Leave the white napkins and fancy get-ups at home. Today, we’re talking about places to get great food in Chattanooga without the frills. In the South, we call these places “meat and threes,” and meals typically feature a meat star (meatloaf, country-fried chicken, pork chop, etc.) and your choice of delicious sides.
The origin of the concept is said to have started in Nashville, but Chattanooga’s Zarzour’s Café (1627 Rossville Ave.) has been serving its variation since 1918.
But that’s just the start. Here are 11 great Chattanooga meat and threes. Comment below and tell us where we should visit next.
🍴Bea’s Restaurant | 4500 Dodds Ave.
There isn’t an establishment in Chattanooga that conjures more nostalgia and memories than Bea’s, which has remained unchanged for the most part since it opened in 1950. All the food is placed in metal serving dishes and guests are required to spin the Lazy Susan to access them.
🍴Herman’s Soul Food | 3821 Brainerd Road
As far as “soul food” goes, it doesn’t get much better than Herman’s. The menu is like looking at an overview of the history of traditional Southern food: fried chicken, liver and onions, fried catfish, ham hocks + chopped steak. Each dish comes with your choice of a cornbread muffin or roll + two sides.
🍴Southern Traditions Restaurant | 3224 Dayton Blvd.
This unassuming old-school restaurant is true to its name. You’ll find a great, simple breakfast + a lunch special that will get you out the door spending less than $10. Spaghetti, “cube steak” + all-you-can-eat catfish every week. Yum.
🍴The Corner Café | 3920 Ringgold Road
The menu is filled with traditional breakfast + lunch offerings at ridiculously low prices. You can expect a comforting, homely feel at the restaurant.
🍴Southern Star | 1300 Broad St.
Want to miss the lunch rush? The popular “blue plate” daily special — a meat and three sides — is available all day. Southern Star could be described as a sort of neotraditional mom and pop restaurant. You’ll spend a little more than you would at “Granny’s Grease House Pancake Hut,” but the food is worth the price.
🍴Puckett’s Grocery | 2 W. Aquarium Way
The perfect place for a quick downtown bite. Puckett’s might also be the biggest meat and three restaurant on our list. One online reviewer called it an “upscale meat and three.” (Pro-tip: Try the barbecue even if you’ll be miserable the rest of the day.)
🍴Wally’s | 1600 McCallie Ave. + 6521 Ringgold Road
The cafeteria-style diner is cheap, filling and worth every penny. The list of specials is straight out of a 1950s Southern kitchen: catfish, country-style steak, fried chicken livers, salmon patties, meatloaf, fried pork chops, and chicken + dressing.
🍴Zarzour’s Café | 1627 Rossville Ave.
This is the oldest restaurant in Chattanooga at over 100. Expect decadent plates, awesome hamburgers + a nostalgic spaghetti you can’t find anywhere else in town. You can’t go wrong with the daily special: a traditional meat and three.
🍴Lillie Mae’s Place | 4712 Dayton Blvd.
A popular Red Bank breakfast spot, Lillie Mae’s Place also serves a mean meat and three during lunch and dinner. The veggie list is impressive. Expect a short wait on weekends.
🍴Innside Restaurant | 800 Chestnut St.
Innside Restaurant is one of the only remaining restaurants along Chestnut Street that predate the re-brand to the West Village. Known for a cheap, delicious breakfast, the restaurant also serves a daily meat and two. Chicken and dressing? Meatloaf? Yes, please.
🍴Longhorn Restaurant | 129 N. Market St.
Breakfast and lunch draw a constant stream of customers each day and the restaurant closes at 2 p.m. It’s a place where blue-collar workers can sit next to doctors and lawyers, studious college students next to octogenarians.
