I’m hearing from a couple of sources that the Brass Door, the Irish pub on Madison, will open this weekend. Don’t take that as gospel: I haven’t heard it from the owners themselves, but I saw it on Twitter, posted by someone I consider a credible source. I’ve also been invited to a birthday party there this weekend, and it’s hard to imagine someone would schedule a party there if they weren’t pretty sure it would be open. That said, new restaurants often face last minute hurdles regarding permits and inspections. If I get in there this coming weekend, I’ll try to take photos.
It’s week 2 of Hell’s Kitchen, and the Green Beetle and contestant Jonathon Plumley will host another watch party tonight at 7. Plumley will again serve his Punch Drunk Chicken. More details and news about the Beetle can be found in their week 2 blog post.
The Memphis City Gardens at Central Station would like you to take a brief survey. They’re trying to measure the pulse of Downtowners on adding a recycle bin near the Memphis Farmers Market. You can take the survey here.
The Flying Saucer has announced that their third annual Elvis pub crawl will be the night of Saturday, August 13. List of bars to come, but save the date, and in the meantime, you can prepare by doing some grocery shopping. As always, the pub crawl will benefit the Memphis Food Bank, and they’ll be collecting canned goods. I’m sure Susie, Nikki and others will be relieved to hear that I’m not dyeing my hair black this year.
Weather nerd alert: The new 30-year averages for Memphis for temperature and precipitation, covering the period 1981 to 2010, have been released. MemphisWeather.net has them here. One thing I noticed, looking through them: In previous 10-year averages, the normal highs were out of the 90s by the last week of August. The new averages have the 90s normal highs continuing into the first week of September. Also, in the 1971-2000 averages, the normal low only hit 74 degrees two days out of the year. In the 1981-2010 averages, there are 38 days with a normal low of 74. Summer is getting longer. Also, winter is getting shorter; the normal low never dips below freezing in the new averages, and there are only 12 days when it even reaches 32.
Watch this YouTube video to hear what Governor Bill Haslam had to say about Downtown Memphis when he spoke last week at the annual DMC (formerly CCC) luncheon.
A very fun Sunday Fun Day yesterday afternoon. Throughout the afternoon, nearly 20 members of our extended group of friends stopped by the Saucer, drinking, laughing, having a good time. Clearly the Saucer is still the place to be on Sunday afternoon, and once again people commented how much easier it was to breathe without the cigarette smoke. The group was still going strong at nearly 6, and as much as I would have liked to stay longer, I had to stop by Bardog to see Brooke at her last Sunday shift. Fun times there too. Took home the Dog of the Day; my health guru probably won’t be happy to hear that it was my combined breakfast, lunch and dinner. I took some photos, including one of Christy chowing down on chicken fingers, but the camera isn’t here with me so I’ll have to post later.
It’s Monday, so the usual stuff is going on today. The watch party at the Beetle; trivia night at Bar None, 7:30; poker night at the Silly Goose, 9:00; happy hour with Melissa at Bardog, 5 to 7; Salty Dogs runners’ group meets at Bardog for a 7 PM run; Pint Nite at the Saucer all day, with most draft pints $3; half price pizza and wine at Spindini.