What time do you generally eat your second Shabbos meal?
Are the times different in the summer and winter?
Do you try to make it so that you can have dairy in your third Shabbos meal?

Between 11:30 and 1:30 depending where I'm eating
Not really
NO!!!!

11ish.
Not usually.
No, but I like when it occurs.

We eat in shul.

We've Lubavitchers, no 3rd meal for us.

Is that so? The Alter Rebbe states clearly that we eat a fruit at seudas shlishis but we don't wash for hamotzi.
"Sicha Parshas Beshalach Chelek chof aleph"

Why?

Chabad has a seudas shlishi but we don't wash. The reason brought down is because its such a holy time eating bread is kinda not the thing to do. Can you read and understand Yiddish? Read my source if you can to understand it at length

Usually between 10:45 and 11:30.
No.
No.

By 11.
No.
No.

12ish
No.
No, we wait too long for that.


Can you give an explanation for those of us who don't know Yiddish?
Since when can you be koveah seudah on fruit?

Sure, its been a while since I saw it inside and my copies were burnt in the fire but here goes: The time of seudas shlishi is on the level of attik yomim(ancient days). Its a very very high level mitzad Kabbalah. The reason we don;t wash it because break symbolizes gashmiyus and this time demands ruchniyus(note its just an opinion).
Regarding your second question, its a fruit so you would make a mein shalosh on it which has the din of "meal" and not snack

Yes.
My infallible strategy is called cheese cholent.

I don't mind eating meat for seudath shelishith, but that's neither here nor there, I suppose. My meal timing is generally decided by my hosts, I eat when they eat. If my FI and I are hosting for people (which happens every now and then), it's still determined by the availability of the guest who prays at the latest minyan (this is because the Aram Soba minyan usually ends before the main Ashkenazi minyan).

12:30.
Not really.
Nope. 3rd meal is open house- pita, chummus, cholent, salad leftovers from lunch.

Aka fondue. (Hmm, there's a thought...)

What makes it on that level of holiness? What is a holiness of "ancient days"? Why is eating to be koveyah a mitzvah gashmiyusdic? If it is so holy as that one should not even eat a seuda, do you refrain from other gashmiyusdic activities like socializing, and instead spend the time learning torah or davening?

By fruit you mean one of the 7 minim? Because I make a borei nefashos on other fruits....

Look it up people, it is explicitly stated in shulchan aruch that you can be yotzie SS on mezonos, or peiros (although bread is the preferred choice). The question is why chabad DAVKA doesn't wash, but that one can fulfil the mitzvah without washing is undisputed....

(start at) about 10:30, sometimes 10, if i'm really hungry
no
no, but i sometimes have milchig seudos to begin with, most times they are pareve



i've seen families do it, also on mezonos, as KR mentioned

Right


Bread symbolizes gashmius, yes we have a seder niggunim usually or a shiur

A good time of year for this discussion, as we prepare for erev pesach that falls out on Shabbos.


Why?

Yea. I seldom wash and have a full meal, too much food in one day.

Usually lunch at 12:30 or 1, done at 3:30 or so, plus minus a half hour.

On short shabbosim where this is more of a problem, as opposed to in the summer when everyone is craving for a real meal by that time, my husband will often wash, have half a piece of gefilte fish, a small serving of chulent (usually just a small piece of meat), bentch, rest/nap/relax, etc. Later, wash again, have the other half of gefilte fish, more chulent, and any other sides.

Very interesting about Chabad.

Interesting also when people eat. I expected more people to eat after 12.

Ditto...I can't recall ever eating before noon if we were waiting on men to come home from shul (and usually, they didn't come home until 12:30 - 1:00).

We try to start before 12:30-1:00.
Not that I remember.
No, but it's nice if it happens.

Interesting, is this the general custom of Lubavitchers? Is this opinion held by most?

in regards to the OPs third question, shouldnt all 3 shabbos meals be meat, as they are all seudos mitzvah?

why?



true for chassidim. many litvish people start earlier than that. of course, it always depends on how "yenta"-ish the men are

and when the shul ends and how far away the shul is.

ime, litvishe shuls end earlier than chassidishe.

that's true

Maybe it's a Brooklyn/chassidish thing?


I don't know. I haven't seen many people consistently eat meat for the third meal.


What's the point for men in going to shul if you can't get all the latest news (since the mikveh) after davening?

Real men talk DURING davening....