EITM: Knoxville Steamer 11/11/25

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Somebody asked me. Somebody sent me a note and asked me.
My kid goes to uh, the University of Tennessee.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Right, so somebody asked, where do I go when I'm
there for steamed sandwiches.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
I've never heard of it, never heard of it.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
This is quite the admission the I know, right.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
No, it's embarrassing. It's embarrassing. Now, it's my understanding. It
is a sandwich, obviously, and then they end up steaming it,
so it's it's it's it's a hot sandwich, but it's wet.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
You know, so they steam it with everything ready to go.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
It's my understanding that that's how it is.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
Man, that doesn't sound great.

Speaker 4 (00:46):
Oh it sounds horrible. I don't like I don't I
don't like wet bread.

Speaker 2 (00:52):
What was the thing I liked yesterday? That was wet
I don't remember what was it? No, because I compared
it to come on trestlegscase this morning?

Speaker 5 (01:03):
Yeah, that was this morning, yes when you were making
fun of people for not having tried cream corn.

Speaker 4 (01:07):
Oh, that's right, that's right, a couple hours ago. Not
even I thought that was yesterday. I thought that was yesterday.
But what is a steam sandwich.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
And is it good? Remember, none of us knew we
liked pizza.

Speaker 3 (01:23):
Did you ask yourself?

Speaker 1 (01:25):
No? No, I just I just learned about They sent
me a note. I saw it this morning.

Speaker 3 (01:29):
Oh oh, I thought this was no no, no, no,
no outside of today, but I've never even heard of it.

Speaker 1 (01:35):
Like it sounds gross like the last the.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
Last conversation I had with him about food in Knoxville
was they just opened a place like off of.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
Like the strip there is it called swig?

Speaker 3 (01:50):
Oh the dirty soda stuff?

Speaker 1 (01:51):
Yeah? Yeah, you know of that.

Speaker 3 (01:53):
Yeah, my kid's dream vacation to Utah to go to
a swig.

Speaker 1 (01:59):
Oh. I think they're based out of Utah Mormon drink.

Speaker 3 (02:03):
I think that some family they watch on.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Oh housewife, Mormon wives have house bills.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
He does grammar secret lives of Mormon wives. There you go.

Speaker 1 (02:15):
Yeah, yeah, because they can't have caffeine.

Speaker 3 (02:17):
Yeah, yeah, I don't. I don't know what family it
is anyway, Steam sandwiches, Yes, I see. Gus is a
good times DELI have you been there?

Speaker 1 (02:28):
No?

Speaker 3 (02:29):
Now, there are a bunch of places, because it says
a local favorite, but a popular spot for it is
Gus's Good Time.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Is that the only place that they have them. No,
I see no, no, no steam sandwiches. Oh steam sandwich Boxville. Yeah, no,
they have to be all over.

Speaker 3 (02:47):
I've never seen that on the menu.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
I've never even heard of it, never even heard of it.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah, the famed steamed HOGI is of Eastern Tennessee. On
the Sandwich Tribunal website.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
What does it say though?

Speaker 2 (03:00):
Do they literally just take a sandwich and steam it
so it's all soggy?

Speaker 5 (03:03):
And it also they said, not only is it making
the bread softer, it melts the cheese.

Speaker 3 (03:09):
Okay, I'm fine with that.

Speaker 1 (03:10):
Yeah, yeah, that's fine. So does a press.

Speaker 3 (03:15):
Or the machine at pop Belly is the which.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
I love is the But is the bread wet?

Speaker 3 (03:22):
It seems like it.

Speaker 5 (03:23):
It can't be, or else people wouldn't go crazy for
this stuff if it wasn't good.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
No, it says right here, who deliberately makes their bread soggy?

Speaker 3 (03:34):
It looks like you can have anything. It's not just like, oh,
these set ingredients are for the steam sandwich. There are
people order so it could be any sandwich and they'll
steam it. And do you look like an outsider if
you don't have them steam it?

Speaker 1 (03:48):
You know what I was hoping for. You know what
I was really hoping for. I'm just really craving a
good tuna tuna fish on soggy, wet bread.

Speaker 3 (03:59):
It says the best steamers make them leveland the best
steamers make the bread soft, but make sure it still
holds together. What now, I'm just holding bread, sandwich contents
and pieces of bread.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Well if it's if it's steamed poorly, yes, you wanted
to still be together?

Speaker 3 (04:27):
From the Bitter Southerner dot com.

Speaker 1 (04:29):
How have I never heard of it?

Speaker 6 (04:30):
Though?

Speaker 3 (04:31):
This blog entry? Is they like that soft bread?

Speaker 6 (04:38):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (04:38):
Wait?

Speaker 1 (04:38):
Where am I going? Line one? Hi Ellie in the
morning with me?

Speaker 6 (04:43):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (04:43):
Hi?

Speaker 6 (04:44):
Who's a hey Nick from Centerville?

Speaker 1 (04:48):
Yes, sir, I went, Yeah, I went to ut seven
to eleven.

Speaker 6 (04:51):
And you ever heard of McAllister's Deli?

Speaker 1 (04:54):
Is that on Cumberland?

Speaker 6 (04:56):
It's right off the strip?

Speaker 7 (04:57):
Yeah, I stayed right off the strip.

Speaker 8 (04:59):
And I don't know about steaming the bread.

Speaker 6 (05:01):
That sounds gross, but.

Speaker 8 (05:02):
They would take like your order with the meat, the
cheese of veggies, put it in a tray, steam it
and then throw it on toasted bread.

Speaker 7 (05:10):
Now that's good.

Speaker 4 (05:11):
Oh okay, see, but that's all like that's the bread
si hot.

Speaker 1 (05:15):
This makes it.

Speaker 4 (05:16):
Sound like no, because Tyler even said it, says on
there they like that bread soft or soggy.

Speaker 7 (05:23):
I mean people do it, but it's nah, that's not
the way to do it.

Speaker 1 (05:27):
Man, that sounds gross. Yeah, there you go.

Speaker 4 (05:29):
Soft bread sounds nasty, nasty.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
All right, dude, appreciate it, Thank you, sir.

Speaker 3 (05:38):
There are certainly pages and pages dedicated and it's Knoxville
specifically in these articles. It's maybe there are other towns,
like if you went to the Honest Question, if you
went to Pigeon Forge, if you went to Dollywood, do
they have.

Speaker 1 (05:53):
Do they have a steam sandwich stand?

Speaker 3 (05:57):
I see food trucks in Knoxville that do. I don't
see anyone mentioned, So it doesn't yet out of Knoxville,
says all knocks Villains know about steam sandwiches. In fact,
they all know how steam sandwiches, or they all know
steam sandwiches so very deeply in their consciousness that they

(06:20):
rarely considered their standard hot ham and cheese has in
fact been steam heated. It's so widespread that most people
seem puzzled if you poke around to find out why
we do it this way.

Speaker 1 (06:33):
So maybe my kid has had them. I have no idea, so.

Speaker 3 (06:38):
Is that they're using something called the fresho mattic or
the steam omatic.

Speaker 9 (06:42):
That's a picture looks like it's from nineteen seventy. But
are these places, oh, I don't know, still using alliances.
Steaming appliances may be embraced elsewhere, but I'm certain it
is only in Knoxville that you could lift the lid
off one and expect to find a HOGI there, Hi,

(07:05):
Ellie in the morning.

Speaker 7 (07:07):
Hey is this me? Yeah?

Speaker 9 (07:08):
Hi?

Speaker 1 (07:09):
Who's this Hey?

Speaker 6 (07:10):
Yeah?

Speaker 7 (07:11):
This is Rod from Richmond.

Speaker 1 (07:12):
Yes, sir, are you familiar with steam sandwiches?

Speaker 7 (07:15):
Absolutely, I'm from down there, just north of Knoxill and
like Jefferson County area, gotcha and Gus's Good Time Belly
is like the go to spot in Knoxhill for these sandwiches,
but you can get them all around that area, and
I'd say the bread is not wet. I say the
consistency is more like when you get like a stadium
hot dog and they're in like there's aluminofoil pouches, and
then when you pull them out, everything warm and soft.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
Yeah, that's more what it's like.

Speaker 3 (07:39):
Yeah, I beat soggy the Yeah.

Speaker 4 (07:41):
No, but so, but it's but I don't Yeah, I
mean I get I get where it's coming from. But
when I hear steam, I think like it's real wet.

Speaker 7 (07:50):
It's really not. I hate wet bread. I hate Tresledge's,
I hate bread pudding. This u's nasty, thank you, But
this stuff is.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
It's legit.

Speaker 7 (07:57):
It's nice, warm sauce and everything's mouth that it's it's
I don't know. I feel like the word are not moist.
It's delicious.

Speaker 1 (08:04):
Hey, So why why hasn't it taken off elsewhere? I
don't know.

Speaker 7 (08:09):
I grew up down there and I left in like
one O O two. I go back every year because
I got family, and every year we make it a
specific trip to a local gas station in a small
town I live in are from called White Fine. Gas
station is called easy In, and everybody goes there and
gets a sandwich and it's just like the daily thing
for lunch, Like all the you know, city workers, they

(08:30):
swing in there and grab a grab an easy end
steam sandwich.

Speaker 3 (08:35):
Do you know about Hillbilly cabin, hill Billy Cabin, Oh, hill.

Speaker 7 (08:39):
Billy Cabin that's in Yeah, that's in Jefferson County or
a Hamlet County and more sown. I know, hill Billy Cabin.

Speaker 3 (08:44):
Is it a restaurant, I don't know.

Speaker 7 (08:46):
Yeah, it's a little restaurant. It's a little like kind
of backwoods restaurant that does most of mostly you know,
senior citizens go there for breakfast in the morning, kind
of plays.

Speaker 1 (08:55):
And he's an old grandmother. All right, very good, very good,
thank you, sir, thank you.

Speaker 3 (09:02):
He made no steam sandwiches.

Speaker 1 (09:03):
Oh that's true.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
Although I think he's in a weird mood today because
when I walked out there earlier, I heard him telling
somebody that he used to get shoved.

Speaker 3 (09:11):
In a locker a lot when he was a kid.

Speaker 4 (09:13):
So I don't know what they were discussing, but it
had to be a big locker.

Speaker 3 (09:18):
Was it bullying, I would assume.

Speaker 1 (09:20):
So why were you getting shoved in a locker?

Speaker 10 (09:23):
I'll show you the photo.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
I was not cool. I had to be a wide
locker too. No, you always said you were a fat kid.

Speaker 10 (09:36):
He had a Beatles T shirt tucked into my jeworts.
It was not good.

Speaker 1 (09:44):
Wait are you hip to steam sandwiches?

Speaker 7 (09:45):
Yeah?

Speaker 10 (09:46):
Nixon's Delian Knoxville does them too.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
Right, Well, it sounds like they're everywhere.

Speaker 11 (09:50):
Yeah, I only knew really about Nixon because I used
to live on your one in North Knoxville.

Speaker 10 (09:55):
But yeah, they're not like soppy wet but.

Speaker 4 (09:57):
But all the stories make it sound like they're soppy
wet bread.

Speaker 11 (10:01):
So I when I lived there and I grew up
shout out to Morristown. I lived in Knoxville near Nixon's.
This was before delivery, right, So they might have delivered
back then, but it was before dwardash right.

Speaker 10 (10:14):
I can't imagine they hold up in delivery. It's kind
of like fries.

Speaker 1 (10:17):
Oh yeah, yeah, so you just got to eat them
right away. I gotta go to Nixon's eat a lot
of those steam sandwiches. I mean, is that how you
got that frame?

Speaker 10 (10:25):
That frame?

Speaker 1 (10:26):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (10:27):
That frame was fried sour Patch.

Speaker 10 (10:31):
I did love sour Patch. Kids.

Speaker 11 (10:34):
There was a there was a great spot on your way,
on your way from from my hometown of Morristown to Knoxville, right,
And I would drive to the radio station every Saturday
and Sunday to do my shift. This is in high school.
And there's a place called Cardens Drive in right, and
if you know what, you know it and it was legendary.
It's no longer with this, unfortunately, but I would get

(10:55):
two BLTs on my way to.

Speaker 1 (10:57):
The station, Jesus Christ.

Speaker 10 (10:59):
And one day the lady said me.

Speaker 11 (11:01):
I was a regular, right every weekend, and the lady
looked at me one day and she goes, you know
you're gonna turn into a b l T one day?

Speaker 6 (11:09):
All right?

Speaker 3 (11:09):
That was code.

Speaker 11 (11:10):
By the way, Also, can I get one more packet
of mayo please?

Speaker 4 (11:17):
You're like, look at yeah the oh man, look at
that place looks good?

Speaker 1 (11:23):
Yeah, oh excellent, Yeah, that looks good.

Speaker 11 (11:25):
And weigh in on cream corn by the way, Yeah huge,
That's like a first meal where I'm from.

Speaker 1 (11:32):
Gets goin line for all right, very good. Hi Ellie
in the morning.

Speaker 3 (11:43):
Jesus.

Speaker 12 (11:44):
Hey, this is the Sara Antoni in Ohio, and we
have a restaurant here called Steamroller Bagels and so it's
a it's a steamed bagel sandwich and they are amazing.

Speaker 6 (11:55):
But you know what is isn't.

Speaker 2 (11:59):
Isn't that a big deal in Ohio of steamed bagels.

Speaker 6 (12:03):
Though, I mean it's the only one I've seen.

Speaker 2 (12:07):
Because maybe now that I think about it, So my
other kid goes to Miami of Ohio, right, and they
there's a place there called Bagel in Delhi, and there
they like there's are steamed bagels, but they're not wet.

Speaker 6 (12:25):
No, they're not at all. It's not a soggy sandwich
at all. It's really really good.

Speaker 12 (12:30):
But the whole bagel is steamed, but it's steamed, not boiled.

Speaker 3 (12:35):
Does steamroller Bagel have something in common with Cardon's driving?

Speaker 1 (12:39):
Oh? Did Dustin go there when he was fat?

Speaker 3 (12:42):
No?

Speaker 6 (12:44):
So it is.

Speaker 3 (12:45):
It is not permanently closed.

Speaker 6 (12:48):
I think they have a food truck now.

Speaker 12 (12:50):
They had a So it's in a really small town
and it was opened by a college student and she
started with food truck, then opened a shop and then
and now we just sent back to the food, back.

Speaker 1 (13:02):
To the gotcha, gotcha?

Speaker 6 (13:03):
All right? Yeah, he had the clothes during COVID.

Speaker 1 (13:05):
Yeah, a lot of places did too bad. Hi, Elliott
the morning, what's up?

Speaker 6 (13:11):
Hat?

Speaker 1 (13:11):
Hey, what's going on? Dude?

Speaker 8 (13:13):
So, dude, people from Richmond should remember this name. It
was called Stuffy Subs. I used to work there for years, dude,
best job. And we would steam our hogies and they
were delicious and they were in like a peeda pocket waited.

Speaker 1 (13:26):
What was the name of it?

Speaker 6 (13:27):
Stuffies stuffy dude. We used to get so stoned.

Speaker 8 (13:32):
And the customers loved us. I'm like, bro, you were
gonna love your sandwich because there's just a bunch of
stone dudes making HOGI it was amazing.

Speaker 1 (13:40):
Wait, so where was Stuffies?

Speaker 8 (13:43):
I mean it was all over Richmond. I used to
work at the one in Milothians what year. But I
doubt they still exist. We probably put them out of
business with all the free food we'd give away.

Speaker 1 (13:56):
But that's gotta be that's got to be pre me, right.

Speaker 6 (14:01):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, slightly, Yeah.

Speaker 1 (14:04):
I gotcha.

Speaker 3 (14:05):
Wait hold on, yes, child, I'm seeing some current locations here.

Speaker 1 (14:08):
Oh really?

Speaker 3 (14:09):
Yes?

Speaker 4 (14:09):
Oh no kidding, No.

Speaker 6 (14:11):
No, they shill exist. I'm gonna go put my application
in