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Something’ s changed at That Sandwich Place, but much remains the same.
Now renamed“ Our Sandwich Place,” the cozy little eatery at 38 South Van Buren Street is one flight down from ground zero of Nashville dining.
But even though it’ s been around nearly half a century, Our Sandwich Place is not about pedigree. It is about as straightforward, no frills, and mom-and-pop friendly as it gets.
What could be more homey, more friendly, or generally all- American than sandwiches?
If you’ re a long-time fan of That Sandwich Place, the news is, Our Sandwich Place has not touched the memorabilia except to weed it out a bit, straighten everything up, and give it a good cleaning.
If you’ ve never been down those sandwich stairs, you should be aware— there’ s quite a bit of Bobby Knight memorabilia. Every square inch of wall space is covered with photos, posters, schedules, team photos documenting every conceivable facet of the career of former Indiana University Men’ s Basketball coach Robert Montgomery Knight.
There are basketballs, autographed and annotated, from various very important events, inspired oddities such as a stone bas-relief carving of the famous“ hurling of the chair”, and at least
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Our Sandwich Place
two little Bob Knight effigies in glass cases.
Like most successful restaurants, Our Sandwich Place has a credo and guiding principle: a simple menu with salads, burgers, and hot dogs and a minimum of pretension and fussiness. Prices are reasonable and service is good.
I took Mrs. Sampler down the Bob Knight rabbit hole one afternoon in April, where a smattering of customers was just beginning to warm the place up.
Despite the many good things I have heard about the breakfast menu, this was not my assignment. I came to eat a sandwich so we assayed the luncheon menu.
Our waitress confided that the menu is indeed in a state of flux, but everything looked pretty well in order; design-your-own hoagies, a few good salads, and burgers in quarter pound increments, along with the usual line up of home like sammies: grilled ham and cheese, hot dog on white bread, and baloney.
I opted for a good old BLT, while my kitchen companion chose the battered and deep fried codfish sandwich. Each comes with tasty fries: straight, crinkly, or curly.
The bacon, lettuce, and tomato hit the spot just right and, purely for professional reasons, you understand, I had a little nibble of the codfish. It was de-lish.
In spite of all that has remained the same, there are stirrings of new initiatives down in Our Sandwich Place.
Tuesdays have been dubbed“ Heavenly Hotdog Tuesdays” and those in the mood for a good wiener will also find endless fries and baked beans or mac and cheese at a special price all day.
They are adding a“ Magical Mexican Wednesday” featuring some favorite dishes from south of the border.
The food was good, and the place was friendly and clean and kind of cozy.
Many families who are regular visitors to Nashville make Our Sandwich Place a traditional stop. Kids like it. Maybe it is because they can get a peanut butter and jelly“ made just like mom does.” Or, perhaps they are attracted to the legend of coach Knight— you might want to keep an eye on that kid.
Perhaps the subtle shift from the singular and off-setting“ That” to the plural and familiar and inclusive“ Our” marks the beginning of a new epoch in the history of Nashville’ s underground sandwich shop.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. •
66 Our Brown County May / June 2017