Year: 2009

The Majestic Grille is gearing up for its one-day-only half-off gift card sale. On Wednesday, December 2, the Majestic will begin selling $50 gift cards for only $25 beginning at 9 AM until they run out. If you’re a big fan of the Majestic’s food, this is the way to get to eat a lot of good food for cheap. Note that it’s “9 AM until they run out,” so if you work outside of Downtown, I’d recommend taking as early a lunch as possible (or come in late and get there at 9). You have to purchase them in person – no phone orders.

Note that the gift cards cannot be used until 1/4/10. They also cannot be used for alcohol, tax, gratuity, to-go orders, or for special events.

Suggestion: If you haven’t tried one of Patrick’s filets, it alone is worth splurging on a card. The whole rotisserie chicken is a good one too.

The restaurant is also bringing back Sunday Supper and a Movie starting this Sunday. A special menu will be available, in addition to the regular menu, beginning at 6:30 PM, with movie starting at 7, except as noted below. Here’s the line-up:

November 29: We’re No Angels
December 6: Holiday Inn (dinner at 7, movie at 7:30)
December 13: Christmas in Connecticut
December 20: It’s a Wonderful Life

Reservations for these are highly recommended, as these Sunday movie nights were quite popular last year.

There’s one more too. It’s becoming an annual tradition at the Majestic – the showing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, with costume contests for tackiest sweater and for best Christmas Vacation Character Costume. That will happen on Tuesday, December 8, 7:30 PM special menu, 8 PM movie. I was one of the judges for this last year and it was a whole lot of fun. Note that this event SOLD OUT, so if you want to come you better make reservations well in advance.

I’ve had a couple of people ask me if the Foursquare application is available for the Crapberry… there’s not an app for it, but it looks like you can hit Foursquare’s mobile page through any phone that has a mobile web browser. I’ve become the Mayor of a third location on FourSquare – Number 10 Main, my apartment building.

Also had an e-mail asking what is going on New Year’s Eve other than the parties at the Peabody and Beale… don’t know. Best bet is to go to the DowntownMemphis.com home page and check their calendar of events.

Also check out the Downtown Download blog while you’re on the site, for a post about how the Calhoun’s regulars turned the bar into a gingerbread house for the storefront competition.

All right, enough typing for now. For some reason I thought I could make it without my morning Mountain Dew on the way to work today… that was a stupid move. Gonna run to Exxon and buy one before lunch break ends. I’ll be at Pint Nite at the Saucer about 5:30, then poker night at the Silly Goose at 7:30.

I’ve blogged this weekend about a new social networking app called Foursquare.  It’s one of those apps where you “check in” at your current location.  Unlike other apps, though, it awards you points for checking in, which makes it very addictive.  You can win honors for checking  in at the same place multiple times a week, or for checking in multiple places per night.  It’s an app for drunks.  I expect to do very well on Foursquare.

If you check in at a place  more than anyone else, you become “mayor” of the place.  I became mayor of the Saucer and Silly Goose today.  Goose I will lose within the week, I would think, although maybe not since I will be there for poker tomorrow.  Saucer I may lose and regain a couple of times, but long-term I’m thinking it will probably be me.  Remember, last time I counted my monthly bar appearances, the Saucer count for a 30-day month was 42.

But, I’ve got a question.

Who’s going to emerge as mayor of Calhoun’s?

It’s a tiny bar but the regulars are absolutely rabid about that place.  They love it.  But they’re also a competitive bunch (see Buzztime Trivia and poker).  And most of them have access to an iPhone or similar device.  So, which one of the regulars there will emerge as the long-term mayor?  I can see people making extra trips there just to try to wrest the title away.

Otto is the most tech-savvy, so he would not be a bad bet.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Mikey (who has a trophy there for consecutive days visited) finally breaks down and gets an iPhone to get in the race.

Home from a long, rough day of drinking beer, early enough to get a full night’s sleep.  Finished beer #200 today, due to a new stout going on Fire Sale.

Foursquare is the latest social media app to be hyped to the sky.  Like Brightkite, it’s an app which detects your location and then you can “check in” wherever you are.  However, it seems to be the next big thing.  I read about it earlier this week, but in the news reports it said that Memphis was not among the cities Brightkite covered.  Well, I downloaded it last night, and they have added Memphis.  They have apps for the iPhone and Android and other devices.  Visit their site here, or download their app from the App Store.

You get points for checking in at the same location multiple times a day.  You get points for checking in at the same location more than a certain amount of times in a week.  Hello, Saucer!  I’m guessing I’m going to be on the leaderboard for points for this thing.

You also get points for adding new locations, and Foursquare being new to Memphis, there are plenty of locations to be added.  I just checked in at home at Number 10 Main and got points for adding it.

Just got out of bed.  I thought to myself, “sun’s up, must be about 7.”  No, it’s well after 10.  I’m positive I’m still drunk from last night.  Stupid bars.  Not going to make it to brunch but will be at the Saucer around noon for Sunday Fun Day.

Ate at Kooky Canuck this afternoon. While there I got a tip from Terry the bartender. If you ever eat super hot food that kicks your ass, e.g. the Holy Smokes wings there, drink warm water to relieve the pain. Terry told me that warm water opens up the capillaries on the tongue, whereas ice cold water does just the opposite.

Anyone think certain people have theme songs? Every time I see Terry I’m reminded of when we played a Led Zeppelin IV tape backward in college and it seemed to say “because I live with Satan.” Not sure why.

Whoever’s idea it was to put chunks of ham in the cheesy corn, you are a genius.

As I was walking around taking pics of the Downtown lights last night, I noticed this sign posted at the trolley stops:

Next Friday, you can ride the trolley for only a quarter.  Great day to take the riverfront loop and see the river for cheap.  Or take the trolley to the Pinch and hang out at Westy’s or TJ Mulligan’s.  Or take the trolley to South Main and watch football at Calhoun’s.  Or take the Madison Avenue line and… um, I don’t know, go to the Circle K at Madison and Cleveland or something.

What to do with my Saturday… my plans for tonight got cancelled, so the day is wide open.  My little blue netbook is sitting on the coffee table, saying, “Paul, you know you’d like to open me up and play some poker, wouldn’t you?”

Let’s see what football games we’ve got going on today… Mississippi State at Arkansas at 11:21 AM.  An easy win for the Hogs hopefully.  It’s on ESPN360.com, which I don’t think the Saucer carries, so that’ll save me from starting my beer drinking early.

Memphis at Houston at noon… oh who cares about the football team anymore.  Did you hear Team Pastner slaughtered Tennessee Tech last night?

LSU at Ole Miss at 2:30 on CBS.  Go Tigers!  Ole Miss home game… I’ll have to look for white hoods in the stands.  “The South Shall Rise Again”… I wish an earthquake would rise up and bury Ole Miss for good.  Volcano would work just as well.

Vandy at Tennessee at 6 PM on ESPNU… go Vandy.

Kansas at Texas at 7 on ABC… go Jayhawks.

Meanwhile in basketball news, Rivals.com has just updated their rankings of 2010 recruiting classes.  Who’s #1?  Have a look.

All right, I’m going to sign off and try to figure out what to do with my day… beautiful weather, maybe something outside.

I walked over to Court Square about 5:15 for the flip-the-switch celebration for the Downtown holiday lights.  As I walked up, I noticed two things:  1) There were fewer people than last year, a little surprising because the temps this year were about 30 degrees warmer; and 2) I found it odd that the carolers were caroling at the edge of the square, by the Porter Building, rather than in the gazebo.

As I walked through the square and looked at the lights, though, my questions were answered:  The square had been overrun by rats!  They were running all over the place.  I stayed in the park for 5 minutes and must have seen a dozen of them scampering around.  They definitely were not afraid of humans either.

During the course of the evening, I took two walks and took photos of Downtown storefronts decorated for the holidays.  Here are some pics.

When I was listing all the fun stuff to do Downtown Thanksgiving weekend, I forgot one big event:  Turkey of the Year glass night at the Saucer the night before Thanksgiving.  Every year they pick a “turkey” and honor them on the “buy the beer, keep the glass” night.  Not sure who this year’s turkey will be; my suggestion is in the photo above.  Glasses go on sale Wednesday at 7 PM.  Right down the street from Kooky Canuck who is doing 99 cent Bud Light on Wednesday.  Should be a fun Thanksgiving Eve in the Downtown core.

In other news… South of Beale was reviewed in the Commercial Appeal today. I agree with the reviewer, the duck with duck fried rice is fantastic. And an egg on top too… yum. When eating the dish, I like to think how one day, there was a duck somewhere who was happily swimming and quacking, and then the next day he ended up on my dinner plate. Not good for poor Mr. Duck. Good for South of Beale patrons though.

The KKK is coming to Ole Miss’s campus. What, is it Homecoming weekend down there? The KKK is protesting the ban of Ole Miss’s fight song, where the students chant “The South Shall Rise Again.”

 I was reading an article the other day speculating about SEC bowl births, and how Ole Miss may end up in the Liberty Bowl… God I hope not. One Memphis appearance by the most idiotic football fans in America per year is enough. New Year’s weekend is already enough of an amateur night without those clowns in town.

Now, on the other hand… it’s possible that Arkansas may end up in the Liberty Bowl. That would be a treat, to get to party with some Hog fans… I’ll definitely have the Hog Hat on most of New Year’s weekend if that happens. Of course, I’d love to see the Hogs upset LSU next week and make their way to a higher bowl berth, but if that doesn’t happen, it sure would be nice to have them here in Memphis.

Taking a break from online poker for a while, after a disastrous day Sunday. I think the next time I’ll play will be Thanksgiving. There should be lots of fish online that day, people who know nothing about the game, and are just playing to look busy on the computer so they can avoid talking to Aunt Ethel. Hopefully some easy money to be made.

Wait a minute… if I play PokerStars all day, then hit the Saucer at 5, then head south to the E&H Thanksgiving party, when am I going to EAT??? I guess it’s time to pose the question I ask every year… what Downtown restaurants/bars will be open Thanksgiving Day? E-mail me at paul@paulryburn.com or tweet me at @paulryburn and I’ll compile a list. Wang’s and Westy’s usually keep their normal hours. Any other places open during the daytime that aren’t massively expensive Thanksgiving buffets?

I forgot to mention, yesterday when I had to go Downtown to renew my license, I stopped at Main Street Hound Dogs to grab a dog to eat on the way back to the parking garage. Good stuff and they have an ample selection of toppings. They’re at Main and Union most days, weather permitting, and can deliver to your car if you pull over. Follow them on Twitter at @mainsthounddogs.

I’ll be at the flip-the-switch holiday lighting ceremony at Court Square tonight… will probably get there by 5:15, in time to see the lights come on. Plans after that are wide open. Maybe I’ll walk around and take pics of some of the storefront decorations. Weather is a lot better than last year’s lighting ceremony, when it was freezing cold outside, so come on by!

So as I mentioned in the last post, I had to come downtown in my lunch hour today to renew my driver’s license.  While Downtown I walked down Main, and as I looked down Monroe I saw that this was one of the specials at Bardog:

Pasta Bolognese with a side salad and toast.  I think it was $11.50.  And I would not have known about this except for the fact that I’d randomly walked by earlier.  Lucky accident.

Attn Bardog:  Why don’t you tweet your specials?  I was new to Twitter less than a year ago myself… and at the time I thought it was the stupidest thing ever.  And yet now I check it throughout the day.  Your food is awesome… I would probably eat there 1 additional time a week on average if I could look up your specials on Twitter.  Just a suggestion.  And remember, the Nuh-Uh Girl lives in the same building I do… who knows how many times a week she’d be in there, given that she’s less than a minute from your front door.  Of course who knows if she’d be actually ordering food, or just trying to eat off plates of paying customers.

10:01 PM and I’m home.  May actually get a full night’s sleep tonight.  Oh. One more thing before I go:

Happy birthday Alexis

Finishing my pasta then off to bed.  Will actually get enough sleep to make a decent run at Friday night partying tomorrow.

There’s a party in Court Square tomorrow, Friday, November 20, from 5 to 5:30 to celebrate the flipping of the switch on Downtown’s holiday lights.  There will be Christmas carolers and free gourmet cocoa, courtesy of the Majestic Grille.  I plan on heading that way right after work.

After the lighting ceremony will be the judging of the Downtown business storefront decorating contest at 6.  Good night to walk around Downtown and see how businesses have dressed themselves up for the Christmas season.

If you’re looking for a place to volunteer or donate for the holidays, MIFA has many opportunities.  Find them here.

The City of Memphis is asking everyone to take a minute to fill out a survey about the city’s website.  Click here to go to the survey.  What do I like most about the city’s website?  The fact that it no longer says, “Dr. W. W. Herenton, Mayor.”

Republic Nightclub is having a Customer Appreciation Night Saturday night.  No cover until 12:30 AM.

Sorry there was no lunchtime post today… I had to go get my driver’s license, which expired yesterday, renewed and I wasn’t eligible for online renewal because I needed a new photo taken.  I went to the County Clerk’s office at 150 Washington and there were only TWO people in front of me… not many people know that the Downtown clerk’s office can do renewals and replacements.  Certainly better than the hours-long delay I’ve heard about at the other DL stations… I know many people who have had to take vacation to get the renewal done.  “Happy birthday!  You get to stand in line for a long, long time!”

The Woot-off continues on Woot.com… I just missed an opportunity to buy a Bag of Crap earlier this afternoon.  I’ve been told that the Bag of Crap (it’s like an e-commerce version of a grab bag) is not to be missed.

Fire Sale is Blue Moon, and that’s one of my favorite beers, so you know where I’m heading as soon as I hit the Publish button.

Just wanted to pop in and say thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday today via text or Facebook.  Gotta run to a work birthday luncheon for November birthdays, so this has got to be a super short post.

No big plans for tonight… a Wednesday in the middle of November is a really boring time to have a birthday.  Will probably drop by the art opening at the Majestic, then I’ll park myself at the Saucer for a while.  How bout them Tigers, holding the #1 team in the country to two points… over and out, time to eat.