Pruett’s Brings Barbecue and Vegetable Plates to the Same Big Table

The smell of barbecue can meet you before you reach the door at Pruett’s, a lively Southern restaurant where a plate of pulled pork has to share attention with turnip greens, squash casserole, fried okra and a piece of cornbread large enough to alter the rest of your lunch plans.

This is a broad, comfort-food-minded menu rather than a one-note barbecue stop. Diners can come in hungry for ribs or a pork sandwich, settle on fried catfish or chicken, pick through the daily offerings, or build a vegetable plate around the sides they actually came for.

The room is usually active, with local diners, families and groups filling the tables and enough conversation in the air to make it feel lived-in rather than formal. Service stays friendly and attentive amid the bustle, which suits a meal built around big plates and unhurried catching up.

Pulled pork and ribs are recurring favorites here. The ribs have a tender, smoky character, while pork appears in plates and sandwiches for the diner who wants barbecue in a more portable format.

Sides accompany many of the barbecue meals, and that matters at Pruett’s. The meat may be the reason you order, but the plate is designed to be a full Southern supper, not a small serving with a token scoop of beans.

For a table with mixed appetites, that breadth is useful. One person can order barbecue while another goes for a burger, hamburger steak or pork plate without anyone having to pretend they were in the mood for the same thing.

Pruett’s vegetable plates give the side dishes their own center-of-the-table status. Choices have included squash casserole, turnip greens, fried okra, black-eyed peas, creamed corn, butter beans, fried squash and gravy.

That list gives a good sense of the kitchen’s range: soft, savory casseroles beside greens, crisp fried vegetables, beans and the sort of gravy that makes a plain-looking plate feel like a proper meal. Macaroni and cheese, baked beans, fries and hush puppies add still more ways to fill out an order.

A vegetable plate also makes a fine counterpoint to the barbecue. Split ribs or pulled pork with someone else at the table, then give the sides room to do their work. With portions tending toward substantial, there is little risk of leaving hungry.

Fried catfish comes two ways: as a filet plate with two sides or as a sandwich served with cheese. The filet is notably large, and whole catfish plates are available for diners who want to take the fish dinner in a more traditional direction.

Fried chicken is offered in dark-meat portions as well as a larger meal. It is cooked fresh, so it can take longer than some other orders, a reasonable trade for chicken that has not been sitting around waiting for a plate.

Chicken fingers are another substantial option, with a light batter and seasoning rather than a thick, heavy coating. They fit the general Pruett’s pattern nicely: familiar food, generously handled.

Then there are the onion rings, light and crispy instead of beer-battered, served with a smoky honey-mustard-style sauce. It is a small menu detail, but a good one—the sort of side that can disappear from the basket before the main plates arrive.

The recurring Monday special is meatloaf with a choice of sides. Butter beans and broccoli casserole have made especially fitting companions, putting a weeknight-supper combination on a restaurant plate.

Daily specials help keep the menu from being only about smoked meat and fried food. They also give regulars a reason to look beyond their usual order, though offerings can vary beyond the specifically identified Monday meatloaf.

This is food with a practical, generous rhythm. Plates tend to include serious servings of meat, sides, a large drink and cornbread, so ordering one extra side merely because it sounds good can quickly become a very reasonable take-home decision.

Cornbread arrives in an exceptionally generous piece, more substantial than the polite little square some restaurants place beside a meal. It can hold its own against a full plate of barbecue or catfish, particularly when there are beans, greens or gravy involved.

Sweet tea is a natural choice with this style of food, and the large drinks keep pace with the portions. There is no need to turn lunch into an athletic event, but Pruett’s does make a persuasive case for settling in.

Banana pudding is a dependable finishing move after barbecue or a vegetable plate, with other homemade-style desserts available as well. By that point, dessert may require a little negotiation with the cornbread, but that is not the worst problem to have.

The front area gives waiting diners a place to sit when tables are occupied. A fireplace adds warmth to the dining room in winter, another fitting detail in a restaurant devoted to foods that have long been used to make a table feel welcoming.

Pruett’s is an indoor, casual dine-in restaurant, and reservations generally are not required. It is often busy, including on weekdays, with a crowd that adds energy to the room without turning the meal into a hushed affair.

Free parking is available, though finding a space can be harder when the restaurant is full. Families and groups of varying sizes fit comfortably into the flow here, especially when the table is willing to share a few sides.