Month: November 2008

Time for the weekly look at the Memphis Flyer for items of interest to Downtowners.  But first, an announcement:  I’ve completed my overhaul of the Tube Top Boutique, adding eBay auctions (which means, thousands of new items) in addition to the Amazon items that were already there, and I updated the color scheme and layout a little.  Tube tops make great Christmas gifts, so check out the updated site!

All right, here we go through the Flyer:

p. 25:  Artist Dwayne Butcher, AKA The Art Butcher, and two other MFA candidates at Memphis College of Art will present their thesis works in the college’s “On the Street” gallery Friday, November 28.  “Be sure to come out if you’re tired of your relatives and want to see an interesting show,” he says.  There’s a pic of him in the Flyer with a lot of Dos Equis Lager bottles.  I knew there was a reason I liked Dwayne.

Also p. 25:  Former presidential candidate and Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee will be at Davis-Kidd Monday night, December 1, at 8 PM to sign copies of his book Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That’s Bringing Common Sense Back to America. I couldn’t vote for Huckabee for president because my values are very different from his, but there’s no question he did an outstanding job as governor of Arkansas.  His book is about how to get the Republican Party back on track.

p. 32:  Looks like Jillian’s Thursday night trivia specials have changed.  They’re now advertising $3.50 Fat Tire, Newcastle, and Blue Moon drafts, and $3 specials.  Hey, they have a website now!

p. 35:  Now here’s an event that sounds very cool.  On Tuesday, December 2 at Westy’s, there will be a reunion for the old North End/Jefferson Square clubs.  Starting at 6 PM, there will be pictures of the early Memphis rock scene, plus performances by Richard Cushing and FreeWorld, Peter Hyrka and Victims of Circumstance, Klaudia & Rico, and Rebekah.

p. 37:  There’s a good article on the new Sole restaurant in the Westin, which is in the old Daily Grill space and is being operated by the people who run Interim.  Says 3/4 of the menu will feature seafood.

Also p. 37:  There’s an article about On the River Seafood & More on Main just north of Union.  On Thursday, December 4 they’ll have a grand opening, with specials on import and domestic beers and the introduction of a new menu item, Hoppin’ Hot Frog Legs.  I’ve eaten there twice already, and the food has been excellent and a good value for the money both times.

Also on p. 37:  This isn’t a Downtown event, but worth mentioning:  There will be a benefit at Neil’s in Midtown (McLean at Madison) to raise money for Molly’s La Casita bartender James Ragghianti.  7-midnight Tuesday December 2, $5 cover, Jim Dandy, Rusty Lemon and other musical guests.  I don’t know James but it’s good to support our friends in the service industry who take such good care of us when we go out.  Many of them don’t have medical insurance and sometimes get into situations where they need our help.

p. 44:  A “help wanted” for the Blue Monkey is almost unreadable due to the blue background.  They’re looking for experienced front-of-house and back-of-house people for both the Downtown and Midtown locations.  Apply in person between 2-4 PM weekdays.  Encore, Quetzal, and Jillian’s are also looking for help.

p. 49:  Hey, the Flyer remembered to include Free Will Astrology this week!  Good job guys!

Back page:  The National Civil Rights Museum is now offering half-off admission for the remainder of 2008.  You can call yourself a Memphian without having visited Graceland, but the NCRM is a required stop for true Memphians.  If you haven’t been yet, now is the time to go and save some money.

Heading up to the Saucer in about an hour for some $2.75 Sunset Wheat.  I’ll be at Bardog by 6, then Big Foot later, and possibly Blues City even later.

All right, I stopped by Big Foot… the Turkey Tip-Off is today, not tomorrow as it says on Facebook and the CCC “Livin’ It Up” newsletter.  I confirmed with the manager that it’s $2 Super Cold Coors Light all day.

And now for the big news… Bardog Tavern is starting a Pint Night next Tuesday.  From 7 PM until close at 3 AM, all pints will be $3.  This is in addition to their normal happy hour with a dollar off most beers, bringing them into Pint Night range at 5.  I’m putting the Saucer on notice right now – put Turbo Dog on Fire Sale again on Tuesday, and I’m going to skip trivia altogether and go straight to Bardog.  Great to see the Bardog giving its patrons lots of drinking value.

Updated list of what’s open tomorrow:

• Westy’s
• Wang’s
• Flying Saucer at 5
• Bardog Tavern at 5
• Calhoun’s at 5
• Jillian’s at 5
• Green Beetle at 8:30
• Red Rooster at 9

More to come later today, because there’s lots of good stuff in this week’s Flyer… I gotta get some work done on the tube top store first though.

Amidst all the holiday festivities on South Main Friday, there’s also the opportunity to hear a blues great.  Henry Butler, a New Orleans blues piano legend who is an 8-time “Best Blues Instrumentalist – Piano” award nominee, will play The Warehouse on G.E. Patterson at 8 PM.  Doors open at 7:30.  Butler has been blinded by glaucoma since birth, but still has managed to become not only an award-winning pianist, but an award-winning photographer as well.  Advance tickets can be purchased here for $25.  Tickets will be $30 at the door.  There’s also a $50 VIP ticket that includes a 1-year Blues Foundation membership.

When the president of the Blues Foundation e-mailed me about this event, the first sentence was “Paul I owe you a beer if you’ll mention this.”  Now this is a guy who understands how to interact with bloggers.

Interesting article on Wired’s site:  Give Thanks?  Science supersized your turkey dinner. It discusses how turkeys have been engineered to get bigger and bigger over the years.  In 1929, the average turkey weighed 13 pounds; now the average turkey weighs 29 pounds.  A lot of it has to do with the corn that both we and the turkeys eat, and Wired’s article discusses changes in corn over the past several centuries as well.  I wonder what my health guru AL will think about this.

AL e-mailed me yesterday to ask how much I paid for the individual lemon pies and Sno Balls I bought at the Hostess thrift store.  I replied that they were 80 cents apiece.  She then said, “You could have bought a pound of frozen spinach or broccoli and gotten 3 meals off of it.”  I can’t believe she equates the experience of eating broccoli with that of eating a Sno Ball.  I have some weird friends.  She claims she’s going to live to 150 because of her diet.

Here’s a link to a video that will remind Downtowners why we love being down here so much, and will help people in the other parts of the city understand why we’re such big fans of our neighborhood.  Go ahead, watch it, it’s only 2 minutes, 56 seconds, and you know you’re not doing anything at work today anyway.

Restaurant.com is running a 70% off promotion through the end of the month.  Enter promo code THANKS at checkout to get the discount.  That means you can get $25 face-value restaurant gift certificates, normally sold for $10, for only $3.  You can also save 70% on their Dinner of the Month Club memberships, which make great Christmas gifts.

Speaking of Christmas… I’m working on a Downtown Memphis holiday buyer’s guide post that I hope to have done in time for Black Friday.

Stephanie just about has the December BFF of the Month locked up.  Last night she brought me passes to the Holiday Parade’s VIP party.  Free food and beer for 6 hours… that’s a good way to get to BFF status.

All right time to get started… I actually have some work to do today.  I’m in the process of upgrading the Tube Top Boutique to add eBay listings.  That’ll get a bunch more inventory on the site, which goes through some lean months in the winter when it’s not traditionally tube top season (although I think they should be worn all year).  I also need to get the aforementioned holiday shopping guide done.  I said I was going to eat lunch at Big Foot, but I’m not very hungry right now thanks to some chili cheese tamales that came home with me from Huey’s last night.  The party starts later today… I’ll be at Bardog and Big Foot later, and possibly the Saucer and Blues City.

The Hostess store didn’t have HoHos!  I got a pack of 8 Streusel Cakes, a box of Hostess toaster pastries, three lemon pies and a 2-pack of Sno Balls, for those of you who are interested.

Okay.  My plans for the long Thanksgiving weekend are shaping up.  Here they are, to make it easy for any stalkers I have out there:

Wednesday: I’ll start at Big Foot at 11 AM for lunch and a 34 oz. Super Cold Coors Light.  It’s still unclear, after looking at the sign on the door and their Facebook page, whether the Turkey Tip-Off is Wednesday or Thursday, but as I mentioned earlier, at worst I’ll pay 4 bucks for the beer, which still isn’t bad.  At 6 PM I’ll go to Bardog for their Thanksgiving Eve party – Buffalo Trace specials, and a hot female bartender in a bra and chaps.  Then I’ll move on for round 2 at Big Foot, or possibly Turkey of the Year glass night at the Saucer.  Later I may hit Blues City for the Dempseys and for former BFF Michelle’s birthday.

Thursday: Saucer, 5 PM.  Yes I know about the thing at Calhoun’s, but the Saucer outranks Calhoun’s.  At some point after 8 I’ll head south for the charity Thanksgiving party at Earnestine & Hazel’s.  Debating whether to head there right at 8 and get in on the jello shots, or wait until 10 or 11.  Guess it’ll depend on how good the Saucer is.  Hopefully they’ll reward my loyalty by putting something good on Fire Sale.

Friday: Downtown Holiday Parade on South Main at 5 PM.  Trolley Tour afterward from 6 to 9.  There will probably be a stop at Calhoun’s for a PBR somewhere in there.  Plans are open-ended after 9.  At some point I’ll have to walk back to the Downtown core… hmmm Raiford’s is on the way home.  That’s a possibility.

Saturday: I’ll be at the flip cup tournament at the Red Rooster around 1 PM.  Saturday night is undetermined as of yet.

Sunday: As good as my intentions are to make it to brunch, I’ll probably sleep too late and have to catch up with the gang at the Saucer like I usually do.

As always, plans are subject to change.  Almost time to head to the Saucer for trivia.  I guess I’ll drink Foster’s Oil Cans tonight since disgusting Turbo Dog is the Fire Sale.  Maybe the beer for bonus points at trivia will be an Australian beer.

It’s time to announce the launch of my four newest websites:

These four new stores are, like most of my other sites, storefronts that organize Amazon.com merchandise so you can easily find what you’re looking for. When you buy through any of my store links, I get between 4% and 8.5% commission, depending on how many items all my stores combined sell during the month (for the current month it’s looking like I’ll get either 7% or 7.5%).  Amazon handles your secure checkout and takes care of the shipping.  I get a notification that an item was bought and the amount, but I never see your name, credit card number, or any other identifying info about you.

Whew… I’m getting real sick of building watch and jewelry sites.  These new ones bring the total to 11 in that particular niche.  I’m tired of the same thing over and over, but “do what works” is the mantra, and College Logo Watches and College Logo Jewelry, my first two sites in that niche, have proven track records.

Interesting thing I learned while I was researching other niches: Amazon has over 20,000 “sexual wellness” items. Meaning, contraceptives, sex toys, vibrators, edible underwear, etc.  I actually considered doing some stores in that niche, but some of the products they offer are kinda… well, gross.  There’s a huge market for them though… a lot of people would rather order that kind of stuff online than be seen in an adult store buying it.  I wish there was a way to build the stores without having to look at the images while I build the stores.

All right, now I’m finally going to go on that run to the Hostess store.  HoHos, here I come!

Last night I received a tip that the Rumba Room is now doing a lunch buffet, so I decided to check it out today.  It was outstanding.  It cost me $6.75 and had lasagna with a Venezuelan white sauce, Cuban black beans and rice, a Colombian stew with hunks of beef, chicken fajitas, arepas, and fried plantains.  If you work anywhere near the trolley line, this buffet is worth a ride for lunch.  The Rumba Room is on South Main between Pontotoc and Vance, next door to Pearl’s Oyster House.  You can go to their website for more info about their menu and salsa dancing.

Speaking of the trolley line, the Blue Suede Brigade handed me some information on my way back from my Mountain Dew run to Walgreens.  They will have 25 cent trolley rides Wednesday through Friday of this week.

There will be some alterations in the trolley line on Friday, November 28 due to the holiday parade.  The trolley will run as normal until 3 PM.  The Riverfront line will shut down completely from 3 PM to 7 PM.  The Main Street line will run from Auction to Madison only from 3 to 7 PM.  The Madison line will maintain regular operations, which means you’ll never see the damn thing and will eventually give up and walk.  A MATA shuttle will run between Peabody Place and Talbot between 3 PM and 7 PM.

I’m trying to get a clarification on Big Foot Lodge’s Turkey Tip-Off.  The sign on their front door says it will be tomorrow, November 26.  However, the Facebook listing for the event says it will be Thanksgiving Day, November 27.  In any event, I’ll probably show up there tomorrow at 11 AM for lunch and a Super Cold Coors Light.  Worst case scenario, I’ll have to pay $4 for 34 ounces of beer rather than $2.  Wait, now that I think about it, worst case scenario is Meghan behind the bar, regardless of beer price, but I think she has tomorrow off.

Starting on December 8, Ghost River Brewery, the brewing arm of Boscos, will offer brewery tours every Saturday at 1 PM.  You’ll be able to see the operation and learn how water from the Memphis Sands Aquifer is turned into beer.  The tour will be free but reservations are required.  Call 901-278-0087 x203 or e-mail info@ghostriverbrewing.com for reservations.

I’m excited about the start of 2009 because my health guru AL is designing a meal plan for me.  She says she’s going to come up with ways for me to live healthier, without me having to give up Mountain Dew or beer.  I’m looking forward to it.

I’m also looking forward to the start of 2009 because that’s the projected opening date of the Downtown Dunkin’ Donuts.  Mmmm donuts.

There will be a flip cup championship tournament at the Red Rooster on Saturday afternoon.  Here are the details I got from Facebook:  Gates open at 1 with cornhole and tricycle races, practice from 2 to 3, tournament draw at 3:30, and the Memphis Flip Cup Championship begins at 4.  Hmm… yep, there’s a very good possibility I’ll show up for this one.  For more details get on Facebook and search for “3rd Annual Memphis Flip Cup Championships.”

Updated list of what will be open Thanksgiving:

• Westy’s
• Wang’s
• Flying Saucer (at 5)
• Calhoun’s (at 5)
• Earnestine & Hazel’s (big party starting at 8; $5 cover to go to two charities)
• Green Beetle (I think the sign on the door said 8:30)
• Red Rooster (at 9).  They’re having a “dance off that turkey” party with Adrenaline, ladies free til 11, balloon drop with a chance to win free cover for the rest of the year.

The Rooster will also be open Wed. night for a big pre-Thanksgiving party with Yes, No, Maybe.  So that’s three big parties going on Wed. night (Bardog, Big Foot, Rooster) plus Turkey of the Year glass night at the Saucer.

Also, the Rooster carries Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka.  Maybe I can use that as leverage to get my favorite blogger/MILF to finally venture Downtown… she can drink sweet tea vodka and watch her stupid-ass Peyton on the Rooster’s gazillion HDTVs.

Hmmm tricycle races… wonder if I’ll get to see Sam on a tricycle Saturday.  Guess I better bring the extra battery for the camera.

Oh by the way… I first saw the Flip Cup Championship on one of my Facebook friends’ pages, who plans on attending.  Another Facebook friend followed up with a comment:  “Flip cup championship?  Really… there is nothing else better in Memphis going on?”  This second friend recently hosted a tea party.  Really?  You have tea parties and yet feel qualified to comment on the appeal of other people’s events?  Some people shouldn’t be allowed out of Cordova.

OK… gonna make the trip to the Hostess store and pick up those HoHos today.  Possibly back later this afternoon with another post.

More cool stuff upcoming at the Majestic Grille in the next month… for the next four Sundays, they’re going to do Sunday Supper and a Movie, with a special dinner menu at 6:30 PM and movie starting at 7 PM.  Here’s the lineup:

• November 30 – Miracle on 34th Street
• December 7 – Scrooge starring Albert Finney
• December 14 – The Thin Man (dinner at 7, movie at 7:30 for this one)
• December 21 – It’s a Wonderful Life

There will also be a special Thursday movie screening – National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation on Thursday, December 18 at 8 PM.

Also, make reservations for a special Brunch with Santa on Saturday, December 20 from 11 AM to 2 PM.  They’ll have brunch specials, Santa, holiday movies on the big screen, and hot chocolate.  Go to majesticgrille.com to sign up to attend.

Still more to come… if you think Wednesday-Friday is looking like a big party weekend Downtown, I have news that make cause you to extend it to Saturday.

This afternoon or tomorrow I’m going to visit an oft-forgotten gem in Downtown Memphis to do some shopping.  I’m going to head to the Wonder/Hostess thrift store at Danny Thomas and Monroe.

Although they’re best known for Hostess snack cakes, you can actually do quite a bit of your grocery shopping there.  They have really good breads, a selection of canned goods, and other household necessities.

In addition, instead of paying a dolla or more for Hostess Fruit Pies at Walgreen’s or Jack’s, you can pick them up at the thrift store for less than half that amount.  The only downside is that the expiration dates might be 10-12 days away rather than 3 weeks.  So what?  It’s been my experience that Hostess fruit pies don’t last very long in my household.  Plus you can find flavors (lemon, peach) rarely seen in stores.

I thought of the Hostess thrift store because a certain health guru is dragging her feet delivering a meal plan she promised me.  So, I’m going to create my own meal plan centered around Hostess HoHos.  Why HoHos?  Because the creator of the Hot Chicks with Douchebags site eats HoHos while he types and upload photos.  He’s known to be a PBR drinker, so clearly he’s a man of quality whose mannerisms should be emulated.

My health plan also includes lots of vitamin C, which is why I’m off to the Second Street branch office for a little while to squeeze lots of limes into pints of Dos Equis Lager.

It’s cheap to drink at Big Foot Lodge when Monday Night Football is on.  Just bring two dollars to drink on and a dog biscuit to leave as a tip for Meghan, and you’ve bought yourself a 34 oz. Super Cold Coors Light and a ringside seat for Monday Night Football on their 6 TVs.  They also have $3 blue kamikazes, $4 100 proof tequila shots, and 24 wings for $9.99 while the game is on.

Lots of other stuff to do Downtown tonight as well… Di Anne Price on the piano in the Westin lobby… $10 unlimited bowling at Jillian’s… team trivia at the Downtown Monkey (8:00) and Huey’s (9:00)… Calhoun’s usual $1.50 PBR all day, every day with MNF on its 5 TVs… the all day, every day $1 domestics at Hooters… the all day, every day $2.50 PBR at Bardog Tavern ($1.50 from 5 to 7)… and, of course, my favorite, Pint Nite at the Flying Saucer, with almost all pints $2.75.

Majestic and Rooster news still to come… will post later today or tomorrow.