Sat update: Mo’s Bows reschedules trunk show, sushi coming to Miss Cordelia’s, Jerry Lawler opens wrestling museum

11-year-old entrepreneur Moziah Bridges has rescheduled his Mo’s Bows trunk show for next Saturday at Shelton Clothiers. It was supposed to be today, but they felt that people won’t want to be Downtown today because of the KKK rally. Sad that this gathering of idiots had to affect a fine young man’s startup business.

Also, I wonder what will happen to businesses like Jack’s Food Store that are inside the “red zone” that will be cordoned off from 8 AM to 6 PM? Will they be expected to sacrifice 10 hours of revenue so a hate group can exercise its right to free speech?

In better news, people who live on the Island soon won’t have to cross the bridge to get sushi. Miss Cordelia’s will begin selling rolled-to-order sushi in two weeks.

The grand opening of Jerry “The King” Lawler’s wrestling museum is today. The former AWA champion’s title belt will be on display along with plenty of other classic Memphis wrestling memorabilia. The King will be at the museum this afternoon from 1 to 4.

Random link of the day: Wikipedia’s page on prostitution in Nevada

My NCAA bracket is still in pretty good shape thanks to wins by Louisville, Duke, and Michigan last night. I need Ohio State, who I picked to go all the way, to win in the 5:05 game this afternoon. The Marquette-Syracuse game doesn’t matter to me because that quadrant of my bracket is dead. I’ve fallen to second in the Memphis Twitter Brackets standings.

Glad I live south of “the red zone.” I will have no trouble walking to Bardog at 11 for a PBR at Panda’s bar. Business as usual in the Downtown core!

 

Fri update: North Korea, Trolley Tour/events on South Main, funny band name, Grizzlies, a couple of bars open Easter during the day

This morning I woke up to the news that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is planning to launch missiles at the U.S. mainland. Okay, let’s be realistic here. The only part of the U.S. that North Korean missiles could reach are the Aleutian Islands, the volcanic chain that extends westward from Alaska. So yeah Kim, go ahead and attack us. Polar bears must die for U.S. imperialism!

South Main Trolley Tour is tonight from 6 to 9 PM. Most of the shops and galleries will be open during that time. Some will offer special discounts, and some will serve hors d’oeuvres, beer, and wine to their guests (free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up). There will be live performers and art demonstrations on the street. The South Main Association will sell beer, and if you’re an SMA member there will be free beer and hot wings (and possibly burgers) for you in the parking lot next to Bluff City Coffee.

Tonight is also the grand opening of the Downtown Candle Company. It’s on G.E. Patterson between the Arcade Restaurant and Cheesecake Corner.

Trolley Tour night will also see the South Main Design Challenge Concept Unveiling. Teams have put together ideas for vacant and under-utilized spaces in the South Main area, including the vacant lot at Talbot and Main. Hey, who sez that lot is under-utilized? I remember walking by several years ago and seeing a couple have sex on that lot after a night at Raiford’s. They were certainly making good use of that space. Anyway, I hear there are some very cool and creative concepts for those areas, so come check ’em out.

Circa Survive and Minus the Bear will be at the New Daisy at 7 PM tonight. I know that’s a band, but it kinda sounds like Chef John Bragg is making a hostile attempt to reclaim his former restaurant space on Main.

The Grizzlies host the Rockets tonight at the FedExForum at 7.

I’m still hearing people say, “I kind of want to go to the KKK rally, just to see what one is like.” Here’s a suggestion: Get on YouTube and search for “kkk rally.” But PLEASE don’t go tomorrow. Every person present adds legitimacy to what those hate-filled imbeciles are trying to accomplish. Plus, with all the different groups down there, MPD Director Toney Armstrong described the situation as a powder keg waiting to explode. That doesn’t sound like a good place to be. You know, last week I wanted to see lions fight crocodiles. But I didn’t get on a plane to Kenya and sit on the banks of the Nile. I used YouTube. Do the same for the KKK rally. As the poster says, Keep calm and carry on. As KC and the Sunshine Band says, Please don’t go.

For those more interested in going to a bar than to church on Easter Sunday, I’ve confirmed that Bardog will open at 11 AM as usual that day. I will probably lead off there and avoid the massive Easter brunch crowd that is likely to hit the Majestic. I’ll have my Sunday best on for Easter. And by that I mean, shorts and flip flops. Max’s Sports Bar will open early both days this weekend: 2:30 on Saturday and 12:30 on Sunday.

There was a guy dressed as the Easter Bunny at the Silly Goose and Blind Bear last night when I was there. I heard earlier he’d been sitting in the window at the Saucer. No idea why. Several people posed for pictures with him.

All right, it’s lunch time. I’ll be out at the bars about 5:30, probably starting at the Silly Goose for $1.50 happy hour PBR.

SeriousEats to cover the Moody Ques at BBQ Fest

The Memphis in May BBQ Fest team I’m on, the Moody Ques, will have coverage this May from one of the most popular food blogs on the Internet. A writer from SeriousEats.com contacted the team today. He asked if he could go backstage with us, and get detailed stories and shots for an article on BBQ Fest from Memphians’ point of view. The article will be published on the site after BBQ Fest is over. Needless to say, the team captains came back with a response of YES!!! just minutes after being asked.

SeriousEats was ranked #17 on TIME Magazine’s list of the 50 Best Websites a few years ago. It received two awards from the James Beard Foundation in 2010, for Best Food Blog and Best Video Webcast. I didn’t know either of those facts until I got on Wikipedia, but I knew the site had to be a big deal because the Nuh-Uh Girl reads it every day. We are delighted to be covered by SeriousEats and can’t wait to see the article!

The team still has a couple of spots open, so if you’re interested, email me at paul@paulryburn.com or talk to me or any other Moody Ques team member when you see us out.

Thur update: CleanApp, Mo’s Bows, late Easter Sunday bar opening, cold weather continues, urban fox pictures and more

Today I learned of a very cool smartphone app in development by a professor at the University of Memphis, and I think it could be particularly useful to Downtowners so I wanted to pass along the info. CleanApp is a global app that will allow you to take a photo of graffiti, trash, etc., and tag it and report it to the appropriate municipal waste service. Some cities and neighborhoods have given this a try, but the beauty of CleanApp is that it’s global – it does all the work figuring out what municipal service to report to. You don’t have to look up phone numbers, email addresses and such.

It will be a sustainable nonprofit platform, but like any new business, they need startup capital. They’ve set up an IndieGoGo page where you can make a donation. There are also informational videos on YouTube, a FAQ, and a Facebook page that you can “Like” to receive updates about the project. They hope to have startup funds raised by Earth Day, April 22.

Shelton Clothiers is having a trunk show for Mo’s Bows Saturday from 1 to 4. 11-year-old entrepreneur Moziah Bridges will show off his latest bowtie designs. Come buy some bowties and look sharp for church Easter Sunday. Even better, come buy some bowties and look sharp when you skip church and go to the bar on Easter Sunday!

Speaking of Easter Sunday and the bar… the Flying Saucer will open at 4 PM Sunday to give the staff time to celebrate Easter with their families. Best seats on Sunday should be the benches, couches, tables, window seats, and the rails.

Looks like the cold weather is going to continue. I pulled up the Weather Channel’s extended forecast and they’re predicting highs of 59, 46, 52, and 59 for the first four days of April. Normal high for Memphis would be in the 69-70 range.

Random link of the day: 23 urban foxes who have absolutely no idea what they’re doing.

Last night I stopped at the Silly Goose, where our BBQ team vice-president Clay was at the bar with a laptop, doing research on Sweden, Memphis in May’s honored country. What we discovered is that, while Sweden is one of the most admired countries in the world, there really aren’t a lot of well-known people from Sweden. Maybe that’s why Sweden is so admired: They don’t have screw-ups like Charlie Sheen and Kim Kardashian in the news every day the way we do.

Thursday night is poker night at Dancin’ Jimmy’s on Beale. It’s free to play, starts at 8. It’s in the elegant upstairs room. Last week I snapped a few photos:

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That’ll wrap it up. I’ll be out somewhere about 5:30, Saucer or Goose probably.

Wed update: BBQ team news – couple of spots open and music info, more info on First Church concert series, Doritos news, Grizzlies have made the playoffs and more

My BBQ team, The Moody Ques, is going to have a few spots open this year. Our team competes in the shoulder category in the Memphis in May World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest, known colloquially as “BBQ Fest,” which will be held May 16-18 this year. We have one of the largest spaces in the park, and throw a big party. This year we have the Blind Bear completely managing the bar. WordPress (the engine that powers this blog) is our main sponsor, and head WordPress guru Matt Mullenweg will be in our booth. If you’d be interested in being a part of the team, you can either 1) shoot me an email at paul@paulryburn.com; 2) talk to me when you see me out; 3) talk to another team member if there’s someone you know better than me.

One new development: By Memphis in May rules we can’t have a DJ in the booth. However, we will have an iPod playing music, with the playlist put together by none other than DJ Cody from the Silly Goose. I may not hang out a whole lot late-night on weekends at the Goose, but I am a huge fan of what Cody does and I know we’re going to have some great stuff on that iPod.

Paul Morris who runs DMC emailed me with some info about the First Church Thursday night rooftop concert series starting April 11. People had wondered why they booked the concerts the same night as the Peabody rooftop parties. Paul told me that the concerts are only an hour long, and since the Peabody rooftop parties run until 11 PM there’s plenty of time to do both. Paul also said that First Church has a new minister who is excited about getting engaged with the Downtown community. The concerts are free, which is an appealing price whether you’re normally a churchgoer or not.

First there were Nacho Cheese Doritos.
Then there were Cool Ranch Doritos.
Then there were Nacho Cheese Doritos Locos Tacos at Taco Bell.
Then there were Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos.
Now there are Locos Tacos Doritos.

Take a minute to check out the NBA standings on Yahoo! Sports. In particular, look in the lower right of the page at the Western Conference standings, and look at that beautiful x- next to Memphis. That means the Grizzlies have made the playoffs. Tickets for the first round will go on sale April 6.

A restaurant named Blu was raided yesterday. This is a restaurant in southeast Memphis in Hacks Cross Road, and is in no way related to Bleu Restaurant in the Westin Hotel. Bleu is open for business.

I played poker at the Blind Bear last night. I hit some good hands and made it all the way to heads-up, where I lost to my good buddy Dennis.

Photo Mar 26, 11 16 43 PM

Congratulations to Dennis on the win.

My plan tonight will be to start at the Silly Goose to have a happy hour PBR at Jessica’s bar. After than, plans TBD.

Tue update: Emerging Downtown, Volunteer Odyssey (attn: people betwen jobs), late-night comfort food @ Miss Polly’s, Heart of Memphis info

Guess who got recognized on Forbes’ list of 15 Emerging U.S. Downtowns? That’s right – we did. Nice to see national publications recognizing that Downtown is on the rise.

If you’re a young professional between jobs, here’s a neat opportunity: You can apply to be a blogger for Volunteer Odyssey. This is a 7-day journey through the nonprofits of Memphis, where you will be able to write about the volunteer opportunities you’ll experience. You’ll get the chance to network with other young professionals and people who work in nonprofits. Your blog will serve as proof that you have used your spare time to develop your communication, marketing, and relationship building skills.

Last night I was talking with a friend of mine. Saturday night he stayed at the Flying Saucer until closing time at 2 AM, then decided he was hungry. With Cockadoos closed, it may seem like there aren’t many places to get food in the Downtown core at that hour besides Denny’s. However, my friend found a good place to eat: He had meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and blackeyed peas at Miss Polly’s Cafe on Beale Street at 2:15. “Good comfort food at a late hour,” he said. Something to keep in mind. Most people don’t think of Beale Street for very-late-night food.

Here’s a link to more info on the Heart of Memphis rally this Saturday at Tiger Lane.

Off to lunch, that’s it for now. Possibly a second post after work.

Mon update 2: Redbirds’ Bird Watching, plans for Beale, Out of the Bleu Week, Ghost River beers @ Silly Goose, First Church rooftop series, startup conference announces dates for 2014

The Memphis Redbirds are inviting the public to their annual “Bird Watching” event during lunchtime on Tuesday, April 2. From 11 to 2 the Redbirds will take open batting practice at AutoZone Park, in preparation for their season opener April 4. Come watch the future stars of the St. Louis Cardinals for free while enjoying free hot dogs, nachos, and soda. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

The Beale Street Strategic Planning Committee presented its findings to Mayor Wharton today. Find out about their recommendations for the street here.

Bleu Restaurant has announced that April 8-12 will be Out of the Bleu Week. Patrons will be able to try the chef’s new spring/summer menu for the low price of $26.75. The menu will soon be available here. Reservations through Bleu’s website are required.

Over the weekend I reported that the Silly Goose has installed a new draft beer system with two Ghost River beers and PBR. People asked me what two locally-made Ghost River beers are next to that beautiful PBR tap. The beers are Copperhead Red and Golden Ale.

First Church is doing free rooftop concerts every Thursday from April 11 to May 16. Concerts start at 7 PM and the Fuel food truck will be there at 6:30. Shows will be

April 11: Joyce Cobb
April 18: Beverly Brothers
April 25: Andy Tolmaci
May 2: Mike Dougherty
May 9: Steve Johnston
May 16: Diana Stein

Odd that they would book these concerts against the Peabody rooftop events, but I suppose the two concert series will appeal to different crowds.

Dates and sponsors have been announced for the 2014 EverywhereElse.co The Startup Conference. The 2013 conference was a big hit and proved so popular that the conference had to be moved to a larger venue.

That’ll do it for now. Time to hit Pint Nite at the Saucer for some $3 beers. Later in the evening I’ll show up fashionably late for Silly Goose poker.

Mon update: Memphis Beer Week schedule, Facebook group supports Pastner, Blue Suede Brigade gets new shoes, Tony Allen in top 140 on Twitter, info on an event to be avoided Saturday, and an anti-creeper rant

The schedule for Memphis Beer Week has been released, and it is STACKED. Memphis Beer Week will run from Sunday, April 21 through Friday, April 26, and then the big event will be Memphis Brewfest at AutoZone Park on Saturday, April 27. Memphis Beer Week is a city-wide celebration of great craft beer, and bars, restaurants, liquor stores, and groceries are participating. Tastings, talks, beer dinners, glass nights, and more. I didn’t count the exact number of events that week, but it looks like around 60 total. This is going to be an awesome week for those who love beer.

There’s a new Facebook group called Support Memphis Coach Josh Pastner. Apparently Coach P is taking a beating on sports talk radio this morning. Let’s see: He won 30+ games, he won the Conference USA regular season title, he won the Conference USA tournament, he went undefeated in Conference USA, he recruited Austin Nichols, his players are doing well in class and graduating, he was named Conference USA Coach of the Year, his players were named Conference USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, and he won an NCAA tournament game. And people think he’s not doing enough? Come on. If you’re a Pastner supporter, join the group and share your kind words for our Tigers’ coach.

The Blue Suede Brigade, the helpful employees of the Downtown Memphis Commission who answer questions and pass out information on the streets, are wearing blue suede shoes for the first time in 8 years. For a long time the DMC couldn’t find anything suitable, but recently some blue suede shoes were located on Zappos.com and an order was placed. Looking sharp!

Congrats to Grizzlies guard Tony Allen on making TIME Magazine’s top 140 Twitter feeds of 2013.

MPD has released some info on logistics for Saturday’s KKK rally Downtown. I apologize for giving this hate group any publicity at all, but it will affect traffic so I want to at least post that. From 8 AM to 6 PM boundaries will be secured: Poplar to Jefferson north to south, and Front to Fourth east to west. During that time, no vehicular or pedestrian traffic will be allowed in that area. MATA transportation will be rerouted around the area. The site of the rally itself, the courthouse on Adams, will be fenced off and a checkpoint established. 300 MPD, Shelby Sheriff’s, and other local law enforcement officers will be present. I know some of you will be curious what a KKK rally is like, but please stay away from this display of idiocy. If you’re looking for something to do outdoors, there’s a Heart of Memphis celebration at Tiger Lane by the Liberty Bowl that would be a much better place to spend your time.

I want to share a story from Friday. Friday afternoon I tweeted that the Silly Goose now had PBR on draft, and was selling it at a very good price. Needless to say, after work I went straight there. A friend of mine who I hadn’t seen in a couple of months showed up about 20 minutes after I did. Her plans had changed and she was looking for people to hang out with. I offered the seat next to me and it was a treat to catch up with what was going on in her life.

About 15 minutes after that, a guy who rarely comes to the Goose showed up. The Flying Saucer, Bardog, and Max’s Sports Bar are much more his comfort zone. Four things to know about this guy: 1) I don’t like him; 2) He knows I don’t like him; 3) He’s hell-bent on proving that people who don’t like him are wrong to feel that way; and 4) He’s hell-bent on proving to people who don’t like him that he’s going to be around, whether they like it or not. He had seen my tweet and shown up at the Goose as a result. After saying hello to the couple of other people in the bar he knew, he took an open seat on the other side of my friend, who he does not know from Adam. He proceeded to sit there and listen intently to our conversation for the next hour. Seriously?

My friend and I ignored him. About 8 she said she wanted to go to the Blind Bear, and asked me to come along. I was happy to do so, both to get away from my “shadow” and because I like going to the Blind Bear. We walked over and got seats at the bar.

Ten minutes later, the same guy showed up at the Bear. The Bear is even less in his comfort zone than the Goose is, after a day last year when he didn’t have enough money to pay his tab there and one of the owners was none too happy. Nevertheless, there he was, and once again he proceeded to sit on the other side of my friend. And this time, he actually tried to strike up conversation with her, interrupting me. Again, seriously? Inappropriate and creepy MUCH??? Instead of looking for good situations for himself, he spent his Friday night (and many other nights) trying to prove something to people who don’t like him. The amount of time, energy, and especially money he spends doing this is staggering.

I’m not telling this story so he will read it and realize what a screw-up he is; he’ll never change. I’m writing this for the benefit of people who are around him maybe one day a month, and who defend him to me, saying things like “he’s really not that bad” and “he’s doing the best he can.” Because of the places I hang out, and because he looks at my blog and Twitter to find out where I’ll be, I have to be around this idiot 25-30 days a month. Until you’ve been around him that much, until you’ve walked a mile in my shoes, YOU DON’T KNOW.

Plans for tonight: Pint Night at the Fl…

Wait, let’s try that again.

Plans for tonight: A couple of hours browsing the shelf at Memphis Public Library, followed by dinner at Imagine Vegan Cafe, then a couple of beers at the Downtown Hooters. But seriously, there may well be a second post tonight so check back.

Sun update: 2013-14 Orpheum schedule, brackets, Nuh-Uh eats a pretzel and crawfish, bar tabs, cold weather, Leonard Cohen

The Orpheum has announced their 2013-2014 Broadway season. Shows will include Flashdance, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, West Side Story, Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy, Wicked, War Horse, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and The Book of Mormon. Descriptions of each show can be found here.

I’m astonished that I’m still leading the Memphis Twitter Brackets. Once again it felt like I had a bad day predicting games Saturday. I’m going to lose more points, with three dead teams in the Sweet Sixteen (Gonzaga, Kansas State, and Butler) and two dead teams in the Elite Eight (Gonzaga and Butler). All of my Final Four picks are still live.

I got my Michigan State pick correct. I hated not picking Memphis but I could tell Michigan State was the better team. Shaq’s got to learn not to give up fouls; Tarik’s got to learn how to hit a free throw; you never know if Chris Crawford will be hitting the threes; and you never know if D.J. will come down hard on his shoulder and be out of the game for a while. By the way, on the off-chance D.J. Stephens is reading this, it’s been a pleasure watching you, sir. I hope your heart, your energy, and your incredible leaping ability lead to the career you deserve.

By the way, my knowledge of college ball that produced my lead in the Twitter brackets is a product of my reading excellent columnists like CBS’s Gregg Doyel and Gary Parrish. Read what Gary had to say about yesterday’s games here.

I watched the game at the Flying Saucer. While there I snapped this pic:

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The Nuh-Uh Girl and Jeremy shared a pretzel. Jeremy seems to be thinking, “This one bite I have in my hand is probably all I’m going to get before she inhales the rest of it.” Later in the day Nuh-Uh found out T.J. Mulligan’s had all-you-can-eat crawfish for $15, and you’d think she’d just hit the Powerball numbers by her reaction.

I was at the Saucer from about 12:30 through the end of the Tiger game. I said yesterday that it may be time to re-evaluate how much time I spend at my neighborhood bars. At Saucer, I spent about $20 more drinking my beer of choice there (Dos Equis Lager) than I would have if I’d gone to the Silly Goose and had my beer of choice there (PBR draft). Then again, the Saucer has its good points too. Christina who had day bar yesterday texted “Come see meeeeee,” and it’s nice to be wanted. That was probably the deciding factor in me staying for the entire game. Also, there seems to be a lot less drama among the Saucer’s regulars than the Goose’s, especially on weekend nights and Sundays, and I’m an anti-drama kind of guy.

By the way: There was a lady with a tube top on at the Saucer yesterday. I checked MemphisWeather.net on my phone and it was 51 degrees out. Now that’s what I call a trooper. Sometimes you have to suffer a bit for fashion. THIS IS HOW IT’S DONE, PEOPLE.

Just looked at the Weather Channel forecast. High of 49 today, 46 tomorrow, 46 Tuesday. What happened to March????? 46 is a normal low for today. The highs should be in the middle to upper 60s. Very unhappy about not being able to wear shorts for Sunday Fun Day today. Maybe tube top woman will make a return appearance at the Saucer.

Leonard Cohen performs at the Orpheum tonight at 8 PM. Details here.

Kicking it off at 11 with mimosas and good friends at the Majestic. After that I’ll hit all three of my mayorship bars, order TBD.

Saturday update including very important PBR news

Yesterday about 4 PM I got a notification that I’d been tagged in a photo by Daniel, who owns the Silly Goose. I pulled up the photo and saw that they’d installed a new draft beer tap system at the Goose, including a BEAUTIFUL PBR tap. Well, that pretty much made my decision where to go after work!

Gracie poured me a beer and told me the pricing: Since I was there during happy hour, a pint of draft PBR was $1.50. Had I come there when it was not happy hour, I’d have had to pay the lofty sum of $2, Gracie said. That’s an incredible value and is bound to make me re-assess how much time I spend at each of my Downtown bars. If I can drink PBR at the Goose all day and have a tab of around $20, well, that’s just excellent. Some of my friends have been “value drinking” at other bars for a while now, but I haven’t joined them because I refuse to compromise quality; now I don’t have to.

The other two taps, by the way, were local Ghost River beers. Smart move by Daniel. Those are three beers you can’t get down the street. By the way, let’s see… in the two months that I’ve been “mayor” of the Goose, they’ve got a foosball table and local craft beers and PBR on tap. I must say I’m doing a pretty good job.

My next stop was the Blind Bear, where Jeannette told me they had a special. The Bear has never carried sliders on their menu, because they felt that was the domain of Bardog and Slider Inn. However, a meat delivery got screwed up this week and they got a bunch of 2-ounce burger patties rather than 8-ounce. The only thing they can do is sell them, so they’re running a special of two “cubs” and a side for $6 until they run out.

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The Blind Bear will open at 1 today for the 1:45 Tigers-Spartans game. Silly Goose and Max’s Sports Bar will also open early. Of course, all the bars that normally open at 11 AM will be open for the game too. As of yet undecided where I’m going to watch it. As usual, I will start at Bardog at 11 with my “DAWG” John D and Panda behind the bar.

Stuff going on today: The Grizzlies play the Celtics at FedExForum at 7; at 8 there’s a night of songs and storytelling with Kate Campbell at the Center for Southern Folklore; the Hard Rock Rising finals I mentioned in a previous post.