Joe Tennis
It was far from our family’s feast of Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and crispy green-bean casserole.
But, two November novelties in less than seven days, for sure, had me scraping for the last signs of summer during “Virginia Beach Week in Bristol.”
I know you have never heard of this. That’s because I just made it up.
But let me tell you how I celebrated, so maybe you, too, can create a new November tradition in the Twin City.
First, we will need institutions in both Bristol, Tennessee, and Bristol, Virginia.
“Virginia Beach Week in Bristol” supports two of Bristol’s finest culinary hotspots: Greene’s Seafood and Zero’s Subs.
Both owe their origins to where I was born: Virginia Beach.
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Both, by the way, can also keep me feeling at home even when I wax nostalgic about growing up when Virginia Beach was less-crowded and more relaxed in the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s.
That’s when I really got the hunger for the spicy grinder of Zero’s, a sandwich shop chain formed in Virginia Beach in 1967.
Bristol’s location of Zero’s, 410 Hazelwood Street, stands along U.S. Highway 421 on the way to South Holston Lake – a body of water that reminds me of Virginia Beach’s best seaside scenery.
This Zero’s is also like an island — with no other Zero’s Subs for miles and miles and miles.
About a week before Turkey Day, my wife got a craving for Zero’s genders. So she headed to Zero’s, and we had a beach-style picnic — much like we have when visiting my mom and dad in Virginia Beach.
Only, I did have to spice my sub up with more crushed red pepper — just to get it “perf,” as our daughter would say.
More adventurous and about five days earlier, I instructed our son to drive down to the border of Tennessee so we could catch a batch of blue crabs from Greene’s Seafood on West State Street.
Greene’s got started in the late 1970s when its founder would drive each week to Virginia Beach to bring seafood to Bristol.
I ordered live crabs — not cooked.
“I like messing with them,” I told the manager.
“Yeah,” he returned.
“That’s the fun part.”
Next up: I had more than a dozen crabs crawling all over my kitchen sink, getting sprayed down for a final rinse before becoming tasty morsels in the steamer with a bit of Old Bay and a few ounces of Coors.
These were beautiful blue crabs from the Chesapeake Bay, just like I grew up catching in Virginia Beach at Sandbridge and the Lynnhaven River.
I am thankful to have celebrated Thanksgiving with family members — and traditional food.
But, really, you could have served me steamed crabs and a spicy grinder, and I would have been right at home.
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