Posts Tagged ‘Sam & Andy’s’

Note: The Tennesseeum is in its infancy, but I hope to eventually develop it into a virtual museum (hence “Tennessee-um”) of rosters, images, articles, and records pertaining to the Vols.  For now, however, it is little more than a landing page for current rosters and a few other items of interest.

If you have any content that you think belongs in a virtual museum dedicated to the Vols, feel free to contact me.

2009 Football Collection:

• 2009 Tennessee Football:

  • 2009 Coaching Staff
  • 2009 Alphabetical Roster

• 2009 SEC Previews:

  • SEC East:

    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Kentucky
    • South Carolina
    • Tennessee
    • Vanderbilt

  • SEC West:

    • Alabama
    • Auburn
    • Arkansas
    • LSU
    • Ole Miss
    • Mississippi State

Other Collections:

The Cumberland Wing:

Dedicated to the sights, sounds and history of that little collection of buildings along Cumberland Avenue known simply as “The Strip”

• “Sam & Andy’s Forever”: Remembering the legendary hangout that was Sam & Andy’s

The Tennessee Home for the Visually Offensive:

A virtual museum of some of the finest Farks (a/k/a “photoshopped”) images from the world of sports that the web has to offer including the following sub-collections:

• Lawvol’s Masterpieces
• The SEC Collection:
  • Tennessee
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Auburn
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Kentucky
  • LSU
  • Ole Miss
  • Mississippi State
  • South Carolina
  • Vanderbilt
• The College Sports Collection:
  • Memphis
  • The Big Ten
  • The ACC
  • The PAC-10
  • The Big XII
  • The Big East & Notre Dame
• The Professional Sports Collection:
  • NFL Farks
  • MLB Farks
• The Broad Horizons (Miscellaneous) Collection

This virtual museum is under construction.

New Collections Debuting Soon!!

Well, Home Sweet Home did such a good job getting all of us into the “New Year” frame of mind, that—as you can see above—Gus went ahead and brought out the Champagne early (may have to hit refresh for header to update).  Given the fact that I have been so lazy this last week, it is probably high time for me to get back up and running here at the Gate.  Once we ring in 2009, I will be back in full swing.

In the meantime, I offer up a few announcements, observations, and rude remarks to close out 2008.

• First, in case you haven’t noticed, I added a page about our “Ushers” (calling me a writer is simply going a bit too far) which finally recognizes and gives HSH his due as a major contributor here at the Gate.  Along with that came his new badges, signatures, and other goodies which will hopefully make it more obvious (as if the quality of his writing wasn’t enough to make it clear that it wasn’t yours truly) who is saying what around this joint.
• Second, it is nice to hear that Wayne Chism has survived his battle with the Rajin’ Cajuns.  The last thing the BasketVols need is the loss of one the most productive players on the squad before facing Kansas.  Let’s not do that again…

Ouch!

• Meanwhile, the Full Monte is in Knoxville and raring to go.  Apparently he has already come to appreciates the fact that Tennessee fans are essentially crazed maniacs, and is cool with that.  I’m liking it!
• Speaking of the new football staff, in case you haven’t heard, the Vols also have an Offensive Coordinator in the form of (soon-to-be) former St. Louis Rams assistant coach Jim Chaney.  It’s looking more and more like the Blackjack General is assembling a staff with a decidedly NFL-esque feel.

Oh my!  Things is a gettin’ excitin’!

• But don’t get too excited because, even though it is the new year, it seems like the KPD is out to spoil some of the fun at games next fall.  (Nossir, Ossifuhr!  I waddn’t drinkin’ … hic.)
• Finally, just by happenstance, I learned of a new Facebook group which is dedicated to the memory of one of my favorite places from the past:  Sam & Andy’s.  If you’re a Facebook member, be sure and check out “The Friends of the Roman Room”—I’m a member!

With all of this going on, it looks like 2009 could really be something special.  So everyone have a Happy New Year, and be safe.

See you in 2009!

– Go Figure …

Images Courtesy of: Knoxville Radio History

This Week’s Host: The Power T

Week Zwei

(That’s German for “2″)

This week’s Big Orange Roundtable is hosted by none other than The Power T, who has served up a heapin’ helpin’ of questions for we “Volggers” to consider. Being that I am all about riding the coat-tails of others (and the fact they haven’t kicked me out of the Roundtable … yet) here are Gate 21’s thoughts on all that is this week in the world of Tennessee Football.

(Questions in Sort-o-Teal-like color)

1) A position of strength for the Vols this fall should be wide receivers. Which 2 guys will emerge from the pack to start the opener against UCLA alongside Lucas Taylor? Why?

First of all, I think that Lucas Taylor is going to be a starter — probably from start to finish. He is the most tested and reliable of the receiving corps this year. As for the other spots, well, it gets more difficult there.

The conventional wisdom would be to go with Austin Rogers and Josh Briscoe (not to be confused with Briscoe Darling) — both have had significant playing time and key catches. They were solid down the stretch (especially in the overtime win against Kentucky, where Rogers saved the day with a huge 2-point conversion catch), however, they both had a few key weaknesses which hampered their overall production. Both had some big drops at key moments, and both appeared to have some shortcomings at times when it came to field awareness. That said, both of these upperclassmen now have an additional year of experience under their belt, and will no longer have to live in the shadow of the amazing and talented Robert Meachem.

The “Other” Briscoe

That said, I really like what I saw from Gerald Jones in his limited playing time last season, and something in my gut tells me that this talented sophomore will secure — at a minimum — 50% of one of the remaining starting spots. Based upon what I understand Dave Clawson’s offensive model to be, it seems that Jones would make a perfect fit — especially when it is time to go deep.

I am a huge fan of using the Tight End as an additional passing threat (something that I have a feeling we may see under Dave Clawson’s tricked-out-offense), and I hope that we end up using Jeff Cottam more in that role to complement and build upon the strengths of this year’s receivers — thereby making the Vols less one-dimensional and tougher to defend against. Either way, it seems to me that — despite losing a gamebreaker like Meachem — the receivers will be much stronger as a unit this season on the whole, largely due to experience and having more than just one go-to receiver. I feel this is especially true considering that, with Jonathan Crompton under center, it is fair to assume that opposing defenses will now have to honor the possibility that No. 8 may come running at them “Straight Outta Crompton” as well as throw to one of the wide-outs.

Read the rest of this entry »

Those of you who lived, worked, or went to school in Knoxville at any time during the latter-half of the 20^th Century (that’s the 1900’s for any of you who are chronologically challenged), will doubtless remember the greatest haunt on the strip of dilapidated buildings known to the Tennessee faithful simply as “Cumberland.”   While I know there will undoubtedly be some of you who swear by Old College Inn, The Last Lap, The Library, Spicy’s, The Varsity, or (for some ungodly reason) the Torch, and say that I am crazy, this is my ship and I decide where it goes (even if that is straight on to the rocks).  Yes, in my opinion, the greatest loss suffered by the Tennessee community in the last … well, pretty much since the Civil War, was the closure of the venerable eatery known as Sam & Andy’s.

Sam & Andy’s (circa 1998)

Due to the pressures of time, the almighty dollar, and the rise of crappy, half-assed, uppity chain restaurants, Sam & Andy’s was replaced by McAlister’s Deli (one of the aforementioned chains, this one owned by some dentist from Oxford, Mississippi) in 1998.

Sam & Andy’s was my kind of place.

Sam & Andy’s was as much a part of the university as Neyland Stadium and Ayres Hall.  It was a tradition for over sixty years on Cumberland.  It had been the job of Sam & Andy—both of whom retired or died many years before I first walked through the door—to oversee the nutritional well-being of generations of college students.   They served classic college food at reasonable prices in a surly and smug atmosphere.   Sam & Andy’s was actually three different restaurants housed under one roof: Sam & Andy’s Tennessean, Sam & Andy’s Roman Room, and Sam & Andy’s Deli. Each of three restaurants were connected (to hell with the fire code!) and served, more or less, the exact same thing for the same price.  Each of these restaurants, however, had completely different personalities and customers.  In fact many frequent patrons, such as me, rarely if ever ventured into any of the other areas; that is unless they needed to use the restroom or buy condoms from one of fourteen different machines on the wall in the single set of restrooms which served all three.   That building was a living tradition.

The Men’s Bathroom Wall

I always frequented the deli which was in the rear of the building.  It was a simple open room with a chest-high white wood and formica counter running the length of the back and right-hand wall.   Near the door, the counter dropped down to waist level, and a small collection of little baskets containing salt and other condiments sat next to a neat stack of napkins, all of which sat in front of an old cash register which appeared to have come over on the Ark with Noah.  The left-hand wall was completely obscured by a floor to ceiling beer cooler like the ones found in convenience stores.   The front wall was home to a much smaller Coca-Cola cooler, several racks of potato chips and snacks, and a TV suspended on the wall which was always on but rarely seemed to be watched.  In the middle of the room were nine or ten plain white Formica tables with simple yellow vinyl covered chairs.   The walls, or at least the parts that could be seen, were light brown wooden paneling, and were covered with old newspaper clippings, pictures, awards, and beer posters.

The Deli Entrance

Over the grill, in the back, hung the menu boards.  From these boards a student or anybody who was hungry could order anything from a Hoagie, a Vol or Pizza Burger, to a Sub, or anything else in between.   It would always be served up in the same manner- on wax paper in a small red plastic basket with a pickle on the side.   In all of the hundreds of visits I made to Sam & Andy’s, I don’t think I ever ordered anything other than a Kielbasa Sandwich on dark bread (and it was really dark) with provolone, spicy mustard, and mayonnaise; well, except for a brief “angry” period in my college years when I ordered a few Ribeyesteak sandwiches.  While my coronary arteries are probably still reeling from these meals, my heart sure loved them.

The place smelled of meat and cheese. It was always hot in there because they steamed the sandwiches, which meant the room was pretty much constantly in a fog.  God, how I loved those steamed sandwiches.  Over here in ACC country where I live now, if you ask the guy at the sandwich place to steam your sandwich he looks at you like you just introduced the topic of nipple-piercing while having a conversation with the Pope.

Sam & Andy’s was the kind of place that understood customer service and where they knew how to treat people right.  They tended to treat out-of-towners and uppity types like they had a contagious case of desiccated rectal cancer, the regulars—like myself—they simply ignored.  That said, once during my sophomore year I went there with my roommate, and realized I didn’t have any money to my name. My buddy ordered his sandwich, and I just sat.  Then the heavyset guy behind the counter (I never learned his name, but he wore glasses and had blondish-brown hair parted in the middle if anyone knows who he was) asked what I was having.

“I’ve got no money, man.” says I.

“Ahh, you’re in here all the time. Just write us an IOU.” came the response from behind the counter.

Thus, that night I ate purely upon the value of my name written on the back of some old business card.  Now in the 1950’s that might have been common in a small college community, but this was 1995.  I made sure to stop by the next day and settle my debt.

Best I could ever tell, George Captain owned the place during my years in Knoxville.  He was always behind the bar in the Tennessean part of the building. I think he was Sam or Andy’s nephew.   I also know that a few other establishments around campus (Vic & Bill’s Deli behind the law school and Gus’ Goodtimes Deli on Melrose), were owned by other cousins.  I guess their philosophy was keep the competition in the family.

George Captain

Anyway, in 1997, McAlister’s Deli bought the land and Sam & Andy’s closed.   I grabbed one of the last take-out menus before I left on the last day of business.

Sam & Andy’s Menu (circa. 1998)

Sam & Andy’s re-opened in the old Swensen’s building across the street a few years later, but it wasn’t the same.  The atmosphere was all wrong, and it was more like a “normal” restaurant.   They seemed to do a good business, but a year or two ago they lost their lease and Moe’s moved in.  I hear that they still have places in Fountain City and out in West Knoxville, but I haven’t been.

On the day that McAlister’s opened in 1998, I chanted a hex on the restaurant that I learned from some voo-doo panhandler down in New Orleans in return for $5.00 for a bottle of Ripple.  I think either I said it wrong or got ripped off, because McAlister’s hasn’t burned down, I haven’t seen un-dead zombies trashing the place, and there haven’t been any swarms of locusts around the joint.  Still, I hope it gets hit by a bus, burned to the ground, and Mr. McAlister—whoever the hell he is—gets a chronic case of piles.

So next time you’re on Cumberland, lift a glass to Sam & Andy’s … and empty your bladder on the front door at McAlister’s.

— Go Figure … lawvol

(c) 2007 “lawvol”

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