One of the events I planned for my vacation week was my 6th plate party, which happened last night at the Flying Saucer. When you join the bar’s UFO Club and drink 200 different beers, they commemorate your achievement with a plate on the wall and a $100 bar tab to have a party for your friends. If you complete more plates, the amount of the bar tab goes up. This was my sixth plate, so I was given a $150 bar tab.
What a great group of people came to the party! I had some people from the old Rapscallions trivia team there… my friends Beth and Kelly who I know from the Blind Bear… my friends Bob and Mike who are regulars at the Saucer… my poker buddy Dennis and his wife Karen who are South Mainers… my BBQ teammate Kao from Mexico. The lovely Christina, my usual Sunday bartender, picked up a shift to work the plate party.
My plate is top row center above the area that used to be the stage. Almost all the time that’s a prime spot… but not during the Olympics. The big screen was pulled down, covering the plate. We pulled the screen up for a few minutes for the unveiling. Fortunately the Garden was not crowded and the people who were there were good sports about it.
For my slogan on this plate, I decided to commemorate the fact that I am the “mayor” of the Saucer on Foursquare. You become mayor of a venue by checking in there more than anyone else over a two-month period. I have been mayor of the Saucer for all but about a week since the bar became a Foursquare venue in late 2009.
Based on discussion I heard at the party and saw on Twitter around the same time, it appears that Saturday night’s Stumblin’ Elvis pub crawl is going to be bigger than I thought. People seem to be converting from “undecided” to “yes I’m doing it.” People I never thought would want to do the pub crawl have said they’re in. My favorite blogger/MILF tweeted that she paid a ridiculous amount to get a slutty Elvis costume shipped to her in one day. I hear a couple of Beer Goddesses who are off duty that night plan to go Blue Hawaii style and show up in bikini tops. Imagine how much buzz this would have been generated if the organizers had thought to promote it more than 5 days in advance of the event!
The reason Stumbling E got so popular all of the sudden? I think it’s that this is the best bar lineup they’ve ever had. Adding the Blind Bear was a solid move. Lots of people love the Bear and are delighted to have a reason to go there. Purple Haze was another good addition. It’s a large dance club that’s perfect for theme pub crawl activities. Plus it makes the crawl more female-friendly, as I’ve heard a lot of women say they love to go dance there. Also, I’m not going to name any names, but the deletion of venues in the “bars that suck” category helps too. The official lineup is Saucer at 7:00 (bring donation for Mid-South Food Bank), then Bluefin, Blind Bear, Silky’s, Purple Haze, back to Saucer.
I had a question asked on Twitter: “I don’t have time to get a costume. Can I still come if I make a large donation to the Food Bank?” Believe me, they aren’t going to be turning down donations, so yes, that’s fine. It would help if you could do something – maybe run down to Blues City General Store and buy a pair of Elvis glasses with fake sideburns to wear. Also, if you’re not fully dressed up in Elvis gear, it would help if you could let those who are dressed up take center stage in photos. The first year we did Stumbling E we had a guy who didn’t dress up at all, didn’t donate to the Food Bank, yet he came along, took advantage of the drink specials, bounced around like a damn ping pong ball all night, and got in almost every picture. Just don’t be “that guy” and you’ll be fine.
A few things to know if you’re doing the Stumbling Elvis pub crawl:
1) Bring cash. That makes it easy to pay and go. Imagine bartenders trying to run the credit cards of 75 Elvii at the same time.
2) You’re going to have a lot of people want to take pictures of you. I remember when I got to the 2010 pub crawl, it took me 15 minutes to get from the front door of the Saucer to the bar to get a beer. Everyone wanted a pic. Remember, a lot of tourists are in town for Elvis Week. You are the spectacle, so enjoy it.
3) One of the venues, Silky’s, is in the Beale Street entertainment district. That means there will be delays as security checks IDs (be sure to bring yours) and wands everyone for weapons. They can’t just let all the Elvii go through. This may seem like a nuisance but it’s actually a Good Thing because it keeps you and everyone else on the street safe.
4) All kinds of weird and unusual things can happen on the pub crawl. Last year we got filmed for a TV commercial that appeared in the Netherlands.
So, anyway, back to the plate party… it was a lot of fun and it took us about an hour and a half to drain the $150 bar tab. Party was just about perfect, except for the fact that the fashion police would have written a ticket if they had been there. Charlie Sheen “Winning” T-shirt? 2011 called, it wants its shirt back. A tube top would have been better.
I asked for an empty glass to put money in, so people could tip Christina. She ended up getting a 77% tip. That’s how we Downtowners roll. We take care of the people who take good care of us.
If we wanted to keep the party going, I had additional tricks up my sleeve:
I had two $50 gift certificates in my pocket: One from the Silly Goose, which I won at poker back in January; and one from the Blind Bear, which I won at trivia. The trivia certificate was won prior to the formation of my current team, so I own it outright. As it turned out, neither certificate got used. The group dispersed after the plate party. Some called it an early night. Some went to South Main. Some went to the Goose, and some went to Bardog. I told the people who went to Bardog that I’d meet them once I finished watching whatever Olympic event was on TV. Anyway, both certificates survived the night and will be cashed at a future date, possibly as a continuation of my 7th plate party.
I got to Bardog later and found that my friends had already gone. They’re both Melissa fans, and she had the night off. I’m a Melissa fan too, but I’m also a fan of her substitute last night – none other than happy hour and Saturday dayshift bartender “Panda” Manda. So I grabbed a bar stool and ordered a PBR.
I looked at the specials on the board and this caught my eye:
I had seen this on Bardog’s Facebook page earlier in the day, and they had commented, “You’ll never think about meatloaf the same way again.” Of course, every restaurant hypes their specials. However, I hadn’t eaten in about six hours. Knowing Bardog’s food to be well above average in general, I decided to take a chance. This is what came out:
This may be the best thing I have ever eaten at Bardog, and that is high praise indeed. The meatloaf had lots of onions and peppers inside, and the marinara gave it more of a zing than the usual tomato sauce. This wasn’t mentioned on the menu board, but the meatloaf was also topped with Italian bacon and parmesan cheese. Garlic mashed potatoes were a perfect complement. This is a special so it’s not on the regular menu, so my advice is “Like” Bardog on Facebook to monitor its specials, and if the meatloaf shows up again, GO THERE IMMEDIATELY. You will not be disappointed.
Another outstanding night in Downtown Memphis. Thanks to those of you who came to my plate party, and get ready for another one in two or three months. I’ll do a Friday news roundup in a little bit.