Year: 2011

One of the best Downtown dining deals of the year happens Wednesday, November 30. The Majestic Grille will sell half-off gift cards starting at 8:30 AM. You can buy them in increments of $50 value for $25 each. The cards can’t be used until after the first of the year, and can’t be used on booze. You have to be there in person – no phone orders – so either tell your boss you’ll be late for work, or make arrangements to have a friend buy the cards for you.

Seriously, this is a deal that is too good to pass up. If you’ve never had Chef Patrick Reilly’s filet, which I consider the best in the city, by all means give it a try. The roasted half chicken, chicken tortellini pasta, flatbreads and Sunday brunch items are all favorites of mine.

The Majestic has also announced their holiday special events for 2011. Here’s the list:

• Sunday Supper and a Movie will happen the Sundays of November 27-December 18. Special menu available at 6:30, movie starts at 7 (7:30 on November 27). Movies are Miracle on 34th Street (27th), Christmas in Connecticut (4th), Holiday Inn (11th), and It’s a Wonderful Life (18th).
• Clark’s Christmas Dinner will be Thursday, December 15. Special dinner menu at 7:30 (regular menu available too), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation shown at 8. Contests with prizes available for tackiest holiday sweater and best costume themed after the movie. This sells out every year, so make your reservations if you plan to attend.
• Kids can enjoy Brunch with Santa on Saturday, December 17. Seatings are available from 10 AM to 1 PM, and in addition to meeting Santa, kids can meet Rocky Redbird and SantaGrizz. Holiday movies will be shown on the big screen. This also sells out every year and reservations are required.
• There will be live music – jazz standards and your favorite Christmas tunes Saturday nights at the restaurant from November 26 to December 17.

For more info and to make reservations, visit the Majestic Grille’s website.

That’s not all the holiday news I have for you today. The DMC will have their annual Flip the Switch holiday lighting party in Court Square this Friday, November 18, from 4:30 to 6:30 PM. Historian Jimmy Ogle will emcee as the holiday lights on Court Square and Main Street are turned on for the first time this season. There will be entertainment by the Watoto De Afrika Performance Ensemble, a special holiday version of karaoke, and an exclusive performance by Deering & Down debuting their new holiday single.

You’re invited to bring a toy to the lighting party. They will attempt to have a MATA bus completely filled with toys for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Memphis by the end of the celebration. After the Court Square festivities are over, there will be an open house reception at Watoto Memphis at 55 S. Main at 6:30 that night. The lighting ceremony is always a lot of fun and I hope to make it… although, I will be “starting early” Friday for those of you who know what I mean…

The DMC has an article on their site about new businesses that have applied for grants. Wow, business is booming Downtown! We’re going to get a produce company in the core, a web design firm in the South Main area, some new clothing boutiques, and Grawemeyer’s restaurant at 520 S. Main that I’ve mentioned previously. Also, already-open Rizzo’s Diner has applied for a grant for facade improvements.

That’s all the news for today. Now it’s time for beer.

Friday night and Saturday morning there will be events to save a Downtown Memphis treasure. You may have seen a beige ’50s Caddy driving around Downtown. It’s owned by Tad Pierson, and his company American Dream Safari gives tours of Memphis. If you want to really get in touch with Memphis music/culture and its roots, Tad is the person to take you there. You could find yourself visiting a juke joint you never knew existed, or maybe a site in Tupelo.

Besides the Caddy, Tad has a space on Madison behind Stop 345 which is an indoor trailer park. You can rent the trailers and stay in them overnight. However, he’s in danger of losing the space and his friends are coming together to help him. Kerry did a fantastic job writing about the party at the indoor trailer park Friday night, November 18, starting at 6 PM, so check her blog for full details on the various ways you can attend and help Tad.

If you can’t make it, there are two other ways to help. On Saturday the 19th at 10 AM, there will be a big community yard sale at the trailer park. Another option is to make a donation to save the place. I got online this morning and made a donation. If you appreciate all that Tad does to promote Memphis and make this city interesting and unique, I hope you will consider donating too.

In other news: Today’s Groupon deal is the Green Beetle. For $6, you get $12 worth of their homestyle cooking. I haven’t made it through as much of the menu as I’d have liked, but the times I’ve eaten there have been excellent. Family recipe lasagna, meat and two dishes, the Beetle Burger, and more.

My iPhone 4S arrived yesterday! I have to give major compliments to the AT&T Store on Goodman Road in Southaven. They took excellent care of me from start to finish, activating the phone and even putting on the case I bought. If you’re looking for a phone, I give their customer service a perfect 10 out of 10.

I took it to the Saucer, where one of the bartenders had got the 4S (her first iPhone ever) a few days before I did. “Let’s play with Siri,” she said, referring to the voice-controlled “personal assistant” that is a new feature on the iPhone 4S. We asked Siri about the weather, who won the Tigers game, typical stuff. “What else can we ask it?” said the bartender.

“Ask Siri to find me a hooker,” I said.

So she did. “Siri, find me a hooker,” she said, and a moment later she laughed. Siri replied, “I found three escort services near you.” One of them was 0.1 miles from my current location! Well, this blog is all about making you aware of “services” Downtown you might not have known about, and I certainly did my job in this post!

Speaking of the Saucer, they made a change to their Tuesday night trivia last night. Format is still the same, but they brought back John May to call trivia. John is a manager at the Fish, a former manager at the Saucer, and was the trivia guy when our team first started playing there in 2005. Gotta give him credit, he got the games done quickly. First game started at 7:30 and ended at 8:55. Second game started at 10 and was over around 11. We haven’t played in a while, but I tweeted that May was back, and my teammate Darrin asked if I wanted to re-start the team next week. I’m up for it. If any other team members want to come back too, come on!

Downtown Dining Week tip: If you plan on going to a restaurant, not only make reservations, but let them know that you plan on ordering from the Downtown Dining Week menu. That will help ensure that the restaurants don’t run out of the DDW food.

All right… I easily have another 10 paragraphs of news, but I need to cut it off for now and go get lunch. There will definitely have to be a second post later today. Check back, because one of the items is THE BEST DOWNTOWN GIFT CARD DEAL OF THE YEAR. Holiday events will be covered as well.

Today is America Reycles Day. Take your unwanted electronics to the Central Station pavilion (where the Memphis Farmers Market is usually held) between 3 and 6:30 PM today, and they will be disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner.

Sorry for the short post but I’m on my way to the AT&T Store! MY IPHONE 4S IS HERE!!!!!

Max’s Sports Bar, on GE Patterson next to Cheesecake Corner, will open at 10:30 AM for the Memphis-Belmont game.

Breaking BAD news: NBA talks have broken down, players’ union has begun steps to decertify. Most likely there will not be a season. Sucks.

Downtown Dining Week begins tonight. Many restaurants will offer 3-course meals for $20.11 tonight through Sunday. I’ll say it one more time: If you plan on dining at these restaurants, make reservations NOW. They will fill up, and it may already be too late if you’re shooting for the “prime time” dinner hour at the more popular places. A few of the restaurants (Bardog, for example) don’t take reservations.

Those in the Salty Dogs runners group: Bardog will need the Underdog space for dinner tonight, so the weekly run will start at Ferraro’s instead at 7 PM. Ferraro’s is at Main and Jackson, just north of the I-40 bridge.

This isn’t a Downtown event, but I was asked to mention it and it’s in support of a good cause. The Tennessee Parks & Greenways Foundation is hosting “Cocktails and Conversation” at the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, Friday December 2 from 4:30-7:00 PM. They will introduce their new West Tennessee Parks and Greenways Coordinator at the event, and there will be live music by Kevin Sheahan and friends. Refreshments will be provided, and you’ll be able to learn more about the parks and green spaces in your own backyard. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased on the Tenngreen.org website.

The Beale Street Big Wheel Race scheduled for Saturday, November 26 now has its own Facebook event listing. You can respond “attending” to keep up with the latest news on the race.

The Green Beetle has announced that they will start serving brunch on Sunday. This coming Sunday, November 20, they will have a live feed from RadioMemphis from 12 to 2.

Two big events happening Downtown in the next 24 hours: The Pixies play the Orpheum tonight at 8. Then, tomorrow at 11 AM, the Memphis Tigers play their first regular-season game at the FedExForum, hosting Belmont. Belmont went 30-5 last year and should be a serious challenge for the Tigers. Our nonconference schedule is not as loaded with cream puffs as it was last year.

Sorry for no blog post yesterday… I was experiencing stylesheet problems which apparently happened when I upgraded to OS X Lion/Firefox 8. It only happens on Firefox, so I guess my solution will be to switch to Chrome or Safari.

This should be a good week! My iPhone 4S will be here in a couple of days, my Kindle Fire may arrive (they’re shipping early), and I have Friday off. Lots of new toys, and time to play with them! I’ll be at Pint Nite at the Saucer at 6 tonight. Undecided whether I’ll do poker at the Goose at 10.

Saturday morning. Time to get chores done, and the list is long this morning. Laundry. Back up the hard drive with Time Machine. Upgrade the MacBook from Snow Leopard to Lion. Print new business cards, because I’ve been out for a few weeks.

Speaking of business cards… I do my own cards, with a logo designed by local artist Shane Paris. If you don’t want to bother printing your own cards, though, one of the best deals on the web is VistaPrint. They’ll give you 250 business cards for free, and they’re not just basic business cards – you can choose from dozens of very professional templates.

Insider tip if you’re in the mood for some real Memphis music tonight: Shufflegrit plays the Center for Southern Folklore tonight at 8. They’re described as “folkabilly,” blending folk and rockabilly influences.

Not attending BarCamp today but am keeping an eye on the #bcmem hashtag for social media, development, and business tips.

The Arkansas Razorbacks host Tennessee at 5 PM today. I’ll be watching the game at the Saucer (it’s on ESPN2) and the Hog Hat will be on! Come join if you’re looking for a place to watch. It’s time to CALL THOSE HOGS!!!

I ended up only making the first two stops of the Snuggie Pub Crawl last night… ended up going back to the Saucer to meet friends and watch the Michigan State-North Carolina game-on-a-ship. There were easily more than 100 Snuggies and a lot of money got raised for LeBonheur, which is great. Here’s a look at the specials pub crawlers enjoyed:

The next Downtown pub crawl is the granddaddy of them all, the combination toy drive and pub crawl known as Stumbling Santa. The organizers are still working out the bars, but they’ve set the date for Saturday, December 3. Visit their event listing on Facebook and click “I’m attending” to keep up with the news about the crawl. You have three weeks to find a Santa suit and a toy!

All right, Time Machine has finished the backup, so it’s time to hit Publish and start the upgrade from Mac OS X Snow Leopard to Lion. I am MacBook, hear me roar!

It’s Veterans’ Day. Thanks to those of you reading this who serve, or who have served in the past.

It’s also 11/11/11. Spaghetti Warehouse is doing a “Buy 1, get the second for $0.11” special for their lasagne and Original Spaghetti Recipe entrees. Go to their Facebook page to get the coupon.

Busy night tonight. Big events Downtown are the Snuggie Pub Crawl, the U of M vs. CBU men’s basketball at the FedExForum, the 11-11-11 party with tapping of special beers at the Flying Saucer, and the Maximums Elevenus Spinal Tap celebration at the Warehouse. I’ll be doing the Snuggie Pub Crawl. If you want to join, come to Kooky Canuck wearing a Snuggie between 6 and 7 PM. $20 at the door, in support of LeBonheur. We’ll be crawling to five Beale Street bars after we leave Kooky.

Tomorrow is 11-11-11 and there are two parties happening Downtown to celebrate the date. The Flying Saucer will have a party tomorrow, tapping three rare beers. Details below:

Meanwhile, down at the Warehouse on G.E. Patterson, there will be a “Maximus Elevenus – This is Spinal Tap” party. Live music by Eldorado and the Ruckus; DJ spinning tunes from Memphis movies; Guitar Hero battle with prizes; Celebrity Karaoke/Air Guitar; Rock Star photos; “Spontaneous Human Combustion” and “The Stonehenge” drinks; showing of This is Spinal Tap on the back patio and more. Get tickets here or at the door.

New restaurant news: I heard last night from a very credible source that construction is about to begin on Aldo’s Pizza Pies. They’re hoping to have the pizzeria, on the Main Street Mall on the ground floor of Barboro Flats, open in March. This time I think they mean it and it’s not another BS opening date that they’ll miss.

There’s also a new restaurant coming down South. The Memphis Daily News reports that Grawemeyer’s will open at 520 S. Main. The space is said to be a “retreat” for Downtowners, with bakery items and a bar in addition to being a full-service restaurant. Grawemeyer’s will be smoke-free (yay!) and will be designed for locals and tourists alike. I’ve heard from another source that the place will be Wi-Fi friendly as well. They hope to be open next month.

My final piece of news is not about a new Downtown restaurant, but rather about one that you may not know existed. Seth Agranov reviewed Roxie’s Grocery at 520 N. Third on his excellent Best Memphis Burger blog. He had the Uptown Burger with two patties and three kinds of cheese. Man that thing looks good! I looked it up on Google Maps, and Roxie’s appears to be located at Third and Mill, only 1 block north of A. W. Willis Avenue. I am definitely going to have to check this place out soon, even if it means (shudder) getting in the car and driving. Follow Seth on Twitter at @MemphisSeth to keep up with all his burger reviews.

And that’s the news for today. Time to turn my attention to the Frosty I just brought back from Wendy’s.

About 7:15 I was hanging out at the Flying Saucer, and the text notification went off on my phone. “You’re at the final table,” it said.

It was from Poker Jon, who runs the poker league at the Silly Goose and Bardog. Nightly prizes are awarded for the Goose game (10:00 Monday) and the Bardog game (7:30 Wednesday), but points are also awarded depending on how far you advance on any given night. Every 10 weeks the top 9 point earners advance to the “final table” for the chance to win a big cumulative prize. This time it was a seat to a major tournament in Tunica later this month.

Jon had told me Monday that I made the final table, but given the amount of beers I’d had by that point he could’ve told me I won a pet rhinoceros and I wouldn’t have remembered. I’m glad he texted. I tabbed out at the Saucer and ran over to Bardog and claimed my seat. The final table is a deeper-stacked tournament than Jon’s weekly games, with players starting with stacks of 15,000 chips rather than the usual 2500. I came in 4th, not good enough to claim a prize, but I was at least pleased that I outlasted several players who I highly respect.

Josh (pictured above) completely ran over the final table and ended up with all the chips. Congratulations and good luck in Tunica!

The annual Snuggie Pub Crawl is only two days away. The crawl will stop at Kooky Canuck, BB King’s, Club 152, Silky’s, Rum Boogie, and Alfred’s. I’ve done this the past two years, and it is a great way to be creative and meet new friends. It’s also a fundraiser for LeBonheur Children’s Hospital. Participants must be 21 and wearing a Snuggie. (I’m going to have my Arkansas Razorbacks Snuggie on.) Tickets are $15 in advance (advance sales cut off tomorrow), $20 at the door. Check their Facebook page for more info. Buy tickets here.

Downtown Dining Week starts Sunday, and a number of restaurants will offer 3-course menus for $20.11. Jennifer Biggs has a guide to navigating DDW in her Whining & Dining blog. I’m pleased to see more restaurants have been added since I last posted. I’m going to make a recommendation: Go to Rizzo’s Diner and have Chef Michael Patrick’s cheeseburger soup, chorizo meatloaf, and whichever dessert appeals to you. I promise you, that’s a meal you can’t go wrong with. Remember, these restaurants will fill up, so make reservations as early as possible.

Biggs also raises a good point: Please take good care of your servers. They will be pushed to the max as they serve full restaurants for seven days. Please recognize their hard work by tipping generously. 15% of $20.11 is $3, but $3 is really a pretty lousy tip when you’re really eating $35 worth of food. If I go to any of the DDW nights, my tip will be more toward the $6 range, plus extra if I order any booze. And let’s face it, you know I will order booze.

The full Downtown Dining Week restaurant list can be viewed here.

In other news, COGIC announced that their annual convention will remain in St. Louis through 2013. Who’da thunk I’d ever mention lousy tipping and COGIC in the same blog post?

Really, really cool Twitter account I learned about this morning: An account that will live-tweet the events of World War II over a six-year period. They’re at the beginning in 1939, right now. What a neat way for history fans to get deep into the events of the Second World War. Follow the account at @RealTimeWWII.

Plans for tonight: I’m going to play a game called Beer with Friends. No, it’s not a smartphone app. I’ll be at the Saucer around 6 PM. Right now, it’s time to go munch some Chinese food.