Easy to prepare, it can be made ahead of time and is good hot or cold. It's a boon to the thrifty cook, extending a pound or two of ground meat to feed a family, and it can be mixed up to suit ethnic and individual tastebuds. In fact, few dishes in the American kitchen have inspired such creativity, such endless variation, as meat loaf.
Chefs make it, and so do short-order cooks.
Nearly everyone who has discovered the simple pleasure of meat loaf has a personal secret or a family recipe. Most people have an opinion on what it should contain. Everybody knows it, instinctively. They are the ultimate. It's very rude to eat all the meat loaf.