What makes up a “proper” meal?
For some people, it might be a fresh green salad, topped with lots of veggies, chickpeas and a light, tangy dressing of balsamic and oil. For others, it’s a burger with all the fixin’s, fries and a tall milkshake. For others sill, it’s pasta with Sunday gravy, or an Asian stir-fry with plenty of pearly rice, or carnitas with hot corn tortillas.
But we’re in the South, and for most of us, a proper meal is classic: a homey meat dish, with a couple of tasty sides and yummy bread. And that’s exactly what Aiken’s The Proper Plate serves up.
Opened last April, the downtown Aiken eatery offers the classic meat ‘n’ two inside a sophisticated, eco-friendly space (eco-friendly as in everything is served in biodegradable packaging). Cream-colored walls and navy beadboard paneling are brightened with pops of chartreuse green all over—in the overhead lamps, in the large-format paintings and in the vintage-look wallpaper behind the long bar where you order.
Above that bar is a digital menu featuring the day’s offerings, which this day included meatloaf, beef liver, fried chicken and beef tips, with sides of mac and cheese, lima beans, mash and gravy, sweet potato casserole, sweet corn, collards and green beans. Cold sides were garden salad, cucumber and tomato salad, pasta or potato salad, and carrot raisin salad, plus bread options of a buttermilk biscuit, jalapeño cheddar cornbread or citrus cranberry bread.
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The menu is super customizable; you can order a meat ‘n’ two, add a side (or more), or just choose three sides and bread for your meal. (Desserts and drinks are additional, and include cookies, cake, pie or an ice cream sandwich.)
Even better, if you decide you don’t want to stay and eat in their spacious dining room (although you should if you can—it’s huge, with both regular and high-top seating), you can bring a meal home, thanks to their grab ‘n’ go menu. You can choose from boxed lunches to a full family chicken dinner, or grab one of seven cold dishes (think chicken salad or pimento cheese) or seven hot casseroles or main dishes (like lasagna or chicken pot pie).
I already knew what I wanted. For me, a proper meal almost always has gravy (plus more gravy), so I chose the beef tips, with mash and gravy, lima beans, and for something fun, the citrus cranberry bread.
It didn’t take long for them to dish up my order. I loved the plate it was served in, with little compartments that reminded me of an old-school TV dinner, with even a tiny hollow right in the center for a pat of butter. It felt large and generous—and not to be too punny—a proper meal.
And it all tasted like a homecooked meal, in the best sense of the word. The beef tips were tender strands of shredded beef, seasoned well in a rich brown gravy. That same gravy was on the mashed potatoes, which was peppery and had a few homey lumps like you’d get if your grandma (or in my case, aunt) had used an old-fashioned masher.
The lima beans were something I still dream about—super tender, tangy and also smoky, all in a creamy gravy. The fruit bread—really a muffin—was just like cake to me, sweet but not too sweet, with bright flavors of orange and cranberry.
I’m not too embarrassed to say that I did what most mamas and grandmamas tell kids to do: I cleaned my plate.
We all have different definitions of what make up a proper plate. But if your definition is anything like mine—or even if it’s not!—with its variety and delicious take on home cooking, I think you’ll find what you’re looking for at Aiken’s The Proper Plate.
Make Your Reservation
The Proper Plate
119 Laurens St. SW, Aiken
Entrée cost: $10 to $14
