greek or Mediterranean influences.

Ask whether the kitchen offers one, and how many sides it includes. Prices and portions vary, so ask what the plate includes before you order, and whether cornbread or a roll comes with it. Some places will, and some may count a salad bar item as a vegetable, as some cafeterias do.

Which Southern sides are usually meatless?

Some sides are meatless by nature, but the cook decides. Fried okra, fried green tomatoes, sweet potato casserole and a plain salad are often meatless, though they may share fryers with chicken or fish. Mac and cheese is cheese and pasta, but ask about bacon on top.

Do not assume. A side that looks like a vegetable may have been cooked with a ham hock, bacon fat or chicken stock. Ask for each one by name. Cornbread, rolls and biscuits are worth a question too, since some are made with lard or bacon drippings, and desserts such as cobbler may use a shortening you want to know about.

What does seasoned with pork mean?

In traditional Southern cooking, greens, beans and sometimes peas are simmered with a piece of smoked pork, such as a ham hock or fatback, to add flavor. The result is rich and savory. The liquid left in the pot, called pot likker, is highly prized, and it carries the pork flavor.

If you avoid pork, ask whether the greens are seasoned with pork or with smoked turkey, which is also meat, or with only vegetables and oil. Many kitchens will tell you plainly. An honest "yes, it has pork" is the useful answer.

How do you ask about hidden meat in Southern cooking?

Ask three plain questions. Is this cooked with meat or meat stock? Is it fried in the same oil as meat? Is there bacon or ham in it? Ask each question for each side, and ask again at a new kitchen.

If you eat fish or eggs but not meat, say that too, because cooks treat those as separate choices. Ask about the cornbread and the dessert before you commit, since a plate that is meatless in the pots can still pick up lard in the baking. Keep the conversation friendly and short, because cooks on a steam table line answer the same questions all day.

Mention what you avoid in clear terms, before the server walks away from the table. Vegetarian, no pork and no meat stock are different requests, so say which applies. If the server is unsure, ask them to check with the cook, and be patient.

What do Greek-Southern menus add?

Birmingham's meat-and-three tradition grew with Greek immigrant families, and some kitchens add Mediterranean dishes beside Southern ones. Local news coverage describes Greek or Mediterranean influences at many of the city's meat-and-three restaurants. Spinach pie, salads, rice and lemon-dressed vegetables can offer meatless choices, but ask about stock, feta and phyllo layers brushed with butter.

If you eat dairy and eggs, Greek dishes may suit you, and if you are vegan, ask about every layer. A lemony rice, a bean dish or a simple tomato and cucumber salad can make a good plate, and each deserves a quick question. Order slowly, and let the server describe each dish, so that a surprise is less likely.

How can Mosey help with vegetarian eating in Birmingham?

In the Mosey app, the Vegetarian and Vegan tags are labels raters can add to a place and filter by. A tag is what a rater chose, so keep asking the kitchen. The most useful ratings describe the plate: "vegetable plate, asked about the greens, no pork".

Rate by the dish so "okra, tomatoes, sweet potatoes" is on record, and keep a list of kitchens that treated you well. Share it with a friend, follow friends who eat the same way and tag the people you ate with so each of you can add your own rating of the same meal.

What else should you read?

The meat and three guide explains the plate, and the neighborhood guide maps where to eat. See the Birmingham page, the Alabama page and the US food guides.

Before your next plate lunch, get the Mosey app, add a tag to your rating and note what the kitchen told you.