It doesn’t matter what color you are. If you grew up in the South, you grew up eating cholesterol-trafficking, delish, resourceful food like what meat-and-three restaurants serve, both at home and dining out. There’s soul food and there’s country cooking. And while those two Southern cuisine stables start with different origin stories, they share chromosomes and intertwine. Affordable proteins and veggies everyone can grow. When in doubt, fry it. From small towns to college towns to inner cities, meat-and-threes are the victuals tie the binds anyone with Southern roots or residence in their bloodstream.

Below are AL.com’s picks for the top five Huntsville meat-and-three restaurants. All our picks are affordable. No upscale appropriation here. And just local. No national or local chains. This kind of stuff is subjective as hell. You may think these picks suck, and that’s OK. The important thing is we’re talking about local food in Huntsville, a city increasingly carpetbagged by bean-counters looking to cash in on the city’s cultural and commercial rise. Long live the real-deal local Huntsville stuff, like these five joints.

MORE: Birmingham’s best meat-and-three: Our top 5

5. BUBBY’S DINER

8412 Whitesburg Drive S.E., facebook.com/bubbysdiner

They opened in February ‘21, but Bubby’s Diner evokes an era much farther back. Founded by married couple Chris Belcher and Shae Blecher, Bubby’s leans hard into 1950s vibes in its branding and décor. Think checkerboard, Elvis, Marilyn, vintage baseball, etc. Bubby’s, located in a former Gibson’s BBQ location, has quickly become a new South Huntsville classic, thanks to not only to atmosphere but its tasty down-to-earth breakfast (biscuits, pancakes, platters, etc.) and lunch (burgers, hot dogs, po boys, etc.) fare.

What to order: Meat-and-three-wise, the proteins are anchored by fried catfish, country fried steak with white gravy, meatloaf, etc. Go-to sides include mashed potatoes and brown gravy, corn nuggets and cowboy beans, the latter a spaghetti-western-worthy amalgam of baked beans, peppers, beef and bacon.

4. BLUE PLATE CAFE

3210 Governors Drive S.W., blueplatecafe.com

The parking lots often overflows at Blue Plate Cafe. Founded by Steak-Out/Rosie’s Cantina brainiac David Martin, Blue Plate has been a Huntsville dining fixture since “Lord of the Rings,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Matrix” were ruling cinemas. How does Blue Plate Cafe keep a waiting-list of regulars as food trends and local hotspots come and go? Southern-mom level hospitality and a PhD in frying stuff.

What to order: Like many meat-and-threes, Blue Plate Cafe rotates protein and sides offerings, keeping their menu a live animal. If they’re in the lineup that day, the nap-inducing pot roast and summer “tomatoes, onions and cucumbers” side are first-round draft picks. Allocate space for a slice of pie — especially the sunny-tart lemon ice box and brownie-gone-wild chocolate walnut.

3. G’S COUNTRY KITCHEN

2501 Oakwood Ave. N.W., facebook.com

Film crew location scouts, this is your “soul food scene” in the HSV. The G in G’s Country Kitchen stands for Greta. Back in the ‘90s, Greta Russell was working a corporate job that became increasingly demanding on her time without increasing her pay. With the encouragement of her family, she started G’s Country Kitchen in a submerged shopping center in North Huntsville. Since then, G’s, address 2501 Oakwood Ave. N.W., has become a signature Huntsville spot. It’s an affordable go-to for college students, as well as lunch-breakers and even the occasional celeb (Cedric the Entertainer, for example).

What to order: The fried catfish is salt-pepper juju, and the meatloaf’s here’s mammoth. Build your plate around one of those or do the four-veggie vegetable plate. Definitely include the hot-stuff fried okra in the mix.

2. BETTY MAE’S RESTAURANT

2007 N. Memorial Pkwy., facebook.com

It used to be, you kinda had to know Betty Mae’s Restaurant existed to find it. In the late 2000s, Betty Mae’s started off in a Grace Street building in a North Huntsville residential area. More recently, they moseyed their home-cooked wizardry to a North Parkway commercial strip, located in the shadows of a Lowe’s Home Improvement Center. It may be a bit easier to find now, but Betty Mae’s Restaurant has retained every electron of its greatness without sacrificing heart.

What to order: The fried chicken is special here. Extra oomph in those seasonings. The mac-and-cheese looks basic, but the taste and texture are anything but. The candied yams go down like a Funkadelic tour bus crashing into Thanksgiving dinner. And the collard greens will renew your chi.

1. WALTON’S SOUTHERN TABLE

4901 Whitesburg Drive, waltonssoutherntable.com

Walton’s Southern Table isn’t Huntsville’s coolest meat-and-three (that’s a jump ball between Betty Mae’s and G’s) but to me it’s the best. Another all-star from the Larry Bird of Huntsville restaurateurs, David Martin. Walton’s launched 18-ish years ago in a former Ruby Tuesday’s. Its rebooted innards are more like a posh cool mom’s place. Damask wallpaper, exposed brick, Town and Country-worthy light fixtures and seating. But what it lacks in bluesy anthropology, Walton’s makes up for in stellar homestyle food and the kind of warm-sharp table service that’s become an endangered species post-pandemic.

What to order: Their Southern-fried chicken is a star. The hashbrown casserole is like something a grandma contributes to a church potluck dinner. Connect the rest of your dots from there.

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