History
The meat-and-three Southern lunch grew out of Depression-era cafeteria service in the American South, codified across Alabama and Tennessee. Niki's West opened on Finley Avenue West in 1957 with steam-table cafeteria lines and remains the canonical Birmingham version. Eagle's Restaurant in Smithfield has cooked Black soul-food meat-and-three since 1951 and Demetri's BBQ in Homewood has run a Greek-American meat-and-three since 1973. The format is a daily-rotating board of meats and a steady roster of vegetable sides cooked from scratch.
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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy, Eggs
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs
- 240ml buttermilk
- 200g flour seasoned with 2 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Vegetable oil for shallow-frying
- 500g collard greens, washed and stems removed
- 200g salt-cured pork (ham hock or smoked pork)
- 500g russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 120ml whole milk
- 60g butter
- 1 can (425g) baked beans
Method
- Marinate the chicken thighs in buttermilk for at least 30 minutes (overnight is better).
- Simmer the collard greens with the smoked pork in 1L water for 45 minutes, until tender.
- Boil the potatoes until fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, mash with milk and butter, salt to taste.
- Dredge the buttermilk-marinated chicken in the seasoned flour. Shallow-fry in 1cm of oil at 180C / 350F until golden, 6 to 8 minutes per side.
- Warm the baked beans in a small pot.
- Plate each portion with a chicken thigh, a scoop of mashed potatoes, a scoop of collards and a scoop of baked beans. Serve with cornbread and sweet tea.
Tip from the editors. Vary the three sides daily; classic rotations include collards, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, fried okra, butter beans and turnip greens with cornbread.
Where to eat meat-and-three southern lunch
Meat-and-three Southern lunch in Birmingham
Niki's West ★ 4.8
Niki's West on Finley Avenue West Birmingham has run the meat-and-three from a cafeteria steam table since 1957, opposite the Alabama Farmers Market.
Why locals goTourists rarely cross the rail tracks to the Acipco-Finley district to find this 1957 cafeteria; locals queue for the catfish.
TipGet there by 12:30 for the fried catfish and turnip greens; weekday lunch is the peak.
Eagle's Restaurant ★ 4.7
Eagle's Restaurant on 16th Street North in Smithfield is the Black-owned soul-food anchor since 1951, with the Friday catfish and a multi-generation kitchen.
Why locals goThe Smithfield Black-owned soul-food kitchen since 1951 sits a block from Acipco and most non-locals never find it.
TipOrder the Friday catfish; closed Saturday and Monday so plan around the schedule.
Demetri's BBQ ★ 4.0
Demetri's BBQ on 28th Avenue South Homewood Birmingham has run a Greek-American meat-and-three since 1973, continuing the 1961 El Rancho BBQ tradition.
Why locals goThe 1973 Greek-American meat-and-three in Homewood is masked behind a barbecue sign; locals know it as a Birmingham lunch institution.
TipOrder the Greek salad alongside the pulled-pork plate to taste the Greek-American crossover.
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