Hot and homespun

Photo: MELISSA OSTROW

The name M3 (382 Highland Avenue, Somerville, 617.718.6666) sounds awfully high-tech, like a secret government warplane or a men’s razor that shoots aloe — and laser beams. But the newly opened restaurant from chef Jason Owens has a decidedly low-fidelity feel and appeal. Owens, formerly of South Boston’s Local 149 and Newton’s The Biltmore, was inspired by his Nashville upbringing, and his grandmother’s recipes, to craft a menu of Southern comfort food: think she-crab soup, chicken and waffles, pan-fried catfish, and pig’s ear sandwiches. It’s served up in a 40-seat room of reclaimed-wood floors and countrified accents — pendant lights made from Mason jars, a pressed-tin ceiling, vintage wood-grain-vinyl trim, and a recycled ’50s-style fridge — that leave us feeling like we’ve found down-home deliverance from big-city bustle. Popping the top on a can of beer from M3’s selection of 20 doesn’t hurt, in that regard. Oh, and the name? It nods to the “meat and three” style of Southern diner, where patrons choose one main and three side dishes. Owens also offers composed plates inspired by childhood memories. Yum-mm.