Unearth The Voyage
Tennessee’s most memorable meals often hide in the steam table’s shadows, where vegetables, casseroles, and cobblers steal the spotlight. This roundup celebrates cafeterias and meat-and-threes where the supporting cast turns into headliners, plate after generous plate. If you’ve ever built a meal around macaroni, greens, or cornbread, you’re in the right place. Bring an appetite—and maybe a second plate—because these side dishes are the stories you’ll tell later.
Wendell Smith’s Restaurant – Nashville
At Wendell Smith’s, the vegetable plate is the move that locals swear by—a triumphant parade of creamed corn, silky turnip greens, sweet yams, and whatever else is steaming fresh that day. The line hums with regulars comparing combinations while the staff ladles generous portions that feel like hospitality on a plate. Then there’s the dessert case: banana pudding layered with nostalgia and chess pie whose sugary snap tastes like handed-down wisdom. The sides rotate just enough to keep you curious, yet cling to tradition hard enough to ground you. It’s a classic meat-and-three in spirit, but the vegetables own the spotlight. Come for the pork chops if you must; you’ll stay for the greens, cornbread, and that last spoon of creamed corn.
Silver Sands Café – Nashville
Silver Sands Café proves that less décor can mean more flavor. The line moves briskly, but every regular slows when the greens come in view—collards and mustard greens that shimmer with seasoning and care. Vegetables here carry history in their texture: tender, never mushy, with pot likker that begs for cornbread. Beans, cabbage, and candied yams add a satisfying rhythm to any plate, turning a meat-and-three into a side-showcase. There’s comfort in the predictability of great taste, yet the kitchen still surprises with daily touches. It’s not flashy, but the flavor is fully lit. If you measure a cafeteria by its greens, this one tops the chart—and your plate—every time you slide your tray down the line.
Loveless Cafe – Nashville
Loveless Cafe may be famed for biscuits and country ham, yet the sides stage a captivating takeover. Imagine a spread where creamed corn, fried okra, and broccoli casserole jostle for space with buttery mashed potatoes and tangy slaw. It operates like a dream cafeteria: you make a plate of supporting actors, then realize they’re the whole show. Finish with a ladle of cobbler or a slice of pie, and you’ll understand why visitors become devoted regulars. The menu runs deep, the portions are bold, and the flavors feel both polished and homespun. Whether you’re a biscuit die-hard or a veggie enthusiast, the sides here turn lunch into a pilgrimage. Loveless proves the best meals have memorable chapters between the main attractions.
Barbara’s Home Cooking – Franklin
Barbara’s Home Cooking feels like a kitchen you already know, where the daily board decides your cravings for you. The sides rotate with the seasons and the market: hearty beans, tender squash, bright salads, and those spoonable casseroles that whisper childhood memories. Every scoop is seasoned with restraint and patience, proving comfort can be nuanced. Regulars arrive ready to pick vegetables before even glancing at the meats, and nobody blames them. The plates lean abundant, the service is neighborly, and the flavors settle in like a pleasant conversation. Expect classics, yes—but also small surprises, like a punchy relish or a crisp salad that keeps your fork moving. It’s the kind of place where sides claim both the first and last word.
Arnold’s Country Kitchen – Nashville
At Arnold’s Country Kitchen, the ritual is simple: pick your meat and then get lost in a sea of sides. Macaroni and cheese arrives with a caramelized crown, turnip greens glisten with depth, and baked apples perfume the line with cinnamon. Cornbread anchors it all, crumbly and generous. It’s the rare cafeteria where the sides look and taste like the main event, each scoop with a personality—comforting, bold, or quietly elegant. The stories here are edible: recipes perfected over decades, cooked for people who notice the difference. Lunch can feel like a reunion, with familiar flavors that still manage to surprise. Build your plate with intention, or follow your instincts; either way, you’ll find harmony in three scoops and a square of bread.
Country Boy Restaurant – Leiper’s Fork
Country Boy anchors Leiper’s Fork with the kind of straightforward comfort that feels earned. The sides come out humble and heartfelt: crisp-tender green beans, creamy peas, butter-rich corn, and rotating specials that nod to the season. Nothing screams for attention; everything rewards it. Plates arrive casual and generous, the service calls you by name, and the dining room hums with hometown energy. It’s a place where vegetables are treated with respect, not as afterthoughts. Whether you order a meat-and-three or build a veggie feast, the balance is there—salt, sweetness, and soul. Come for the small-town charm; stay because the sides are the truth. You’ll leave planning the next lineup, from peas to pie, with a smile and a satisfied pause.
Bell Buckle Café – Bell Buckle
Bell Buckle Café is where small-town charm meets big-side energy. The plate-lunch setup tempts with fried green tomatoes that crackle, caramelized squash that leans sweet-savory, and bread pudding that winks at you from the dessert corner. It’s the kind of place where a side can spark conversation across the room. Décor stays folksy, but the flavors bring sophistication in the seasoning and technique. The lineup shifts enough to keep locals guessing and loyal. Every plate ends up a collage of textures—crisp, creamy, and comforting. Whether you’re passing through for a festival or making a special detour, the sides here easily overshadow the entrees. Order with curiosity; you’ll leave with a new favorite and a craving that follows you home.
The Four Way – Memphis
The Four Way channels Memphis history through a soul food line that nourishes as it remembers. Grab a tray and drift past yams glossy with spice, mac and cheese with baked edges, greens layered with depth, and broccoli-cheese casserole that comforts like a hug. The sides feel elevated without losing their roots—familiar, focused, and deeply satisfying. Photos on the walls speak to legacy, while each bite speaks to care. Desserts carry equal weight, from cobblers to cakes that punctuate the meal with sweetness. This is community food, plated with purpose. Whether you come for the famed fried chicken or simply to build a vegetable plate, you’ll taste memory and craft. The sides linger, long after you’ve wiped the last crumb.
Barksdale’s – Memphis (Midtown)
Barksdale’s wears its Memphis heart on its sleeve—unpretentious, generous, and loyal to comfort. The side roster reads like an heirloom index: deviled eggs with tang, pea salad with snap, fried green tomatoes that hold their crunch. Each one supports the plate while insisting on a moment of its own. After a rebuild, the spirit remains: familiar, steady, and neighborly. You’ll spot regulars swapping stories while the kitchen keeps the steam table honest. It’s a place where you walk in planning a modest lunch and leave bragging about your sides. Meat is optional; satisfaction isn’t. If nostalgia had a flavor, it would taste like Barksdale’s sides—bright, balanced, and surprisingly memorable.
Brooks Shaw’s Old Country Store – Jackson
At Brooks Shaw’s Old Country Store, abundance is the philosophy and vegetables are the thesis. The buffet stretches with 14 to 15 options daily—greens deep with savory notes, pots of beans, sweet potato casserole crowned with pecans, and corn pudding that feels like a holiday. Here, choice becomes a joy rather than a burden. You’ll build a plate, then another, negotiating with your appetite as the sides keep calling. The country-store setting adds charm without overshadowing the star: variety handled with consistency. Families appreciate the freedom; enthusiasts appreciate the standards. It’s easy to forget the meat when the vegetables sing this loud. Save space for dessert—or don’t. In Jackson, the side dishes make room for themselves.
Bea’s Restaurant – Chattanooga
Bea’s turns side dishes into a social sport, sending them around the table on lazy Susans until conversation and comfort sync. Mashed potatoes, greens, beans, slaw, and more arrive in rotation, each bowl inviting another taste. The cadence is communal—share, spin, repeat—until dessert takes the baton with banana pudding or cobbler. It’s family-style eating that rewards curiosity and generosity in equal measure. Nothing feels precious; everything feels cared for. The sides here don’t just accompany—they gather people, loosen shoulders, and leave plates polished. Come hungry and friendly, and you’ll leave with both satisfied. In a city of scenic views, Bea’s offers one more: a table covered in sides that never seem to stop arriving.
Wally’s Restaurant – Chattanooga
Wally’s stakes its claim as Chattanooga’s original meat-and-three, and the sides make that claim credible. Think spread: peas with buttery depth, macaroni bubbling at the edges, turnip greens with a soulful finish, and cornbread gems begging to be dunked. With 20-plus options on busy days, decision-making becomes its own sport. The line moves, but staff give each scoop attention like it matters—because here, it does. Locals come for reliability and variety; newcomers stay because every bite tastes like a favorite. It’s cafeteria casual, service-forward, and proudly old-school. Build a plate that tilts toward vegetables and you’ll still feel like you feasted. Wally’s proves that abundance and quality can share the same tray.
Home Folks Family Restaurant – Soddy-Daisy
Home Folks delivers on its name with a family-run warmth and a side lineup worth a detour. Choose plate or buffet, then set your sights on vegetables and casseroles that taste like Sunday best on a Tuesday afternoon. Creamy, crunchy, buttery—textures trade places with ease, while seasoning stays smart and satisfying. The variety keeps families happy, from picky eaters to sides super-fans. Desserts seal the deal: banana pudding, cakes, and cobblers that feel celebratory without ceremony. Portions are generous, prices friendly, and the mood easygoing. It’s the kind of cafeteria where you construct a whole meal around sides and never miss the main. In Soddy-Daisy, the supporting cast takes a bow—and earns an encore.
