Tucked away from the corner of highland and Vine in a non-descript white building sits a Murfreesboro tradition that mostly only locals know about, at least for now.
For 30 years, Rebecca Patton has owned and operated the meat and three, legendary for its downhome cooking. These days her daughter Anita Norman is the smiling face of Kleer-Vu, but there are two things that haven’t changed: the friendly service and the incredible Southern cuisine.
The cafeteria-style restaurant features crisp fried chicken, mouth-watering barbecue pork, meatloaf better than your momma makes, smothered pork steak and chicken and dressing so good you’ll be swearing it’s November. On certain days, if you’re lucky, you can order yourself some steaming hot ribs drenched in a sumptuous homemade sauce.
The menu changes daily, but staples such as catfish and chitterlings can always be ordered from the kitchen. They also prepare the best veggies in town?turnip greens, okra, cabbage, spinach, green and lima beans, and to-die-for mashed potatoes. Their macaroni and cheese is so good, it’ll make you wish cheese was a vegetable.
“I’ve always wanted the atmosphere and food to be as though you’re eating at your grandmother’s house,” says Patton, who still makes it down to the restaurant from her Williamson County home several times a week.
Mission accomplished.
Kleer-Vu attracts a variety of clientele from all over the city and within its walls gathers a very diverse crowd, young and old. One can find downtown executives, old-timers from the neighborhood, and college students eager for a home-cooked meal, all mingling with a common desire?some good eating!
Catering is available for anything from family picnics to business dinners. Recently, they prepared a complete dinner for a wedding reception of two MTSU grads who shared many a meal together at the restaurant.
And there may be no better place to woo a new business client than a meal at Kleer-Vu. Frequent diner Shirley Hayes of Prudential Reality does her part to share the secret.
“I bring in clients, recommend it to newcomers in town and business associates. This is some of the best soul food the South has to offer,” she exclaims.
No kidding. Have you ever seen a four-year-old shovel in spinach by the mouthful? That’s a daily occurrence at Kleer-Vu. We’ll all eat our vegetables, if they’re gonna taste this good!
And, oh man?the best sweet tea on earth! With the perfect blend of sweetness, it’s enough to sway any Yankee.
While we’re on the subject of sweetness, let’s talk desserts. Choose your poison?chess pie (original or chocolate, yum!), strawberry shortcake and made-from-scratch peach cobbler hearty enough to make a meal all its own.
Kleer-Vu is also the only place in town where you can find hand-pressed hot water cornbread, a favorite among diners. There’s no better complement to Southern cooking than fresh, fried cornbread.
With everything prepared by hand from fresh ingredients and old family recipes, Kleer-Vu is guaranteed to be a rewarding dining experience.
