T-Day update: Bacon mayonnaise, Majestic chef in CA, Black Friday guide coming tomorrow, Stumbling Santa and more

This morning, an ad on my Gmail introduced me to one of the most brilliant products ever: Baconnaise.  The makers of this bacon-flavored mayonnaise believe that “everything should taste like bacon” and recommend its use on sandwiches, salads, dips, sauces, chicken, fish, and fries.  It’s vegetarian-friendly, and is available in “regular” and “lite.”  Their site has Baconnaise recipes, and says it’s available at Kroger.  I’ll have to look for it next time I go shopping.

One important addition to the “What’s open Thanksgiving Day” list: Jack’s Food Store, open until 7 in case you need to do last-minute shopping.

The “Chef’s Special” in the Commercial Appeal today features Patrick Reilly, chef at the Majestic Grille.  The Majestic is a regular Sunday brunch spot and one of my favorite places to send out-of-towners who are looking for a good meal.  As I’ve said many times, I think Patrick’s filet is possibly the best I’ve ever had.

For those of you who want to start Christmas shopping but don’t want to endure early morning Black Friday crowds, I’ve created a Black Friday guide to help you shop for gifts for Downtowners.  It will auto-post at 12:01 AM tomorrow, so it will be available even before the stores open.  The very first link in the guide will give you more options than you’d have at Target, and the remainder will be full of suggestions for gifts that Downtowners would like.

I’ve been getting e-mail about this year’s Stumbling Santa pub crawl.  I’m not involved in the organization of the event… I just participated last year and posted pics.  However, I do know the basics, so here they are:

  • Meet at Earnestine & Hazel’s on Saturday, December 6 at 7 PM.
  • The first important thing to know is to bring a toy for a child’s Christmas.  It’s a toy drive for Porter-Leath.
  • The second important thing to know is that you’re asked to dress up.  It’s a spectacle seeing 250 Santas walking around Downtown from bar to bar.  If you don’t want to be a Santa, you can dress as Mrs. Claus, an elf, a reindeer, a Christmas tree, or other holiday costume.  You can get these at Party City for as cheap as 30 bucks.
  • Eventually you’ll leave E&H and walk through Beale Street, the Peabody, and several bars.  I think the Saucer and Raiford’s are on the list.

I have a wedding to attend that night, so I won’t be able to make it to Stumbling Santa this year.  Like I say, I’m not involved in the event, but if you have questions I can pass them on to my friend Billy who can probably answer them.

Counting the minutes until 5:00 when the Saucer opens… I’ll be at the E&H party later tonight.