No third option. There will never be a third option.
Mom used the red stuff when I was a kid, but I’m a brown gravy man now. It just makes sense–you’re having potatoes with brown gravy anyway, so throw some of that goodness on the meatloaf. No need to mix up the red bullshit.
I like brown gravy better than the red stuff, but mine has BBQ sauce on it.
Did someone say…Meatloaf?
…Opportunity blessed my soul…I really dig that rock and roll…
Sorry. That just slipped out.
…it’s cold and lonely in the deep dark night, but i can see Paradise by the dashboard light…
Damn. Happened again. What was the question? Oh yeah…gravy. Meh. Whatever you got is fine. If I’m hungry enough to eat meatloaf, I ain’t gonna bitch about the gravy.
Salt and pepper on the meatloaf, on the mashed potatoes, and on the vegetable. (Butter added to the vegetable if it’s corn.)
I don’t make any sort of sauce when I make meatloaf. My mom usually didn’t either, but when she did, it was brown gravy. I have eaten meatloaf witht he red goopy stuff baked on top, and I didn’t like it at all.
It’s a scientific fact that meatloaf is supposed to have ketchup on it.
Why? Because that’s the way my mom made it.
You make an indentation along the top length of the loaf before baking and you put your red sauce/ketchup in this indentation so it gets baked in. Bake and slice. And after the meatloaf is sliced you provide brown gravy to put on top of the sliced meatloaf and the mashed potatos that go with.
So I had no option to vote for.
Well, bacon, of course. Slap a couple strips right on top- when it’s done, the meatloaf is done. Mmmm, bacon. If there is some national tragedy where bacon is not available, then I’ll take red sauce, grudgingly.
Ketchup on the top, spread out and baked in. That is necessary.
If there’s gravy to go with the mashed potatoes, it can slide over the meatloaf slice, too, if it likes. That is nice.
Ketchup, if you must, but I’m partial to Trader Joe’s BBQ sauce.
layer of catsup with strips of bacon on top of that.
Hot meatloaf=brown gravy.
Cold meatloaf=spicy mustard of some sort.
I voted for brown gravy. But if you serve me meat loaf with ketchup or BBQ sauce, I’d eat it happily. It’s meat loaf. It’s tasty.
ketchup based sauce, flavored with horseradish, brushed on for the lat 10 minutes or so.
I don’t think I’ve ever had meatloaf.
No…wait, is meatloaf basically just a hunk of hamburger meat all cooked together? I think I have eaten it once. With ketchup.
I . . . don’t even know where to start. I’m’a gonna pretend this post doesn’t exist.
Don’t let your meat loaf. 
Moving to Cafe Society.
Fine, be that way.
Anyway, I googled it. It was what I was thinking of. So yes, I have had meatloaf with ketchup. I remember thinking it was weird. Like…hamburger, but without all of the other parts to the burger. Why would anyone do that anyway, when you can take the same meat and have an actual burger?
No. Meatloaf is hamburger mixed with other stuff to make the meat go further. Usually crackers or bread crumbs in my part of the world, with various spices and options. If we had a Dopefest at Rand’s house and he served it, I suspect it would be excellent, since he appears to be a meatloaf fan and would know how to do it right. If we went out and ordered it at somewhere like Picadilly Cafeteria, or even Cracker Barrel, it would likely be edible. If we went to somewhere like a hospital cafeteria…well…I would not be ordering meatloaf.