Find a Southern favorite every week day at Bear's Den

Since most folks are already familiar with this institution near Mercer University, I thought I'd highlight what I consider the very best of each day's menu.

Like most meat and two's, the Bear's Den serves the same menu each day of the week. In my opinion, the best thing they have on Monday is the Marvelous Meatloaf. It's meatily satisfying with a little sweet and sour on top, perfect with squash casserole and butter beans on the side. Other Monday options include the cheesy baked spaghetti, liver and onions, and baked lemon pepper chicken and rice.

Tuesday is my favorite day, when they serve the baked chicken and dressing. Always tender and juicy, the chicken and dressing is like a holiday in the middle of the week. They even serve a little cranberry dressing with your other two sides. Smothered pork chops are also a Tuesday option.

On Wednesday, a lot of folks swear by the fried chicken livers, though I've never tried them (chicken and dressing is served on Wednesdays too, so...). They also serve country fried steak on Wednesdays.

Thursday is chicken and dumpling day in my book, with enough saltiness to remind you you're in the South. The lasagna is also delicious, and the vegetable beef soup is comforting now that we've reached a cold snap. Thursday also holds baked lemon pepper chicken or hamburger steak on rice.

Friday brings house specialties like fried fish, fried shrimp, chicken Parmesan, and beef stroganoff on noodles.

The Bear's Den serves fried chicken and chicken tenders every day.

Most of their sides are the same daily, but squash casserole is only available on Mondays and Fridays, black eyed peas are just on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and candied sweet potatoes are only served on Tuesdays.

Fried okra is just on Tuesdays, broccoli casserole is Wednesday only, and fried green tomatoes are for Thursdays only. My favorite, sweet and savory pineapple casserole, is only available on Thursdays.

And then there's dessert. This most recent time, we got key lime cake, a fudgy chocolate cake, pecan pie, coconut custard pie and banana pudding. I've never had a dessert here that hasn't been delicious, so you may want to also try the strawberry cake, brownie, peach cobbler and sweet potato pie.

Here's a little secret you might not know: even though they stop serving lunch at 3 p.m., their take-out area through the door on the right keeps serving until 6 p.m. We like to come just before that and pick up a dinner that makes everyone happy. Since it's still on the down-low and everything is already ready, it takes about five minutes before I'm back on the road home.

As we enter the season of catering, it's good to know that the Bear's Den can also make up a whole pan of your favorites for a pretty good price. Meats are $9.99 per pound; sides are $22.99 for a pan serving 12-15 people and $44.99 for serving 25-35 people.

A meal from this 25-year-old institution is sure to make everyone happy.

Bear's Den

Address: 1191 Oglethorpe St., Macon

Phone: 478-745-9909

Website: www.thebearsdenmacon.com

Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday

Payment: Cash, credit

Smoking: No

Alcohol: No

Kids Menu: No

Noise Level: Low

Health Rating: 100

Price range: $7.95

Rating: 3.5 stars

This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 5:58 PM with the headline "Find a Southern favorite every week day at Bear's Den ."