Fasten your seat belt if you plan to drive Downtown

Last night, our trivia team had its quarterly party at the Saucer.  We were all watching out the windows, as cops were walking out into traffic on Second every time the light at Peabody Place turned red.  If they saw someone who didn’t have their seat belt on, they pulled the violator over and wrote a ticket.

I’ve heard they’ve been doing it on Union as well.  If you’re driving Downtown, buckle up, and let the police find someone else to harass.

Fri update: Circa moving east, CY Brewfest tix on Sale, the Iron Sheik wants Snooki, and more

The big news everyone’s talking about this morning is that John Bragg has announced he’s moving Circa to East Memphis. I actually have known about this for a couple of weeks. John told me about it one day at the Saucer but asked me not to blog it yet. Sad to see it go but I can understand the need to be in a location more convenient to Circa’s target market. I also heard some of the ideas for the casual neighborhood place John intends to put in at the current location, and think it could be a good gathering spot for people who live in the Downtown core.

Circa will continue to serve dinner at the current location until the new location is ready, probably in October. Now I’ve really got to stop being so lazy and get down there for their Gorgonzola Filet while I still do it without driving a car.

Tickets for the October 9 Cooper-Young Brewfest go on sale today on their website. Downtowners: Who wants to split a cab with me to and from the beer fest? We can probably get enough people together to get one of those van cabs.

Once again I recommend that you follow @the_ironsheik on Twitter if you’re an ’80s wrestling fan. Apparently Sheik is a Jersey Shore fan, because last night he tweeted that he would like to “have the sex with the Snookie.” He then tweeted, “hello the @Sn00ki if you want to have good time, and be with the legend, I show you who the real champion is. Come to my house now.” Be prepared to deal with A LOT of profanity if you follow the Iron Sheik, but he is damn funny.

Speaking of Jersey Shore, or at least speaking of people who look like they should be on the show, good seeing Meghan last night on Silly Goose’s patio. This morning I saw that she’d checked into Bardog after I left, so apparently she tried to follow me there.  I may have to stop tweeting my Foursquare checkins.

Rocky Horror Picture Show is tonight at the Orpheum. You can bring your own props, or buy a bag of props from the theater. I went last year and it was SO MUCH FUN. I highly recommend you go.

Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it to Rocky Horror… will be busy drinking beer! There may be pics tomorrow.

Stone Ruination IPA @ Flying Saucer

From time to time I’ll go out to eat, and I’ll take and post pics of particularly good food I had to eat Downtown.  “Maybe I should do the same for beer,” I thought.

One of my favorite beers at the Saucer, when I want to treat myself, is Stone Ruination IPA.

For those not familiar with styles of beer, “pale ales” tend to be more hoppy and bitter than most varieties.  “India Pale Ales,” or IPAs, are so named because when they were first brewed, extra hops had to be added so they could be transported all the way to India without spoiling.  This tended to make them even more bitter and high in alcohol.  Ruination is a “Double IPA,” so you can imagine the bitterness (100+ IBUs, for those of you who speak beer).  They even tell you on the back of the bottle that this beer will ruin your palate.

At 7.7% alcohol, this is not a beer to mess around with when you want something light and summery.  Probably a good idea to have a designated driver lined up before you attempt this one.  Once you acquire a taste for Ruination, though, it is really good beer.

More info on Ruination IPA here.

This is what happens when you advertise “complimentary appetizers”

South of Beale had their 1st birthday party a week ago Saturday, with complimentary appetizers from 4-6, $1 Ghost River Golden until the keg ran out, and $2 birthday shots all night.  I got there right after 4, and found the gang at the corner table.  “We saved you a seat,” they said.

Not long after, the complimentary appetizers began to come out.  They started serving in the back of the room, which made sense, since it’s nearest the kitchen.  Right around that time, the Nuh-Uh Girl came in.  She saw all her friends seated near the front door.  Then she saw the appetizers being served in the back of the room, and she made a beeline back there where she found some people to sit with.

A few minutes later, Brittany made it to the front of the room, where we were seated, with an appetizer tray.

All of the sudden, the Nuh-Uh Girl appeared at our table and reached for an appetizer.  It happened so fast, I didn’t have time to focus the camera.

I did get the camera focused for the next appetizer, though.

With everyone served, Brittany started to walk away from our table, to serve the others in the restaurant.  The Nuh-Uh Girl decided she had some very important things to talk to Brittany about, and followed after her, of course reaching for more appetizers as they talked.

Thanks to SOB for a great party.  The chips and dip, hummus, and shrimp on grit fries were all delicious.  Apologies for taking a week and a half to blog about it – sometimes things get stuck in Drafts and I forget they’re there.

Thur update: Parking on Main Street Mall, Third Thursday block party, Bardog Tavern 5K, Peabody ducks

GREAT NEWS for those of us who are tired of seeing cars parked all over the Main Street Mall. Center City Commission president Paul Morris, after receiving numerous complaints about the matter, checked into the CCC’s charter and discovered that the organization has the power to write parking tickets on the pedestrian mall. If a car is parked on the mall without a valid permit for loading and unloading, they’re breaking the law, and they’re going to start receiving tickets. It’s about time! Great job Paul!

Tonight is the “Third Thursday” block party on the Peabody Place block of the Main Street Mall. Many of the businesses will have food and drink specials and retail discounts. The Ghost Town Blues band and jazz/funk band Tempeh Four will be playing outside.

There’s also going to be a flash mob at the event… people are encouraged to bring water guns, and around 6:45, when Buster Poindexter’s “Hot Hot Hot” is played, a water gun fight will break out. Unarmed people are off limits, and the fight is over when the song ends.

The Bardog Tavern 5K is only 10 days away, Sunday, August 29. You can register online here, or you can register at Bardog or at either Breakaway Running location. If you’re not a runner, you can walk. If you don’t even want to walk, but want to donate (all funds raised will go to St. Jude), you can donate on the race registration website as well.

Funds donated through the site will count toward the Dunk Jen fund. Later in the day, Bardog Tavern will have its second birthday, and if $500 is raised for St. Jude to dunk Jen, she’ll get in the dunking booth in a bikini. The person who donates the most gets the first three attempts to dunk Jen. Jen is the organizer of the Monday night Salty Dog runners club that meets at Bardog at 7 PM.

There was an article in the CA this morning about the Peabody ducks serving as traveling ambassadors. About 20 times each year, the ducks visit schools, hospitals, and retirement homes, doing an extended version of their red-carpet march, with time to talk and answer questions.

Off to lunch… sorry for the lack of posts yesterday, just didn’t have anything.

Interesting new job opening at the Peabody. Plus: Lots more jobs

The Peabody tweeted a link to its job openings this afternoon. Just out of curiosity, I clicked on the link, and noticed a very interesting new open position as of today… they’re looking for a public relations coordinator.  If you’re looking to get into marketing/PR, this would be a great job to have. You’d be working at one of the South’s most recognizable businesses. You’d get to do web 2.0 stuff, work with the CVB and other local tourist organizations, and you’d get to assist in the planning of the Peabody’s summer rooftop series and New Year’s Eve party. I know some of the people you’d be working with, and it’s a good group. If you’re trying to break into PR, by all means, apply for this!

They have plenty of other other job openings as well: Valet parker, housekeeper, turndown attendant, maintenance person, painter, corner bar bartender, front desk supervisor/rooms controller, evening bell captain, and lobby bar cocktail server. If you’re job hunting, you might want to bookmark their page and follow @PeabodyMemphis on Twitter for updates.  Some of the jobs aren’t glamorous, but hey, it’s a paycheck.  Beats sitting at home collecting unemployment.

$1 PBR, $3 shots, ’80s DJ in Rockbottom every Tue starting tonight

Tuesdays at Rockbottom, in the basement of Rehab Disco on Front Street, are about to get good. Starting tonight, every Tuesday at 10 PM they will have a DJ playing ’80s retro tunes. They will also have drink specials, including $3 lemon drop and pink lemondade shooters, and $1 PBR.

Let me repeat that. DOLLAR PBR.

Hmmm I may have a new after-trivia stop from now on Tuesday nights.

Tue update: Vote for Downtown dance studio, Plush Club, Rocky Horror, HORRIBLE Fire Sale, Bardog Pint Night, and more

A Downtown dance studio for children has a shot at a $10,000 grant and they need your help. Watoto de Afrika, located at 55 S. Main, is one of ten finalists for the “Community Champion Award” from General Mills for their 25 years of work with inner-city youth. Watoto de Afrika shares music with children in the hopes that they will develop an appreciation for their cultural heritage, as well as their own individual musical expressions. Please take a moment to go here to vote for Watoto de Afrika to receive the grant.

The Memphis Business Journal reports that a group of investors is working to open the old Plush Club building at Fourth and Beale with a totally new concept. They hope to call it Marley’s Restaurant and they are negotiating with the family of Bob Marley for the use of the name. During the daytime it will be a family-friendly restaurant. They will have Caribbean and reggae bands, and after 10 PM it will be 25 and up. They want to make sure that the club never again becomes the nuisance it has been in recent years. Any plan to re-open in that space must be approved by the Attorney General, who took steps to close down the Plush Club earlier this year.

Rocky Horror Picture Show is this Friday at the Orpheum. I went last year and it was a LOT of fun, and yes there were squirt guns, rolls of toilet paper, cards, and all the other accessories that are part of acting along with the movie. If you haven’t done this, you should check it out. Unfortunately I wasn’t aware of Rocky Horror when the trivia team booked our party for that night. Guess I’ll have to wait until 2011 to do the Time Warp again. Damn it, Janet!

The Saucer has decided to put Abita Turbo Dog on $2.75 Fire Sale today. If you’ve ever wondered what the oil spill in the Gulf tastes like, get a Turbo Dog and you’ll have a good idea. On the other hand, if you want a good beer at a reasonable price, it’s $3 Pint Night from 7 to close a few blocks away at Bardog Tavern. Your choice of ten premium drafts (well, really, nine and PBR) for $3.

I had a meeting with some Grizzlies marketing people and some other Downtowners last night. Can’t give details yet, but it looks like a very cool event is being put together for a night this fall. Stay tuned.

Day 4 of the black Elvis hair and the old blond color is starting to show through in places. I don’t have time to dye it again until Saturday. It may look really craptacular by then.

Time for a Target run and then lunch. I’ll be at trivia tonight at 7 at the Saucer, although I won’t be drinking the Fire Sale.

Water drinkers are people too

One of the good things about the Elvis pub crawl last weekend was that I got to meet people I knew from Twitter, but had never met face to face. One of my Twitter friends suggested a blog topic while we were stumbling in our Elvis costumes.

“Bartenders aren’t very nice to customers ordering water,” she said. “They don’t give the same friendly service they do to customers ordering drinks.”

On one hand, that makes some sense… water is free. Since people usually tip on a percentage of their order, most people don’t tip when they get a water, even though the bartender has to do the same amount of work as they would pouring a beer.

However, my new friend pointed out, people drinking water is a big part of what keeps the bar business going. She was designated driver for her friend, so she was doing what she needed to do to keep both of them safe.

There are also people who drive to a bar, drink a few beers, and then drink a few waters to sober up before they drive home. Seems like they should be encouraged to stick around and drink those waters. If they don’t, they might get a DUI on the way home, in which case they’re probably not going to be coming back to the bar for more beers in the future.

So, we stumbled on to our next stop. I ordered a beer, and the bartender poured it and smiled and said, “There you go. Need anything else?” Then my friend ordered a water, and the same bartender poured it and slung it at her without a word. “All I ask for is a little eye contact,” my friend said.

Just something to think about, for those in the service industry. Water drinkers are people too.