{"id":20931,"date":"2021-05-06T10:45:09","date_gmt":"2021-05-06T09:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/?p=20931"},"modified":"2021-05-06T10:45:12","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T09:45:12","slug":"suttrees-high-gravity-tavern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/2021\/05\/06\/suttrees-high-gravity-tavern\/","title":{"rendered":"SUTTREE’S HIGH GRAVITY TAVERN"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Let me clear up one thing right away- Suttrees and Harrogate\u2019s<\/a> are one in the same but, at the same time, they are not. For all intents and purposes, Harrogate\u2019s is the barcade and Suttree\u2019s is the brewpub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Confused yet? Stick with me pilgrim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to their website, “Harrogate\u2019s is basically the misfit sister bar of Suttree\u2019s. It is an arcade that serves really great beer in a funky atmosphere, and connects to Suttree\u2019s by a sliding door. Featuring games like Galaga<\/em>, Skee Ball, and plenty of pinball, Harrogate\u2019s Lounge is just an awesome place to hang out. Tommy\u2019s pinball wizard presides over our one of a kind light up pinball bar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pinballs available to play are:

\u2022 AC\/DC<\/em> (Pro Vault Edition) (Stern, 2017)
\u2022 Aerosmith<\/em> (Stern, 2017)
\u2022 Batman 66<\/em> Premium (Stern, 2016)
\u2022 Deadpool<\/em> Pro (Stern, 2018)
\u2022 Evel Knievel<\/em> (Bally, 1977)
\u2022 The Getaway: High Speed II<\/em> (Williams, 1992)
\u2022 Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em> Pro (Stern, 2017)
\u2022 Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast<\/em> Pro (Stern, 2018)
\u2022 Star Wars<\/em> Pro (Stern, 2017)
\u2022 X-Men<\/em> Pro (Stern, 2012)
\u2022 Blackout<\/em> (Williams, 1980)
\u2022 Dolly Parton<\/em> (Bally, 1978)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Some<\/a>
Some of the pinballs at Harrogate’s<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Solid-state<\/a>
From solid-state Bally classics to modern Stern titles<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Bally's<\/a>
Bally’s Evel Knievel<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Stern's<\/a>
Stern’s Iron Maiden and Star Wars<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Harrogate\u2019s is found more-or-less in the center of Knoxville\u2019s ‘Old City’ neighborhood which once upon a time contained the region\u2019s highest density of saloons and for a while it was Knoxville\u2019s red light district. At the same time, somehow, it was a residential neighborhood that included families of free slaves and their descendants as well as several waves of European immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Old City is the hub of surrounding neighborhoods such as Irish Town, Cripple Creek, The Bowery, Gunter\u2019s Flats and The Bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suttree\u2019s takes its name from the title character Cornelius Suttree in the novel written by Cormac McCarthy in 1951. Suttree <\/em>has frequently been called one of the best works of 20th-century American literature and was the late movie reviewer Roger Ebert\u2019s favorite novel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the time, the Old City district was a mixed-race commercial neighborhood of \u201cloud and shoddy commerce\u201d existing in a sort of legal twilight that allowed a market for ‘splo’ which was a name for cheap home made liquor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By contrast, Suttree\u2019s of 2021 offers a stellar selection of micro-brewed ‘high gravity’ beers on tap (usually over 32 beers on tap) and numerous other beers by the bottle. The selection of spirits is equally diverse, due in no small part to Suttree\u2019s being a short drive from some of Tennessee and Kentucky\u2019s most famous distilleries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sutree\u2019s has a small kitchen that offers a well-curated listing of sandwiches, featuring the Frommage au Trois<\/em> 3-cheese grilled cheese sandwich and the Royale With Cheese<\/em> smoked brisket, bacon and sharp cheddar cheese sandwich served on a buttery toasted roll. Further down the menu, Tex-Mex selections can be found such as their pulled pork nachos and a Pork Squella-Dilla<\/em> quesadilla. To my surprise, there are also five ramen bowls on the menu such as the Veg-O-Ramen<\/em> (made with Miso broth), Matt\u2019s Ramen<\/em> and the Rise and Shine<\/em> breakfast-style ramen bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The Veg-O-Ramen<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A selection of munchies and appetizers is also available for your enjoyment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harrogate\u2019s has its own bar that has been constructed from old pinball playfields covered in a thick layer of clear resin. Colorful lights and other features add character to the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The bar top made from illuminated pinball playfields with Gottlieb’s Pink Panther at one end<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/a>
Gottlieb’s Circus sits at the opposite end of the bar top<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

At least when we visited, there was no table service; orders for food or beverages must be made with the bartender and a they will give you a vibrating pager so you know when to pick up your order from the bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The beer menu at Harrogate’s<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The games are mostly located on the Harrogate\u2019s side, with a number of vintage stand up video games, Super Chexx<\/em> hockey and table soccer (Foosball) games joining the pinballs listed at the beginning of this review. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a>
The Super Chexx hockey game<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Dolly Parton<\/em> and Blackout<\/em> pinballs are on the Suttree\u2019s side, while all of the other pinballs are on the Harrogate\u2019s side. Some video games at Harrogate\u2019s are blocked off and I assume eventually will be brought on-line when they are ready (repaired?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Blackout<\/a>
Blackout and Dolly Parton<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"House<\/a>
The House of the Dead video shooter<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Trust me when I say it is far easier to find the games than it has been for me to describe where they are located.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The area surrounding the Super Chexx<\/em> hockey game sports a number of posters and souvenir items from the USA vs USSR 1980 Miracle<\/em> Olympic hockey contest and the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victories. Almost as an afterthought, there is a Nashville Predators hockey team banner hanging on display also.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Some<\/a>
Some of the memorabilia from the 1980 game<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Not<\/a>
Not forgetting the Chicago Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup victories<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The games are well taken care of and the ones we played had no issues with either electrical or mechanical features. Newer games are 75 cents per credit while older ones are 50 cents. A change machine is conveniently located in Harrogate\u2019s accepting $1-$5-$10 and $20 dollar bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you will note in the photos accompanying this review, both Suttree\u2019s and Harrogate\u2019s are dark and have predominantly dark-ish decoration. It was difficult to get decent photographs but I hope that you can tell reasonably well from the photos what the ‘vibe’ is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently Harrogate\u2019s have expanded their hours in response to easing of pandemic restrictions. Please check their website<\/a> for the latest information, but as of this writing they are open 4pm to midnight, 7 days a week. Patrons are still asked to wear masks when not eating or drinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suttree\u2019s and Harrogate\u2019s are, without question, ‘must visits’ when in Knoxville. The charm of the buildings located along Gay Street in the Old City is worth the time to visit by themselves. The great food, libations and games at Suttree\u2019s and Harrogate\u2019s are nothing less than welcome bonuses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Let me clear up one thing right away- Suttrees and Harrogate\u2019s are one in the same but, at the same time, they are not. For all intents and purposes, Harrogate\u2019s is the barcade and Suttree\u2019s is the brewpub. Confused yet? Stick with me pilgrim. According to their website, “Harrogate\u2019s is basically the misfit sister bar …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1198,548,1197,549,167],"class_list":["post-20931","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sites","tag-harrogates","tag-knoxville","tag-suttrees","tag-tennessee","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20931","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20931"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20931\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20964,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20931\/revisions\/20964"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20931"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20931"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pinballnews.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20931"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}