Southern Culture on the SkidsMeat and three or Meat and three veg is a staple of rural cuisine throughout the world, though most notably in the Southern United States, Australia and England. The name is taken from the choice of any meat and three vegetable side dishes. In the Southern US it often comes with a piece of cornbread, while in other places it includes potatoes as the main carbohydrate. Often, the menu is set, and in some places, affixed to the wall. The menu is usually Prix Fixe; the price is the same no matter what selections are made. While similar to the blue plate special, blue plate specials can deviate from this format to be anything the management desires to feature. The fundamental philosophy of an affordable yet filling meal is the same.
"Meat and three" may also be used as a generic term for a restaurant which serves such a menu.
- Cultural references
"Meat and three" is referred to by Southern Culture on the Skids in their song Banana Puddin'.
So I was listening to the song mentioned above.
And it got me thinking. No stop it right now. I know the idea of a Southern Culture on the Skids getting anything intellectually out of you besides a good laugh is just silly right?
Well, you see my kids have a big problem with vegetables and of course my kids are not the only ones.
My wife rolls her eyes shrugs her shoulders and does not seem to really care but it bugs the ever living shit out of me that they barely ever eat anything green.
You see I remember when my grandmother used to always ever frickin meal serve at least 3 vegetables for every meat dish offered. Oh yes by the way, to pull that off for both dinner and supper ever day is a task in and of itself.
So, it went something like this. You would sit down and there would on your plate a big piece of Fried Chicken, turnip greens with a bit of hot vinegar sauce, yellow squash cooked with vidalia sweet onions and cornbread (biscuits were for breakfast).
Oh yes that is real cornbread no bacon and no sugar. The real deal just a cornmeal based quick bread.
The weird part is even in the South the entire tradition has gone to shit and its become nothing more than a restaurant dining thing instead of the way people eat every day.
In other words people do not say, "Yeah we sat down for dinner and had our usual meat and three."
Instead people would say like, "I am hungry man want to hit that meat and three joint off of Lee Highway?"
So for home cooks the tradition of one meat and three veggies along with a piece of bread of some sort is going by the wayside, even in the South.
I even had a kid argue with me that the term "meat and three" is used to describe a type of Southern restaurant that gives you the option of 3 sides with every meal and had nothing to do with home cooking at all which is funny.
Listen, I know Southerners do not have the low fat trendy style cuisine but replace the Fried Chicken with another meat and just riff off the concept. Think of it. Three vegetables for every one meat in your meal.
I mean its a fuckload more healthy than a lot of crazy ass diets floating around the internets and late-night tv informercials. More than one meat in one meal was considered back in the day either wasteful or extravagent something you did for big events.
Oh yes, isn't weird that all that is coming from one SCOTUS song too?
I guess I was just lucky I was not listening to Mojo Nixon and UFO's, Bigrigs and BBQ last night.
"Meat and three" may also be used as a generic term for a restaurant which serves such a menu.
- Cultural references
"Meat and three" is referred to by Southern Culture on the Skids in their song Banana Puddin'.
So I was listening to the song mentioned above.
And it got me thinking. No stop it right now. I know the idea of a Southern Culture on the Skids getting anything intellectually out of you besides a good laugh is just silly right?
Well, you see my kids have a big problem with vegetables and of course my kids are not the only ones.
My wife rolls her eyes shrugs her shoulders and does not seem to really care but it bugs the ever living shit out of me that they barely ever eat anything green.
You see I remember when my grandmother used to always ever frickin meal serve at least 3 vegetables for every meat dish offered. Oh yes by the way, to pull that off for both dinner and supper ever day is a task in and of itself.
So, it went something like this. You would sit down and there would on your plate a big piece of Fried Chicken, turnip greens with a bit of hot vinegar sauce, yellow squash cooked with vidalia sweet onions and cornbread (biscuits were for breakfast).
Oh yes that is real cornbread no bacon and no sugar. The real deal just a cornmeal based quick bread.
The weird part is even in the South the entire tradition has gone to shit and its become nothing more than a restaurant dining thing instead of the way people eat every day.
In other words people do not say, "Yeah we sat down for dinner and had our usual meat and three."
Instead people would say like, "I am hungry man want to hit that meat and three joint off of Lee Highway?"
So for home cooks the tradition of one meat and three veggies along with a piece of bread of some sort is going by the wayside, even in the South.
I even had a kid argue with me that the term "meat and three" is used to describe a type of Southern restaurant that gives you the option of 3 sides with every meal and had nothing to do with home cooking at all which is funny.
Listen, I know Southerners do not have the low fat trendy style cuisine but replace the Fried Chicken with another meat and just riff off the concept. Think of it. Three vegetables for every one meat in your meal.
I mean its a fuckload more healthy than a lot of crazy ass diets floating around the internets and late-night tv informercials. More than one meat in one meal was considered back in the day either wasteful or extravagent something you did for big events.
Oh yes, isn't weird that all that is coming from one SCOTUS song too?
I guess I was just lucky I was not listening to Mojo Nixon and UFO's, Bigrigs and BBQ last night.
