We thought it would be appropriate to start our blog with the fine establishment where we first met... The Wildcat Den. This post may be atypical of those to follow being that The Wildcat Den is not necessarily a "restaurant". You will not find it in the Zagat Ratings, on the Food Network or in any form of media at all aside from possibly The Davidsonian. It is an average collegiate cafeteria-type stand that specializes in sandwich-making, soups and service. You are guaranteed to find a smile, an athlete and a Davidson College celebrity-citing when you come to The Den to eat. The best part about it... You can put the meal on your Cat Card Plan, a deal that includes a sandwich, chips/cookie and a drink. They will even grill a peanut butter and jelly wrap upon request.
Chris, a football coach at Davidson College, would go through the daily routine of working out, grabbing lunch at The Den and heading back to the office. On the way back one day he stopped to say hello to an acquaintance who introduced him to a lacrosse player named Emily. With a cut-off shirt and guns a-blazing, Chris teemed with the self-confidence that could only be expected of a mid-twenties chiseled Adonis. Emily was not all that impressed, but she smiled politely from her bowl of tomato soup, and a relationship was born. So you can see, The Den was not only a place to eat, but a place to meet, laugh and maybe even find romance.
The meal Emily had that day was a Wildcat Den staple, tomato soup and grilled cheese. Big John, the cashier/psychiatrist/food connoisseur would always recommend the two-cheese grilled cheese (swiss and provolone) on wheat bread. This came with a Solo Cup filled with piping hot tomato soup. The process for ordering this meal is not incredibly sophisticated, displaying that we hadn't really evolved all that much from the school's establishment in 1837. You would write what you wanted on a white sheet of paper and John would pass it along to the Head Chef, Ms. Pam. Ms. Pam is famous for being extremely generous with her portions which is exciting to the throngs of growing college young men and women.
Chris's meal was not too spectacular, as his life at the time was all about routine. Tuna Sandwich on a wheat wrap with three packages of Saltine crackers. Ms. Pam knew Chris by name and loaded an ocean full of tuna onto his wrap, filling him with much more than his alloted protein consumption for the day. It got to the point where Chris did not even need to go through the monotonous routine of filling out his white paper. Big John would ring him up, provide him with some Nascar chatter and crack a joke about Italians. Something to look forward to each day.
The lure of the Wildcat Den was not only the delicious meals, but the possibility of seeing The Silver Fox himself, Mr. Bob McKillop. McKillop, the legendary basketball coach at Davidson College, would provide his throngs of fans a rare appearance, coming down after his hour-long elliptical workout to replenish his carbohydrates with blue Powerade. Not every school could boast that you could share a meal with a legend. The proximity to the athletic offices made The Wildcat Den extremely attractive to jersey-chasers and fans alike.
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