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Like a convivial pub, every neighborhood ought to have a restaurant that makes comfort food like fried chicken, meatloaf and fresh veggies. In the South, we're lucky that the plate lunch tradition survives at so many mom-and-pop places, despite the constant incursions of fast food chains.

One evening last week, at Quinnie's BBQ on LaVista Road in the Oak Grove community, a steady stream of customers filed through the door — many wearing a look on their faces that said they not only wanted but needed the stuff Willie Quinnie was cooking up

Becky Stein/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)
A classic meat-and-two-sides choice at Quinnie's BBQ: baked chicken with collard greens, carrots and corn bread.
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SOULFUL STEAM: Quinnie's is the quintessential soul food spot. Located in a strip center storefront, it has a kitschy look that's a cross between grandma's living room and a fluorescent-lit waiting room. A big-screen TV with the sound turned down and a radio tuned to a pop music station beam in news and entertainment. In what has become a favorite chow hound ritual, you line up and file past the steam table, picking and choosing among stainless steel trays loaded with meats and vegetables. Plates, with two sides and bread, top out at $8.

VEGGIE LIGHT: The sign may say "BBQ," but most folks come for the veggies, which the menu declares "are cooked w/o meat or grease." Purists may balk at the lack of pork fat (or even smoked turkey). Honestly, though, the lighter, unadulterated favor is a winning change of pace. Collards are bright green, with a soft crunch and pleasantly bitter edge. Other daily choices might include cabbage, black-eyed peas, corn, green beans, fried okra or fried green tomatoes. And, of course, there are those rich "vegetables" — loaded with butter, milk and cheese — baked squash and broccoli-rice casseroles and creamy mac-n-cheese.

FRIED, BAKED & BBQ: On Fridays, folks stop in for deep-fried catfish. Other days, it's fried chicken, with a classic, savory sticky-crispy coating — or huge breaded pork chops, hunks of ketchup-glazed meat loaf, or salmon patties. Slabs of barbecue ribs and decent pulled pork come with a thick, homemade-tasting red sauce. On the healthier side, opt for baked chicken or fish. The tasty corn bread has a nice, slightly sour, buttermilk twang.

SWEET & SWEETER: It's hard to say what's sweeter at Quinnie's — the tea or the desserts. Sugary crowd-pleasers include sticky peach cobbler, hefty slices of carrot or red velvet cake, and billowy banana pudding.