August 2011 – Page 3 – Paul Ryburn's Journal

Wed update: Third Thursday tomorrow, A&F/The Situation and more

Tomorrow is the Third Thursday block party on the block of Main at Peabody Place. Many of the businesses in the area will offer retail and food specials. There will be live music by Brandon Santini & Vic Wainwright, Mike Darby and Hope Clayburn. It starts at 5:30 and is absolutely free to attend, so come on down.

Now here’s something funny: Abercrombie & Fitch is willing to pay Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino to stop wearing their clothes. Their corporate management feels that it hurts their brand’s image to have such a giant douchebag wear their clothes on Jersey Shore every week, and they’re willing to write him a check to get him to stop. The same offer has been made to other members of the cast. This is probably a good move. They don’t want their brand becoming the next Affliction.

Congratulations to The Rapscallions, who won the 12-week $300 cumulative trivia prize last night at the Silly Goose. We also picked up a $25 second-place weekly prize. A new 12-week contest begins next Wednesday.

Before going to the Goose, I pre-gamed with a few beers at the Saucer. Their trivia starts an hour earlier, and I got to hear the first few questions. One was notable: “What street gang uses the six-pointed star as its symbol?” Only in Memphis would you see that as a trivia question. I knew the answer too: The Gangster Disciples use a 6-pointed star, while the Vice Lords use a five-pointed star. So the next time you drive down Chelsea and see “6 poppin 5 droppin” spray-painted on an abandoned building, now you know what it means.

Plans for tonight: If the Saucer follows through with their promise of an excellent Fire Sale, I’ll be tempted to spend the entire evening there. I really should head south for a little while, though, to catch Dynaflow when they take the stage at Earnestine & Hazel’s at 9. One thing’s for sure: It will be a late night, because I don’t have to work tomorrow! Vacation starts at 5 PM and I don’t have to go back until Tuesday.

Oh NO… just remembered we’re having a party at work this afternoon to celebrate our second-quarter accomplishments, and I’m supposed to speak. That totally slipped my mind. Well, as pro wrestler Dutch Mantel likes to say, “If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.” Time to grab a quick burger and think about what to say.

Tue update: Madison Avenue, Dynaflow to play E&H, SEE Memphis fundraiser and more

Very good news this morning. Judge Potter of the Environmental Court has ordered Madison Avenue partly re-opened. Madison has been closed between Main and Second since March 26, when a dilapidated building had its roof collapse. The owner has taken his sweet time tearing the building down, leaving one of Downtown’s major east-west thoroughfares, and the Madison trolley line, closed. Per Potter’s court order, the avenue will open to eastbound traffic, and the trolley will resume its route.

I hope city officials learn from this, and take steps to aggressively fine neglectful property owners whose fail to maintain dilapidated buildings. It’s absolutely ridiculous that Madison has been closed for four and a half months. We need to stop providing tax incentives for property owners to leave their buildings in as crummy as state as possible. Not sure if that’s a reform that needs to happen at the city, county or state level, but it needs to happen.

In other news… if you’re a fan of Earnestine & Hazel’s, tomorrow night between 9 and 11 would be a good time to be there. Dynaflow will be playing some good old rock and roll on their vintage amps. I can’t think of a better band to bring out the character of that space.

A reminder that SEE Memphis’ 5-year anniversary party is Thursday from 5:00 until 7:30 PM. A $10 donation gets you BBQ from Memphis in May team Sweet Swine O’Mine and Ghost River beer. Ray-Ban will host a trunk show with new styles and classic favorites. Donations benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

Tonight is week 12 of the 12-week trivia contest at the Silly Goose. Winner gets $300, and my team the Rapscallions is looking to lock it up. Of course, there are weekly prizes of $50, $25 and $10 as well. A new 12-week game will begin next week. Other stuff going on: Trivia nights at the Saucer (earn points to try and win a trip to the Abita brewery) and Ferraro’s (15 all-you-can-eat pizza and all-you-can-drink PBR); pint night at Bardog from 7 to 3 with all drafts $3; $5 half-yards at Bar None.

Brass Door joined the Saucer and Bardog last night in my collection of Foursquare mayorships. There’s no way I will be able to simultaneously hold all three for long.

Programming note: I’ll be on vacation Thursday, Friday and Monday. Vacation from work, that is, not vacation from blogging. During that time posting will happen on a random, possibly several-times-per-day schedule, than on the lunchtime schedule you’re used to.

Time to hit Taco Bell then get back to work on PHP arrays.

A critical review of my salad bar plate at Texas de Brazil

Today I met a group of friends at Texas de Brazil for Sunday brunch. Earlier this year I bought a VIP card, entitling me and my friends to 12 half-off dinners (or brunches), not valid Friday and Saturday night and holidays. I was getting worried the expiration date (9/29/11) would hit before I got to use any of my 12 stamps, but today we got a group in there. Sunday brunch is similar to dinner at TdB, except there are a couple less meats, and the salad bar has brunch items. In particular, it had bacon, eggs, sausage, and au gratin potatoes. Here’s a pic of my salad plate. I want to do a critical review of what I did right and wrong at TdB today. I’ve been there a number of times, and every time I learn more what works and what doesn’t.

What I did right:

1) Unlimited mimosa: For $3 more you can get unlimited mimosas (champagne + orange juice). Normally they serve them in champagne flutes, but the servers recognized us and just went with the wine glasses. They knew if they didn’t, they’d be refilling us constantly. I think I had 7 wine glasses of mimosa for 3 bucks. Can’t beat that.

2) Bacon. Clearly bacon is the centerpiece of the plate pictured above. My only regret is that I should have taken one more piece. Maybe two more.

3) Au gratin potatoes. These are the best potatoes in the world. If I had a constant stream of these potatoes for free I would wear an “I ♥ Cubicles” shirt. I would go to karaoke at the Monkey. I would cheer for Bruce Pearl. I would move to Cordov… well, let’s not go that far. I do love these potatoes, though, and the au gratin sauce is excellent for dipping the bacon.

4) Lobster bisque. Pictured at top. Also excellent for dipping the bacon, the cheeses, and pretty much everything.

5) The jalapeno. You’ve always got to get one jalapeno. This is a roll of the dice. Maybe it’s hot, maybe it’s not. You can eat it with your fingers or fork and knife. Either way is fine.

6) I didn’t waste any plate space on salad. Yes, they have it, lettuce, croutons, dressing and all that. It’s a waste of valuable plate real estate. Skip it and leave room for more worthy choices, like more bacon.

7) Chocolate mousse (not shown). Get a BIG bowl of this after you get done with the meats. Sometimes they have fruit salad instead; recommendation still stands.

What I did wrong:

1) Mozzarella ball. Should’ve gotten two.

2) Didn’t get asparagus, which was on the salad bar. Helps you metabolize alcohol faster. Given that I had ~7 mimosas, I needed asparagus.

3) The sausage. This was a “banger” as the Irish call it. Not bad but I would have done better to skip it and get another piece of bacon instead.

4) A few more shrimp than I needed. Don’t get me wrong, the sauteed shrimp on the salad bar are top-notch. If I’d gotten three less, though, there would’ve been room for another piece of bacon.

After I finished my salad bar plate, I turned my indicator green and the servers started coming around with meat. Recommendation here: The house sirloin. Try everything once, but try the house sirloin, or picanha as they call it in Brazil, two or three times. I didn’t take pics of the meat, because meat isn’t that pretty.

As always, an unforgettable meal. It’s not an every-week thing, but if you haven’t been to TdB for brunch, you need to go at least once. I tweeted that I’m going to form a band called the Meatles and sing about their meats. The restaurant retweeted it. That made me happy.

Only downside is that I got in trouble with the Saucer waitresses, who follow me on Twitter. They knew I was there and were very displeased that I didn’t bring leftovers.

A second recommendation: If you normally order meat medium well or well done, consider backing it up to medium rare or at least medium. It’s all you can eat, so if you don’t like it, just ask for a clean plate. If you give it a chance, I think you’ll find medium rare/medium has a lot more flavor than medium well/well done.

Pretty much a perfect Sunday Fun Day. Next Sunday will be nothing like it, but will be close to perfect too, because it will be Bardog’s 3rd birthday alley party.

(Edited to add: A couple of people ordered dessert. My friend Moody’s cheesecake arrived while she was outside smoking, and I snapped a pic.)

Pla-Dook @ Thai Bistro

I’ll admit that I’ve never been the biggest fan of fish in general. Growing up, when we ate out my mother often wanted to go to Catfish Cabin, and I’d recommend “anywhere else” as an alternate suggestion. So when Thai Bistro opened Downtown and I checked out its menu, catfish dishes were not at the top of my list to try.

A recent blog post by Kerry changed my opinion. She and a friend went to Thai Bistro last week. The friend raved about the Pla-Dook, a dish of deep-fried catfish and mixed vegetables topped in chili sauce. It seemed to me that a nice, spicy sauce would accentuate the taste of the fish, so this afternoon I gave it a try. As with most of their dishes, you can order it mild, medium, spicy or fire. I was very tempted to go with “fire” but held back because it was a Saturday. With a long night ahead, I didn’t need an upset stomach if the fire sauce turned out to be too hot to handle. I went with my default setting of spicy.

I’ll say the same thing I said about the Seafood Pik Pow earlier this week: Darn near perfect. The catfish came with carrots cut in the shape of flowers, green and red peppers, broccoli, onions, squash and zucchini, as well as a bowl of rice which I used to soak up the sauce. The fish was absolutely delicious and the sauce had exactly the right amount of spice: Enough to make my nose run a little, but not enough to make me breathe fire like a dragon. Service was excellent as usual, with my server bringing my a new Coke halfway through my meal because he thought the old one might be getting warm.

I would absolutely get this again. If, like me, you’ve gone through life with a prejudice against fish, put it aside when you visit Thai Bistro. You will be rewarded, trust me. Their other spicy fish dish, Fish Supreme made with tilapia, is now on my list of things to try next.

By the way: They don’t have their liquor license yet, so no dollar mimosas tomorrow. If all goes well, they will have it Thursday, so Sunday a week from now will be a Fun Day indeed.

Even if you’re not doing Stumbling Elvis pub crawl tonight, you can drop off canned good donations at the Flying Saucer today

The Flying Saucer has a receptacle set up to receive donations for the Mid-South Food Bank. Even if you’re not able to make it to the Stumbling Elvis pub crawl, which kicks off there tonight at 7, you can still bring canned goods by. I just got back from Easy Way, where I purchased my donation.

I’ll probably run it down there about 5 and stay for some beers, unless Foursquare or text indicate that I need to be there sooner.

In other news…

The Redbirds are having a Babytime Baby Race at tonight’s game. Three babies will be selected and will go on the field to see who can be first to the finish line. This is a great opportunity for fans in attendance to go to the restroom, get a beer, or catch up with their text messages and social media apps. Fireworks tonight after the game. 6:05 start time.

There will be an end of summer wine tasting reception Tuesday, August 23 at Grill 83. Guests will be able to taste each of the available wines and visit the food stations while listening to ambient jazz. Wines:

2008 Ca’ Montini Pinot Grigio
2008 Monmousseau Vouvray
2010 Monmousseau Rose D’Anjou
2010 Tilia Chardonnay
2009 Catena Malbec
Monmousseau Brut Etoile

Food stations:

Caesar Salad Station: freshly made Caesar dressing, chopped heart of romaine served in a bamboo bowl, and topped with grated parmesan
Brazos Valley Cheese Display: sliced ciabatta bread with blueberry Havarti and organic blueberries, creamy Brie with a line of vegetable ash in the center wrapped in edible fig leaves, and a horseradish pecan cheddar with roasted pecan bits and zesty horseradish
Dessert Station: ginger crème brûlée and a variety of toppings to choose from

Call 901-333-1224 for reservations. $35 per person includes tax and gratuity.

Congratulations, by the way, to Grill 83 on achieving Project Green Fork certification.

South of Beale unveils their new Sunday brunch menu tomorrow. View it on their website. Mmmm crawfish benedict.

I won’t make it to brunch at SOB tomorrow though… looks like a group is getting together for Texas de Brazil. Very relieved, because I still have all 12 stamps remaining on my VIP card and time is running out.

Plans for tonight: Not doing the Stumbling Elvis pub crawl but will take some pics at the Saucer. Later I’ll be at Brass Door for a friend’s birthday party.

Pics of the Cavern

I’ve been asked to post the few pics I took in the Cavern, the live music performance space in the ground floor of the Brass Door, Wednesday night. These are not the greatest pics, because the room was crowded, but here’s what I’ve got.

P1020170 — The stage, as seen from my seat about midway back in the room.

P1020173 — Josh, Shawn and Katie Mac at the bar

P1020174 — Looking toward the back of the Cavern from my seat

What a nightmare getting home… there were wrecks on both 240 North and 55 North. I took 55 to Third, then Third to Madison to get Downtown. Third actually wasn’t too bad. There are only traffic lights at the major intersections, as opposed to the ‘burbs where there seems to be a signal every three blocks.

Gonna take a few minutes to unwind, then head to the Saucer to watch them give away the kayak at 8. Not sure where I’ll end up… Bardog, Brass Door, Max’s and remaining at the Saucer are all options. If I go to the Brass Door, I’ll try to get some better pics.

Fri update: Swanky’s, historical marker map, Downtown museum day, Bass Pro, City Market, Elvis tribute artist finals, NFL deals at Kooky, kayak giveaway and Stumbling Elvis pub crawl

There was a big presentation yesterday at One Commerce Square about improvements in the works for that building. Memphis Daily News has coverage in this article. The article notes that Swanky’s Taco Shop catered yesterday’s event, as well as an earlier dinner featuring the mayor. Swanky’s owner was asked about the rumor, which I reported in this blog on Tuesday, that they are taking over the space formerly occupied by McAlister’s Deli in the building. However, he didn’t want to “speak out of school” about it.

So I guess they haven’t signed the paperwork, but I’ve now heard from two sources who I consider pretty reliable that it’s all but a done deal. I’ve been wrong before on these rumors – I was wrong about Maria’s Cantina coming downtown last year – but I’m hearing the scoop on Swanky’s from much more credible sources.

The Memphis Redbirds now have a smartphone app. It’s available in the application store for both the iPhone and the Droid. (By the way, I’m in violation of AP Stylebook guidelines for not making it two words – “smart phone.” I need to order a copy of the AP Stylebook. It would be a good thing to have around, in case I run out of toilet paper.)

This is really cool: A tour of all the historical plaques in the Downtown core via Google Maps.

Eleven Downtown museums will offer free or half-price admission September 10. Details are available in this PDF.

Good to read reports of progress happening in Downtown Memphis… in addition to the One Commerce Square improvements, it was announced this week that construction that will turn the Pyramid into a Bass Pro Shop will begin October 11, with an opening date of August 2013. Thank goodness this project is finally happening – that’s great news for the Pinch District. Also, a permit has been filed for the next phase of the Beale Street Landing project. So exciting to see these things moving forward, after years of lying stagnant.

Nice review of City Market’s food on the Commercial Appeal website today.

The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist finals are tonight at the Orpheum at 7 PM. The top 10 tribute artists will perform on stage. Tickets are $51.50. More info here.

Kooky Canuck has announced some special deals for Monday/Thursday night NFL games: $3.00 34 oz. super cold Bud Light draft, and 20 wings for $11.99. Wings come with fries, celery and carrots. Since last season they’ve upgraded to 7 flat-screen TVs, all in HD. They will have the NFL Network with Redzone.

Two big events at the Flying Saucer this weekend: First of all, the drawing for the kayak that has been hanging from the ceiling happens tonight at 8. If you want to win, just go by there before 8 and drink a Yuengling to get an entry slip.

Tomorrow night is the Stumbling Elvis pub crawl. A large group of Elvii will meet at the Saucer at 6:30, then stumble through the Peabody lobby, to various bars on Beale, then back to the Saucer. It’s a fundraiser for the Food Bank, so stop by the grocery store on the way there and pick up some canned goods (or, alternately, you can make a cash donation). If you don’t have time to go buy/rent an Elvis outfit, at least stop by the Blues City General Store on Beale and pick up some Elvis glasses, or a wig or a scarf or something. No one wants to be “that guy” who doesn’t dress up, doesn’t bring a donation, yet comes along on the pub crawl anyway and gets in everyone’s way.

This is the first year I’m going to miss the pub crawl… a friend’s birthday party got rescheduled for the same night. The party doesn’t start until 8:30 though, so I’ll stop by the Saucer to take pics of the Elvii and drop off some canned goods. As for tonight, not sure but I’ll be out. Time to go munch a 99 cent Nachos Supreme at Taco Bell, then wrap up the last few hours of the week in the cubicle.

Convenience store at Second and Madison stays open very late

Since the Brass Door opened on Madison, giving me a straight walk home, I’ve noticed how late the convenience store at the corner of Second and Madison stays open.

I walked home at 12:05 tonight and it was still open. Anyone know its hours?

Not a full-service grocery by any means, but if you want a roll of toilet paper, a can of dog food, or a soft drink late at night, it’s good to have around.

Thur update: The Cavern, rooftop parties, Grizzlies open house, happy birthday Max

Last night I went to the Brass Door for the opening night of their downstairs live music area. They call it “The Cavern,” a nod to the Cavern Club in Liverpool where the Beatles were the house band from 1961 to 1963. They had a special guest to christen the club: Pete Best. When the Beatles – John, Paul and George at the time – were booked for a tour of Hamburg in 1960, they held auditions and hired Best as a drummer. He remained with the band until they got their first major recording contract in 1962, when he was replaced by Ringo.

As for the Cavern (the one in the Brass Door, not the one in Liverpool), the space is about the same size as the upstairs, with its own set of bathrooms. The bar is about the same size too. I took pics of the space, but it was so ridiculously crowded that they didn’t turn out well. Sometime in the next few days I’ll ask Seamus if I can run down there when it’s empty and snap a few pics, so you can get a feel for the venue.

They were doing a slight upcharge for beers sold in the Cavern – $3 for PBR, $4 domestics, $5 imports. I like that, as opposed to charging a cover. You don’t have to keep up with wristbands, you don’t have to worry about people trying to sneak in, and you don’t get people copping an attitude that they’re too important to have to pay cover. The Cavern was cash only, so hit an ATM if you plan on ordering beer down there.

Earlier in the evening, I went to the Saucer and watched an Elvis impersonator perform. He started off slow, with minimal body language and gestures, but as the evening progressed, he really got into it and so did the crowd. He sang “happy birthday” to Courtney the bartender, and during “Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear,” he passed out teddy bears to the ladies in the audience. For “Runaway,” he got a little audience participation going. A good show!

Tonight is the finale of the 2011 Peabody rooftop party season. This will be a big night, with performances by the Bo-Keys, national recording artist Andy Grammer, and the winners of the 2011 Memphis Music Launch, Delta Collective. DJ Mark Anderson, and Q107.5’s Maney, Drex and Riley. Food buffet (included in price of admission) will consist of Memphis favorites: Pork BBQ sliders, fried okra, cucumber and tomato salad, and peanut butter and banana sandwiches. In VIP there will be BBQ ribs, cole slaw, southern fried chicken drummies, a veggie platter, and cornbread. Bud Light will be giving away two tickets to the Bud Light Port Paradise cruise. In honor of Elvis Week, there will be a tribute artist available for photo opportunities. Elvis swag and swag for “Memphis: The Musical” will be given away. $15 cover includes first drink; ladies free until 7.

Over at the Madison, they’ll have “Beale Street’s Best Kept Secret,” the Billy Gibson Band, playing their “Sunset Atop the Madison” rooftop party. $7 to get in, cash bar, tapas menu available. Doors open at 5:30, sunset at 7:53.

The Grizzlies are having an open house Sunday, August 20. Fans will be able to test-drive seats for 10 and 20 game ticket Power Packs. First 200 will receive a free Grizzlies headband, and there will be locker room tours as well. 10 AM to 2 PM, free parking in the Toyota Parking Garage in FedExForum.

A very happy birthday to Max from Max’s Sports Bar, and thanks for giving Downtowners such a great place to bond and watch sports for the past 3 1/2 years.

Time to eat lunch then get back to web updates. One week until I’m on vacation. No web updates next Thursday afternoon, but a lot of day drinking instead.

Seafood Pik Pow @ Thai Bistro

Last night I went to Thai Bistro for dinner. Again I couldn’t decide what I wanted, so I pulled up a random number generator on my phone and let it pick. It chose the most expensive of the entrees I was considering… gee, thanks. Actually, though, it was a good thing. I went with the Seafood Pik Pow, marked as a spicy dish on the menu. I wondered what exactly made the dish spicy, and the menu helpfully described it as “Shrimp, scallops, and mussels stir fried with baby corn, mushrooms, onions,and Bell peppers in a spicy pik pow sauce.” Oh, OK, pik pow sauce, of course, now it all makes sense.

My server remembered me from Sunday. After I ordered, he walked off to put in my order, then came back because he remembered I said I like my food spicy. “What level do you want? The dish is naturally a little spicy, but we can make it mild, medium, spicy, or fire.” I went with spicy.

It was darn near perfect. The seafood interacted beautifully with the sauce, as did the veggies, making for a meal I thoroughly enjoyed. It definitely had spice but was well within my tolerance level, so much so that I think I’m going to step up to “fire” next time. The server smiled when I told him of my future plans. “We use fresh chiles for the ‘fire’ sauce,” he informed me. “One of the people who works here grows chiles in her back yard. She just dropped off four Ziploc baggies of really good ones.” So, if you like extremely hot spicy food, get in there now and get some of those home-grown chiles.

By the way, if you’re wondering what Pik Pow sauce is, here’s what I found on answers.yahoo.com: “Pik Pow Sauce is a mixture of dried red chili, onion, garlic sugar and fish sauce blended in to a smooth paste.”

They told me they will likely have their liquor license by Sunday, and if so, they will see me for dollar mimosas. A very satisfying second experience at Thai Bistro. Absolutely an A+ meal in my book.