Month: February 2011

Today I ate lunch at H.T. Ponder’s, a catfish lunch buffet in Horn Lake. As I walked outside I noticed this sign:

If you call them, here’s what you’ll be getting:

Yeah I know most of you don’t care, but you never know, maybe somewhere there’s a horse reading my blog. As my “dawg” John D would say, “Hay, now!”

All right, on with the news. There’s not much of it today. First and foremost, keep up with the weather. The MemphisWeather.net blog indicates that severe weather is likely after 3 PM. The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore is in town, which is a sign that weathermen believe dangerous storms will happen.

Best bar to hang out when there’s severe weather? My vote would probably be for Bardog, because they have the downstairs room with no windows. Kooky Canuck is good too, because when the weather is bad they usually have storm coverage on one of their TVs at the bar.

Quick reminder to vote for Memphis startup Carson Rotisseries in this About.com poll. I’ve heard they’re running neck and neck with The Big Green Egg. Voting goes on until March 8.

A friend texted me that Victoria’s Secret in Peabody Place Mall has closed. Where will the Saucer girls now run to when they forget to wear underwear to work? I’m not kidding, this has actually happened.

All right, lunch hour’s over, so it’s time to hit Publish and get back to copying and pasting a tracker onto hundreds of web pages. I wish the previous webmasters had taken advantage of PHP’s include() function so I could do this one time rather than many. Not sure if I’ll get out tonight. Due to the weather I probably won’t defend my poker championship at Max’s.

“We are now Heads Up”

One of my favorite notifications in online poker. Meaning, we started with a field (anywhere from 6 to thousands) and you made the final two.

I made the final table at Bardog tonight but not heads up. Here’s a pic of the finalists, with Poker Jon dealing.

Local sports writer Doc Hancock has a new blog up that outlines the reasons UT athletic director Mike Hamilton and UT men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl should be fired. Read it here. He pretty much nailed it in this post. Good job.

stiQRd, the virtual loyalty card company that launched last month, tweeted a fantastic article today: 16 QR code uses for restaurants. Every restaurant owner, manager, and marketing specialist reading this needs to click through and read the article. It’s loaded with ideas.

Crawfish season is almost here. Local Gastropub has announced that they will do crawfish boils every Sunday in March. Mmmm crawfish… if you don’t want to wait for Rajun Cajun Fest on April 17, Local’s got you covered sooner.

Youth Villages Soup Sunday is this Sunday, February 27, at the FedExForum. For $20 you get all the soup you can eat from 11 AM to 2 PM. Soup is provided by many Memphis restaurants – see the complete list on the event’s home page. Time to make my usual announcement: If you plan on going, get there early and be in line at exactly 11 AM. Lines will get wrong, vendors will run out (especially the most popular soups).

The annual Phoenix Club Mardi Gras party will be next Friday, March 4 at the Cadre Building. This is one of their big fundraisers to support the Boys & Girls Clubs of Memphis. There will be music by Papa Grows Funk, casino games by Harrah’s, beer by Budweiser, wine by Star, and specialty cocktails by Itta Bena, BB King’s, and South of Beale. Go to the Phoenix Club web site to buy tickets.

The Boston Pops are doing their first ever summer tour, and they will make a stop at AutoZone Park August 21 with special guest Kenny Loggins. The orchestra will perform pieces that celebrate America’s pastimes: baseball, movies, and rock’n’roll. Tickets will be $40, $55 and $80 and will go on sale February 28.

The University of Tennessee received its official letter of allegations from the NCAA yesterday, full of charges against the men’s basketball and football teams. Sports writer Dan Wolken pointed out that men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl and assistant Tony Jones hosted an illegal visit with a recruit four days AFTER Pearl’s teary-eyed press conference. Fire these douchebags already!

If you own or manage a restaurant, check back tonight: Got a good link for you to check out. Maybe other stuff too.

The Center City Commission is searching for performers/demos/etc. for its springtime Downtown Alive! series. Every spring, the CCC hosts free lunchtime performances in Court Square. Last year there was a little of everything – ballet, rock concerts, a corporate karaoke challenge, Memphis trivia with Pete the Trivia Guy, and a lot more. If you have a talent you want to share, fill out this application.

Speaking of Court Square, Girl Scout cookies will be sold there from 11 AM to 1 PM Friday.

Mayor Wharton announced that the city will start taking applications on February 28 for its Youth Ambassadors program. 10th-12th graders can earn a stipend while learning how to become involved in their community. Here’s info on how to apply.

I found a good food blog: Wendy Eats. I don’t know if she’s a Downtowner, but she’s reviewed Bar None, Hunt-Phelan, Slim’s and the Majestic in the past month. She writes well and posts lots of photos. I will definitely have to bookmark her blog.

Maggie Moo’s is having a grand opening celebration Friday for their new trolley stop store next to the Center for Southern Folklore.  Stop by between noon and 10 for special offers, giveaways, balloons, and a chance to meet Maggie Moo herself.

I’ve been hearing all day that the University of Tennessee will get “the letter” from the NCAA this week. Don’t know for sure it will relate to Bruce Pearl, since darn near every athletic program at UT is under investigation right now. If it does, though, Douchey Brucey might not survive long enough to see his Vols play their first-round game in the NIT. GO VANDY tonight! Give the Bruchebag one more thing to cry about.

Outta here for now, time to go win some gift certificates at trivia.

This morning Mayor Wharton made an announcement that Memphis will be the newest city to join The EV Project. Charging stations for electric cars will be placed in residential and commercial areas, and the first station will be at Downtown’s Peabody Hotel.

Tickets to Memphis Brewfest are now on sale. The festival will be at AutoZone Park on Saturday, April 16 from 4 to 7:30 PM. That’s the same day as Hot Wing Fest on South Main, but since Hot Wing Fest begins at noon, it would certainly be possible to do both.

The Madison Hotel will have a dinner featuring all white wines March 8. Here’s the lineup.

Amuse: mini goat cheese cake served with a Foris Pinot Gris
Starter: pan-seared scallops on fennel slaw with a mussel saffron sauce accompanied by a David Bruce Chardonnay
Entrée: roasted duck breast served with baby bok choy, herbed couscous and a cardamom orange glaze with a Chandon Pinot Meunier
Dessert: frozen key lime soufflé paired with an Astoria Sweet Prosecco

Dinner prepared by executive chef Chris Windsor; wines provided by Southwest Distributing. $59, reservations recommended, call 901-333-1224 to get them.

Off to grab lunch at one of my new favorite places in Southaven, Abbays. It’s a Southern meat-and-(one, two, or three) joint. If you go, definitely get the spicy fried broccoli as one of your veggies. Tonight I’ll be at the Saucer at 7 for trivia.

Wednesday night from 6 to 8 at Earnestine & Hazel’s, there will be a benefit for longtime bartender Karen Brownlee. Karen recently had heart surgery and will be unable to work for several weeks. E&H owner Russell George and several other people put together this fundraiser to help raise money to replace what she’s not making in tips. Come on down and show some love to a bartender who has taken such good care of all of us for so long. Word has it that Karen herself may make an appearance at the party.

Jerry “The King” Lawler failed to take the WWE championship last night on PPV. Disappointing, but it was good to see “The King” main-eventing a pay-per-view, which will earn him a nice little bonus. Hopefully he’ll get a match next month at Wrestlemania as well.

While we’re on the subject of wrestling, there will be a new film out next month entitled Memphis Heat: The True Story of Memphis Wrasslin’. It will show footage from the days when Memphis wrestling first got hugely popular in the Sputnik Monroe era, all the way through the ’70s when Jerry Lawler and “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart were the big names in Memphis. It will premiere at Malco Paradiso with shows at 7 and 9 on March 24, and then will have a week-long run at Studio on the Square beginning the 25th. To commemorate the film, March 24 is being named National Sputnik Monroe Day. More info on the film:

www.memphis-heat.com
www.memphisheatthemovie.com
www.facebook.com/memphisheat

National Sputnik Monroe Day video

Movie trailer

Voting is in for the favorite flatbread or appetizer at the Majestic Grille. Winner is the roasted chicken flatbread. It will be on sale for only $5 all this week, as part of the lead up to the Majestic’s 5th birthday.

Facebook app I saw mentioned online this morning: The Breakup notifier. If you like someone, but they’re taken, you log into Facebook using the app, select whom on your friend list you like, and it will notify you by e-mail when there is a change in their relationship status. Hmmm. Not sure what to think of this. I’m having mixed reactions of “that’s pretty cool” and “that takes stalking to a whole new level.” Also a little concerned what the app does with the information. How do I know it’s not sending an e-mail to the women I select, saying, “Someone has a crush on you, find out who?” I think I’ll pass on this one.

I owe the Folk Alliance people a huge apology for not taking full advantage of my media pass. Both Friday and Saturday nights, I meant to go check out the nighttime private showcases, and both nights I got sidetracked right around 10 PM. Truly sorry and I do appreciate the hospitality. I listened to some of the CDs in my promotional tote bag Saturday and they’re good stuff.

Bracketology update: Memphis is still listed in Joe Lunardi’s NCAA bracket, in a play-in game vs. Butler for an 11 seed. We’re one of the “last four in” and are extremely lucky to even be considered on the bubble after that horrible loss to Rice. I still don’t understand how Tennessee can be considered an 8 seed. They have eleven losses, for heaven’s sake, plus they’ll probably lose to Vandy and/or Kentucky and then lose again in the SEC tournament. Could they really get in with 13-14 losses? This Chattanooga Times Free Press article suggests that the NCAA selection committee may not look favorably upon UT’s record since the Bruchebag returned to the sideline.

It’s Pint Nite at the Saucer tonight, so I guess I’ll knock off a few pints toward my 6th plate. Plate party number 5 will be sometime in the next three and a half weeks, and is scheduled an hour before a Grizzlies game. Well, you know, wonder why I did that?

Check back tonight. I’ll have info on a benefit for one of Downtown’s favorite bartenders, and possibly other news.

Tonight on pay-per-view, Jerry “The King” Lawler challenges The Miz for the WWE championship. The King won a 7-man battle royal a few weeks ago on Monday Night Raw to earn the honor. If he wins he will be one of the oldest world champions in history at 61. (I believe Mr. McMahon was a few months older when he won the ECW World Championship in 2007.)

Memphis Sport posted a look at The King’s greatest matches this week.

Best of luck tonight Jerry! Memphis would love for you to bring the WWE title belt home.