meat-and-three
n.— «Meat-and-three is simply what people call a lunch of one meat and a choice of three vegetables. Meat and three, you got it. Over the years, mom-and-pop cafes were known for this simple, special food. While fast-food establishments have taken some share of this market, you’ll still hear people who treasure the memory and want to keep meat-and-three going as long as lunch is a part of everyday life.» —“The Back Nine features favorite meat-and-three” by Jo Ellen O’Hara Birmingham News (Ala.) Mar. 10, 2006. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Nancy Gabriel from Ithaca, New York, recalls her father’s no-nonsense responses to minor injuries when she was a child: After making sure she was really all right, he’d say, It’s far enough from your heart; it won’t kill you. Other times he might...
Mackenzie from Green Bay, Wisconsin, learned the word agita from a friend in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. She uses it to refer to “that heavy, sluggish feeling one gets after eating too much,” the feeling some call the meat sweats. The word agita comes...
To me, “meat-and-three” refers not to the meal (which could be dinner as well as lunch), but to the restaurant where such meals are served. Similar to “blue-plate” to mean a restaurant or diner that offers blue plate specials.