Sat update: Pinnacle, Z-Bo, Downtown Memphis myths, Chez Philippe, ARTjamN, another app, sushi roll recommendation and more

The Internet connection was out at our office yesterday, and I had things to do after work, so no post since Thursday lunch. Sorry about that but it couldn’t be helped.

The big news Downtown is that Pinnacle Airlines is moving its headquarters out of One Commerce Square to Minneapolis. Some people are spinning it like this is a failure for Downtown, and I completely disagree. It was business, pure and simple. Pinnacle went into bankruptcy, got bought out by Delta, and Delta did what it needed to do to turn Pinnacle into a profitable business. As Paul Morris who runs DMC pointed out, two years ago One Commerce Square could have easily gone the way of the Sterick Building and become a huge vacant building on the Downtown skyline. But instead, Pinnacle’s relocation Downtown attracted other businesses, including the Great American Steamboat Co. and Electrolux. It’s now a viable, premium office building and we will get that space filled. We will miss Pinnacle but we are grateful for what they did Downtown while they were here.

The other big news Downtown is that Zach Randolph is going to the All-Star Game! He was selected as a reserve big man. Congratulations to Z-Bo. He also recently donated $20,000 to help people keep their electricity on this cold winter.

The Memphis Flyer City Beat column has a great article about the top 10 Downtown Memphis myths, dispelled by historian Jimmy Ogle. Even I was wrong about a couple of these.

Congrats to Downtown’s Chez Philippe on being named one of the 100 most romantic restaurants in the country.

The Memphis Daily News blog has a post about ARTjamN, a new South Main tenant that is bringing “paintertainment” to the area. According to the article, ARTjamN provides you with all the tools you need to have fun while unleashing your inner Picasso.

There really is an app for everything. In my last post I wrote about the International Blues Challenge app available in smartphone app stores. Well, now I’ve learned that there’s an app for the Mid-South Farm and Gin Show that will happen in Memphis March 1-2. Why are you still reading this post? Go download the app NOW!!!

All right, now that we’re caught up on Downtown news, let’s get on to personal matters. Last night this happened:

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I had my 7th plate party, celebrating seven times around the Ring of Honor at the Flying Saucer. That means I’ve had 200 different beers at the Saucer seven times over. Doorman Graham did an excellent job making the announcement (see, Graham? I mention the door guys too). Since my plate is covered by a big-screen projection TV, I did the unveiling at halftime to avoid pissing people off as much as I could. Apologies for the thumbnail image but smartphone cams can’t do much with the Saucer’s lighting. I don’t actually have 7 plates at the Saucer. Rather, I have one plate and the plate changes color every time. Red is the color for 7th plate.

By the way: I heard someone commented that Gary Smith is the real mayor of the Saucer. Although it was said in an attempt to discredit me, I actually agree with that statement. I’ve only been around the Ring of Honor seven times. Gary has done it nineteen times. That’s certainly a more notable achievement than having checked in on Foursquare more than anybody else in the past 60 days. Cheers to Gary, and happy birthday!

By the time the Grizzlies game ended, we had about $30 left on the tab. We decided to order a “Mayor’s Choice” round of beers, which of course meant Dos Equis Lager with extra limes.

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Our server, Ciara, gave me a bonus tip that I thought I’d pass along. “I had the Gary Parrish Roll the other night at Bluefin,” she told me. “I can’t remember what all was on it, but it was the fire.” I listen to Gary Parrish, the afternoon drive-time sports talk host on 92.9 FM, now and then, and I decided to do some research and find out what was on his sushi roll. I pulled up Bluefin’s website and went to the sushi menu. The roll is actually named the “G. Parrish Anxiety Disorder.” It comes with shrimp tempura, crab stick, and cream cheese inside, topped with smoked salmon, avocado, sriracha, and eel sauce. Mmmm that does sound good! I need to plan a trip to Bluefin soon.

After the Grizzlies got done beating the Brooklyn Nets at the FedExForum, the Saucer got PACKED. Typical Friday night when the Grizzlies are in town. We had our own table, and I was glad because the line at the bar was 3-4 deep at times.

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After we spent the $150 tab, my friend Joe and I wandered down the street to Kooky Canuck. We posted “Paging Lana Danko” all over social media but no luck. However, the Nuh-Uh Mom and the Nuh-Uh Girl did show up.

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After that it was back to the Saucer for ONE…more and I called it a night. Fun plate party. Thanks to everyone who came, and to Ciara for taking excellent care of us.

Up and at ’em on Saturday morning. I plan to be at Bardog at 11 for panda time.

Thur update: Redbirds promotional schedule, Foursquare down this morning, Local renovations

The Redbirds have announced their 2013 promotional calendar. On many game dates this year, Redbirds fans will be entitled to free giveaways as they enter AutoZone Park. This year’s giveaways include cool stuff like a home plate doormat, a pack of Redbirds trading cards, and a Memphis Belle 70th anniversary T-shirt.

Foursquare was down for several hours this morning. However, it appears to be working again now. Glad it didn’t happen in the evening hours, when I’d be out at the bars!

Local Gastropub announced that their Downtown location renovations are taking longer than expected. They will re-open tomorrow, Friday the 25th, for happy hour. They had hoped to be open for happy hour today.

Good thing it’s not a very newsy day, because I have to go run the errands that I won’t have time to run next week. If more news comes in. I’ll do a second post after work.

Wed update: International Blues Challenge app, vote for Pastner/LeBonheur, new Goose furniture, Grizzlies trade analyzed, South Main Trolley Night this Friday

First of all, a programming note: Starting Monday, this blog will be on a different publishing schedule for the next three weeks. I will be in training at work learning some cool new software tools, and the training only allows a 30 minute lunch break. Usually I get an hour for lunch and have time to blog, but with only 30 minutes, I’ll likely need to use the time for other things, for example eating. Not sure when I’ll post. Perhaps I’ll get up early and do the blog before work. Or maybe I’ll take the netbook out with me after work and blog from one of my “branch offices.” All three bars where I’m mayor on Foursquare – Flying Saucer, Blind Bear, and Silly Goose – have free Wi-Fi, so it’s definitely an option.

Are you getting excited about the International Blues Challenge, which happens on and around Beale Street next week? There’s an app for that! Search for “international blues challenge” in your smartphone’s app store. The app will have competition and event information and maps. It will notify you when schedules and results have been posted, so you’re always up to date with the latest info. You’ll also be able to live-tweet from IBC using the official #ibc2013 hashtag, and if you’re in a giving mood you can donate to the Blues Foundation right from your phone. iPhone users: The app requires iOS 6. (Dammit, I guess I can’t put off upgrading any longer.)

Vote for Josh Pastner in the Infinity Coaches’ Charity Challenge. Winning coach will get $100,000 for the charity of his choice. Coach Pastner’s choice is LeBonheur. You can vote once per day. The coaches are in four brackets of 12, and Pastner is in the South bracket. Top four from each region will advance to the semifinals.

As mayor of the Silly Goose, I consider it my duty to keep my readers informed of new happenings there. I came in last night for a PBR or two and found new lounge furniture in the back right corner.

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Comfy wraparound couches, similar to the ones at Blue Fin. Looks like they will make that corner a great spot to chill out, relax, and enjoy a cocktail.

Chris Herrington of the Flyer posted a thorough breakdown of the Grizzlies trade situation. What he wrote makes sense. I liked Marreese Speights a lot, but with Z-Bo and Darrell Arthur healthy, we were simply paying too much money for him to be the #4 option in the frontcourt, even more so if it meant crossing the luxury tax line.

The first South Main Trolley Night of 2013 is this Friday, January 25. Come shop, eat, and check out the art at South Main venues from 6-9. There will be live performances at Grawemeyer’s, the Russian Cultural Center, K’presha, Midtown Bikes, Douglas and Associates, Art Jam’n, and D’Edge.

That’s all for now. Time to go grab lunch while I still can.

Grizzlies news: Trade gets the team under the luxury tax threshold; upcoming Grizzlies watch party at Blind Bear

The big news this morning is that the Grizzlies have made an unexpected trade. Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Josh Selby will be shipped to the Cleveland Cavaliers along with a draft pick, and in return we will get power forward Jon Leuer. The Flyer’s Chris Herrington has the story. I will definitely miss Speights, but the deal allows us to keep the Gay-Randolph-Gasol core together for the rest of the season. It also gives us more leverage to trade Rudy in the summer, because we won’t be desperate to get under the luxury tax. We’ll also have a $6.4 million trade exception to use sometime in the next year.

The trade creates a problem, though. We only have 11 players for the game tomorrow night, two short of the league-minimum 13. We must sign someone at the NBA minimum salary by tomorrow night to get to 12, and then we’ll have two weeks to sign another to get to 13. Radio host Chris Vernon reports that (Edit: Never mind, those names are no longer possibilities.)

In other Grizzlies news, the Memphis Grizzlies organization schedules watch parties around town so fans can meet up and cheer their team as they watch away games. The next watch party will be at a venue familiar to Downtowners: The Blind Bear. It will be next Thursday, January 30, at 7 PM. You’ll be able to enjoy food and beverage specials, prizes, games, and more as you watch the Grizzlies take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Speaking of food at the Bear, two more people have tried my Blind Bear Chili Mac recipe (order a cup of Hibernation Chili and mix it with Pepper Jack Mac & Cheese in a bowl) and have given it their stamp of approval.

That’ll do it for now. Time for a quick lunch, a few more hours at work, and then it will be time for the National Tailgating Championship AKA the drive home on I-240 northbound.

I am about to have goose nachos

gooseWell, actually, they’re not goose nachos. I mean, I’ve seen chicken nachos a lot. I think once or twice in my 11 years Downtown, I’ve seen duck nachos. I’ve never actually seen goose nachos. I’m eating beef nachos that I brought home from the Silly Goose after I got done playing poker. That’s what I mean by goose nachos.

You know what though? Some posh foo-foo restaurant Downtown should totally add goose nachos to the menu. They could probably charge $29 for it. As an appetizer. I’d pay it. Just because geese swim around our pond every year at work in the spring, and I’m curious what one tastes like.

Even in Manhattan – certainly one of the top two or three culinary capitals of the world – I think goose nachos would be a hit. You could even go as high as $79 there. I mean, if you’re paying $3500 on 81st Street for a decent apartment and parking, you can afford $79, right?

It would have to be prepared right though. If you opened the microwave door and turned the goose over after 2 minutes 42 seconds and lifted one corner of the film for venting, the goose could come out a bit gamey. Preparing goose nachos is best left to the professionals.

Anyway, I’m going to eat my beef nachos from the Goose and go to bed. As you may have guessed I’ve had a few beers tonight. Perhaps the next post will make more sense.

MLK Day news: Local and Saucer news, Groupon, and a Sunday recap including BBQ brisket, BBQ cooks, and David the Worm

Happy Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day everyone. As I post this the annual NBA Civil Rights Game is being broadcast nationally from the FedExForum. Frank Murtaugh posted a great piece to the Memphis Flyer website yesterday on why the Civil Rights Game truly puts Memphis in the “big leagues.”

Bar news: The Downtown Local Gastropub location will be closed through lunch Thursday, January 24. They will re-open for happy hour on Thursday.

The Flying Saucer has announced that they will bring back “48 Hours of Pint Nite” Sunday-Monday, February 3-4. Monday, of course, is always Pint Nite. They’re adding Sunday so you can enjoy almost any draft on the tap wall for $3 as you watch the Super Bowl.

Today’s Groupon is not for a Downtown business, but it’s for pole dancing exercise classes so I’ll mention it anyway. Good chance to practice your moves to get ready for the pole at Raiford’s, or for a “fireman’s pole” at BBQ Fest (stripper poles aren’t allowed).

Yesterday was one of those Sunday Fun Days when all sorts of good random stuff happened. Mid-afternoon I got hungry. It was a very pleasant day, sunny and almost 60 degrees, and I decided to make the trek south to Central BBQ. Once again I decided to think outside the box and order something other than pulled pork, ribs, or BBQ nachos – all of which are excellent, by the way, but I wanted to work my way through more of Central’s menu. After soliciting suggestions on Facebook, I decided to order the BBQ beef brisket plate.

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You get 7 ounces of Central’s beef brisket, along with two sides. I choose greens and BBQ beans as my sides. They have a sauce station where you can get whichever of their BBQ sauces you prefer to complement your meal. I decided to get a small cup of all four sauces. My preferences, in order, were:

1. Mustard sauce
2. Hot BBQ sauce
3. Vinegar BBQ sauce
4. Mild BBQ sauce

I was surprised that I preferred the vinegar sauce over the mild tomato-based BBQ sauce, Central’s most popular. However, it’s just that I thought it paired better with the brisket. With pork I would probably lean more in the direction of the tomato sauce.

Overall, the brisket was very, very good, but I still prefer the turkey plate I had last time I went in. The turkey is injected with Cajun spice and is one of the best meals I have ever had Downtown.

After finishing at Central, I walked back north to the Flying Saucer. I ordered a beer and as I walked to the UFO Club computer, I heard, “Hey! Paul!” and I turned around and saw Willie, who was the head cook for my old BBQ team The Ques Brothers from 2007-11. His son Willie Jr. was with him. I remember when Willie Jr. was a kid and climbed around our scaffolding as if it were monkey bars. He’s 16 now.

The Willies were in town for a seminar on how to cook championship BBQ, presented by a member of Sweet Swine O’ Mine, a team which has won multiple first-place trophies at BBQ Fest. There was a spouse discount for tickets and Willie asked if he could bring his son rather than his wife. 37 people in all attended. “They covered every part of the pig,” said Willie. He told me a few things he learned, and while I won’t blog all the secrets he shared I will say that some of it is amazingly simple. Even if the Willies don’t participate on a BBQ Fest team in 2013, they learned tons of things they can use at their restaurant, Honky Tonk BBQ. The restaurant is in the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago, and was named one of the top 100 restaurants in Chicago and one of the top five to hear live music.

Willie told me that another member of our Ques Brothers cook team, Efrain, had received a 3-month consulting gig to help open a Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles. When the three months were up, the owner told Efrain, “Look, you’re indispensable to this place, how much will I have to pay to keep you on permanently?” So Efrain is an Angeleno now.

You may remember that a couple of years ago, I acted as a photographer for Clandestino Dining, a Chicago-based underground supper club that threw a dinner in Memphis. Efrain was one of the main chefs. With him now out on the West Coast, there’s an opportunity for Willie Jr. to step up and do the upcoming Valentine’s Day dinner. Not bad to get to do that at age 16!

Around 7 Willie and Willie Jr. got in a cab and headed to Midtown to catch a movie. You know, people complain about the Saucer letting kids in, but I wouldn’t have got to see Willie and Willie Jr. otherwise. At least for one night I’m glad the rule was the way it is.

I went back to my usual spot at the bar, and a few minutes later a Facebook message popped up from my old friend DJ David the Worm. “Hey Paul, if you get out to the Saucer tonight, we’re at the bar.” He had no idea I was standing at the opposite end. I walked down and took a seat with him and his girlfriend Heather.

I just started work on my 8th plate at the Saucer. You get a plate on the wall when you drink 200 different beers there, and with only 4 beers done at the time toward my 8th plate, pretty much the entire menu was open season. Knowing that David is something of a beer aficionado, I asked him to pick my next beer.

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He picked Fuller’s London Pride. I knew I’d likely be getting a British beer, because David is an Anglophile. Sure enough I did, and it was pretty good. He recommended the Fuller’s ESB as well, and I’ll try that tonight – no, wait, I’ll try it Tuesday, because it’s a bottled beer and tonight is Pint Nite.

I stayed at the Saucer past 10 PM – a long, fun, drama-free night. After quick stops at the Goose and Bear, I was home to bed.

Tonight is Pint Nite, so I’ll be at the Saucer around 6 to get a few more beers done toward plate 8. After that it’s over to the Goose for Muruako’s Monday night poker game. Start time is 8:30, although I’ll likely show up a bit late. Again, happy MLK Day, and congratulations to President Obama on his second inauguration.

Sun update: Blind Bear opening time, NCRM/Food Bank, Victorian Village news, tube top news, poker news

RIP Stan Musial, greatest Cardinal of all time.

I’ve had people ask me if the Blind Bear was going to open at noon today. I know they were considering going back to the 3:00 opening time on Sunday once NFL season was over. Co-owner Jeannette posted the following to Facebook yesterday:

SOFIA SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS!!$15 Yellow Tail Bubbly & $30 Sofia Blanc de Blancs! @3pm till 6pm, $3 mimosas, moonshine, fireball & Bloody’s, tomorrow at NOON

So yep, they’ll be open at noon today. Not sure what their opening time will be for the Nobody Gives a Shit Bowl AKA the Pro Bowl next Sunday.

Bring canned goods and receive $1 off admission to the National Civil Rights Museum. Canned good donations will go to the Food Bank.

Good news for Victorian Village: A $133,000 loan has been approved to renovate the James Lee House, the mansion at 690 Adams, into a bed-and-breakfast.

Tube top dress news: Yesterday I posted a link to a YouTube video of the TNA Wrestling wedding of Brooke Hogan and Bully Ray. A brawl happened, breaking up the wedding. What I didn’t know when I posted the video was that Brooke Hogan had a wardrobe malfunction in her tube top wedding dress. Unfortunately TNA edited Brooke out of the video before posting to YouTube.

Poker news: I’ve heard from several people that the cash games at Southland Greyhound Park are full of really bad players. “If you’re patient and play properly, you’re likely to win some money,” one friend told me. “There are a lot of people who clearly don’t know what they’re doing at all.” The Friday and Saturday night tables are hosted by our old friend Poker Jon. There’s also a 3:00 Saturday $35 buy-in Hold’em tournament that is popular among Downtown poker players. It wraps up by 6 and the first-place prize, which depends on the number of players who enter, is usually in the $350 range.

Time to start Sunday Fun Day. Brunch at the Majestic at 11, then I’ll defend my three mayorships, with Bear, Saucer, Goose being the likely order.

Friday recap

Fun night last night. I started at the Silly Goose for the first full day of the Mayor Paul era. Drank PBR, watched video of my friends trying to sled down the top level of the frozen Peabody Place parking garage on Monday, first using Woody A. Long as a sled and then a large baking sheet. It seems that my friends don’t always have the best ideas when they’ve been shooting Fireball.

Over to the Saucer at 7, where they were tapping a cask of Lazy Magnolia Indian Summer.

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It was flavored with amaretto, cinnamon, and holiday spice. If they have any left today it’s worth a try if you’re into winter warmer-style beers (no idea why they’d name a winter beer Indian Summer). Pretty tasty. One of my former co-workers apparently didn’t think much of it and tried to get me to admit it’s the worst beer at the Saucer. Even if I didn’t like it, it would be hard to make that judgment as long as Turbo Dog is on tap. Different strokes for different folks, dude.

As I blogged yesterday, my friend Karen was having her birthday party at 8 at Double J. I wasn’t particularly excited about the half-mile walk south, or standing in the cold waiting on a trolley. Turns out I didn’t have to. My friend Mikey drives the Double J limo that shuttles people to Grizzlies/Tigers games and back. He’d dropped off his last load of passengers at 7:30 and picked me up at the Saucer.

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It’s hard to take a decent photo of black leather limo interior. The image above really doesn’t do it justice. I’ll say this, it’s as nice as Raiford’s limo and everyone should have the experience of riding it to the FedExForum and back at least once. Get there early and grab you a meal at the Double J, maybe one of their specials:

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You never know what the J will be cooking up for their specials. Last night they had gator tail in a Cajun Creole sauce for $15. I almost ordered it just out of curiosity, but I decided I wasn’t hungry enough to tackle the gator.

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The great thing about the start of a new year Downtown is that you never know what new friends you’re going to make in the next 12 months. In early 2012, I met Karen’s husband Dennis at the poker table at the Blind Bear. A few weeks later I met Karen, the birthday girl, pictured above.

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Christine and Tom Shelton were among the party guests. Fun party. I hung around for a while and listened to Southern Edition on the Front Porch Stage. You know, although I’m not normally the biggest fan of country music, I can appreciate most any genre if it’s music done well. The bands at the Double J do music well.

After that it was back to the core, one beer at the Saucer, then City Market for Indian food to take home.

Random quote of the day: Yesterday driving home from work, I turned on the radio. The Gary Parrish Show was on 92.9 and Gary said something that I totally agree with. “Stupid people who realize they’re stupid, and just roll with it and have fun with it, are a blast to hang out with. Stupid people who don’t accept that they’re stupid and try to act smart are annoying.” INDEED!

Random video of the day: Thursday night it was time for another pro wrestling wedding. Bully Ray, known as Bubba Ray Dudley when he was in the WWE, was in the ring to wed Brooke Hogan, Hulk’s daughter. Hulk, although he hasn’t always seen eye to eye with Bully, was there to give his daughter away. Bully had his “extreme groomsmen,” three alumni from the old ECW promotion: Taz, now an announcer for TNA; Brother Runt, also known as Spike Dudley; and Tommy Dreamer, for years the face of ECW. Pro wrestling weddings almost never go off without a hitch, and this one was no exception. However, this one went a different direction than everyone thought it would. Very well written, and worth a watch if you were an ECW fan in the ’90s.

All right. Time to hit Publish, put laundry in the dryer, and head to Bardog at 11 to hang out at Panda’s bar. Panda posted a pic of herself in a tube top about 2 in the morning, and let me just say it will be just fine with me if she doesn’t change clothes before coming to work.

Karen’s birthday update: Elton John, auto show, art in Court Square, Grizzlies, Greek beer news, and a triple Foursquare mayorship

First of all, a very happy birthday to my friend Karen. Karen is a South Mainer who is always so sweet and supportive of all her Downtown friends. I’ll see her tonight at the Double J where she’ll be celebrating.

The FedExForum has announced that Elton John will appear in concert on Saturday, March 16. This will be his first appearance in Memphis in seven years. Tickets will go on sale a week from today and will range in price from $29 to $139.

There’s an International Auto Show going on at the Cook Convention Center today through Sunday. New cars, trucks, crossovers and hybrids will be on display. $8 adults; $6 for seniors, students, and military; $5 children.

There will be an “Art Under the Gazebo” event tomorrow in Court Square from 6 to 10 PM. There will be local music, art, and vendors. High will be in the upper 50s tomorrow, so you’ll be able to enjoy the art without shivering in the frigid temps we’ve had for most of the week.

The Grizzlies have a home game against the Sacramento Kings tonight at 7. Don’t forget that if you want to pre-game at the Double J on G.E. Patterson Avenue, they have a limo that will take you to the FedExForum and back. Good way to avoid Forum traffic and parking hassles. I read that Z-Bo will be out with an injury. Wonder who will start at power forward, Darrell Arthur or Marreese Speights? We are definitely stacked at that position.

Ever had Greek beer? I don’t think I have, odd considering I have seven plates on the wall at the Flying Saucer. The Rendezvous has a Greek beer special going on right now: Mythos Greek Beer for $2.50 a bottle.

Last night I started off at the Silly Goose for Jessica’s Thursday happy hour shift. She actually had the night off because her brother was in town, and Chris was covering for her. I checked in on Foursquare and this happened:

Photo Jan 17, 5 52 01 PM

So that makes me triple mayor of Flying Saucer, Silly Goose, and Blind Bear. It’s going to take a lot of work to hold on to all three! I’ll buy former mayor Clay a Fireball shot next time I see him.

After leaving the Goose, I caught up with some friends at the Flying Saucer, then headed to Dancin’ Jimmy’s for the Thursday night poker game. This week they moved the game upstairs, to what is now being called Bar 12. Y’all, that upstairs lounge area is swanky. Even if you’re not a big poker fan, you should come play one week (it’s free to play) just to get a look at that lounge. Plus, the folks who work at Dancin’ Jimmy’s are SO nice. Any little thing they could do to make the experience better for the poker players, they did. First class all the way.

I had an unusual situation where I won a multi-way all-in in the middle of the first blind level, 25/50. That left me with 13,000 in chips, or the equivalent of 260 big blinds! You don’t see that often in bar games. I made the final table but didn’t win. I didn’t eat either but poker host Muruako had some BBQ nachos that looked and smelled delicious.

Plans for tonight: I’ll defend my mayorship at the Goose around 6, then hit the Saucer at 7 for the tapping of the yummy Lazy Magnolia Indian Summer cask beer. After that I’ll head south to say happy birthday to Karen. Maybe the Blind Bear on the way back. A fine Friday night Downtown indeed!

Thur update #2: More Crave news, bacon news, Green Beetle Instagram contest, Coach Hollins’ Whistle/South of Beale, host a football watch party for Memphis Habitat, E&H named best dive bar

Newsy, newsy day. Easily enough to warrant a second post before I go out.

In my lunchtime post, I posted about the city’s ruling against the operators of Club Crave. However, this Daily News story reports that there’s still a dispute to be settled between the city and the owner of the 380 Beale building that has housed other nightclubs in the past, including the notorious Plush Club… and the owner isn’t who we thought it was. In previous news stories, the owner has been listed as a man named George Miller. However, the Daily News did some research and found that the building is actually owned by the Beale Street Development Corporation, with notices going to Miller.

There was one good piece of news revealed in the story. The operators of Crave cannot move their headline weekly event, “Sexy Saturday,” to any other venue in Shelby County. They had been on Twitter saying Sexy Saturday had moved out east after Crave was shut down. I guess Saturday will be a lot less sexy now.

Bacon news: The Brass Door has an entree special tonight, bacon-wrapped meatloaf with a side of mashed potatoes for $12.

If you’re on popular photo-sharing service Instagram, you could win dinner for two from the Green Beetle. Follow the restaurant at @greenbeetlememphis. Post photos of your favorite menu item, or of you and your crew hanging out at the Beetle. Include the hashtags #greenbeetle and #instagramcontest to your post. They’ll choose a winner every week based on likes and creativity.

From tomorrow through the 27th, play your Coach Hollins’ Whistle ringtone at South of Beale and get 20% off. Not sure what the big deal is about the whistle ringtone? Find out here.

Memphis Habitat for Humanity is holding a fundraiser on February 3. You can sign up to host a Super Bowl party and collect donations for Memphis Habitat at halftime. You’ll also be able to spread awareness of the organization via email and social media. All party guests and hosts will be eligible to win two tickets to the NFL game of their choice, two nights stay at a Hilton, and vouchers for two round-trip tickets on Delta. This contest is unique to the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, so your chances of winning are good. Visit the Memphis Habitat website for more details.

Southern Living has named Earnestine & Hazel’s the best dive bar in the South. They make note of the fact that it used to be a brothel.

All right, outta here, time for beer. Goose is first stop since Jessica is working. Will decide between Saucer and Dancin’ Jimmy’s after that.