This is going to be my final meat-n-three adventure for awhile. Or, at least, until my constitution recovers and I shed a few pounds. Today I didn’t feel like going alone, so I drafted my office mate, Rick, to go to Bill’s Place for lunch. It’s been nearly five years since either of us had visited, so we figured it had been sufficiently long enough to forget any unpleasantries.
Bill’s Place is at a country crossroad in between Duncan and Reidville, and is the type of place you would drive right past if you didn’t know what it was. The building is tiny, but the multitude of cars park all around and lining the road at breakfast and lunch bely the contents within. Right next door is a lawn mower repair shop with concertina razor wire, which might also deter folks from stopping for a quick bite.
About eight tables are crammed into the tiny space. There is no non-smoking section, as far as I can tell, and while there was a slight lingering odor, fortunately, no one was lighting up while we were there. The place looks like it had been used for some other purpose at one time, and the two tiny dining areas look makeshift, at best. In the room where we were seated, there was an old brown refrigerator whose only purpose seemed to be as a TV stand – complete with afternoon soaps.
Waitress: Do you boys need me to bring you some silverware?
Workers: Nah, we got fingers.
Even with as few tables as there were, the waitress seemed harried, and took awhile getting to us. There is absolutely no room for a buffet here, so they still have the traditional meat-n-three on the menu. There were other sandwich and salad options on the menu. I’d heard one of the secretaries at the office rave over their "burned baloney sandwiches." How appetizing.
I got country steak, rice & gravy, corn on the cobb, and squash casserole. Rick got a chicken salad. Of the three places I’ve visited lately, this is the best, by far. Everything was seasoned nicely, and the squash casserole was particularly tasty. Rick’s salad looked like diced grilled chicken had been placed atop a plain traditional salad – fairly plain and bland, but he said it was OK.
Bill’s Place is the perfect example of the meat-n-three. It has quite a local reputation, and thrives because it is small, but most importantly because it is consistent.