Tracy Lee Karner

Kleer-vu Lunchroom Makes Soul Food as Good as it Gets

Tracy Lee Karner
The greens, and all the food at Kleer-vu Lunchroom in Murfreesboro, TN are so delicious, that, although I don’t know the cooks, I know they’ve got a whole lot of love in their hearts, because you can’t make food that’s consistently this great, without love.
I didn’t know I loved turnip greens until I tried them at Murfreesboro’s hidden little gem. This place makes the best turnip greens  and the best soul food I’ve ever had, anywhere. When greens are not made with a loving touch and a little fat, they’re bitter (the same thing happens to people who suffer from neglect, so don’t neglect your loved ones nor your greens).
Soul food has a reputation for being unhealthy, but I figure when food is made-from scratch and tastes as smashingly delicious as they make it at Kleer-vu, well, it’s gotta be good for me. It gives me happy mouth syndrome. It’s not fancy food, it’s just glorious food.

Tracy Lee Karner
Oven-baked barbecue ribs, green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy and fried Cornbread at Kleer-vu Lunchroom.

Tracy Lee Karner
Fried Chicken, Corn-bread Dressing & Gravy, Turnip Greens, Unsweet Tea, and Kleer-vu’s amazing deep-fried-corn bread  which melds crispy and creamy into one heavenly bite.

Tracy Lee Karner
Kleer-vu Lunchroom is a legendary Meat-and-Three Cafeteria in Murfreesboro, Tennesee.

People from the middle south aren’t aware there are whole regions of America where Joe Average would shake his bewildered head and ask “Huh?” in response to the phrase, “It’s a Meat-n-three.” 
A “meat-and-three” is a diner or cafeteria serving southern style down-home food. The customer selects one meat from a changing list of three to six daily choices–fried chicken, ham, roast beef, ribs, pork shoulder or chops, catfish, meat loaf, country fried steak and not uncommonly liver or pigs feet. Next, pick three sides from a choice of a dozen or more–turnip greens, spinach, macaroni and cheese, baked apples, black-eyed peas, green beans, pinto beans, white beans, mashed potatoes, corn-bread dressing, sweet potatoes, okra, broccoli in cheese sauce, coleslaw. Add corn bread and a sigh of comfort. These days, plenty of people skip the meat and order four sides.
Tracy Lee Karner
There’s always a line at Kleer-vu, but it moves quickly.

We’ve eaten at Kleer-Vu half a dozen times in the past year and every time the food was absolutely sublime. There might be other meat-and-threes that can make a meal as good as they do. But it’s simply not possible to make this style of southern food better than they do.
226 South Highland Avenue  Murfreesboro, TN 37130
(615) 896-0520 Open Mondays through Thursdays, 11am – 6 pm, Fridays & Saturdays 11am – 7 pm,
And they’re closed on Sundays, bless their sane hearts.
Kleer-vu’s honest home cooking is as good as it gets, and then some. But, if you can’t get to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to try the best turnip greens in town, you can easily cook up a mess at home, which is what I’m going to do right now, inspired by some of the best cooks in Murfreesboro.
Thank you, Kleer-vu, for making happy mouths in the ‘Boro.
Tracy Lee Karner
The best soul-food in Murfreesboro is at Kleer-vu.

To go to my tasty turnip greens recipe, click here.