Month: September 2013

Last night I stopped by happy hour at the Silly Goose and noticed a new special. From 4 to 7 PM on weekdays they have Pie & PBR for $6. By pie I mean one of their 8 specialty pizzas, along with a PBR draft. I saw someone order the Pie & PBR and the pie that came out was full-sized. Pizzas are normally $10 at the Goose. With PBR at $1.50 for happy hour, you’re effectively getting a pizza for $4.50, a 55% discount. That’s a very good deal.

The Cavern Club, the downstairs of the Brass Door, is going to open up as “a loud club” (those were the words in the email Diamond Dave sent me) on Friday and Saturday nights when they don’t have live music. They’ll have $3 domestic drafts, well liquor and house wine. Fireball and moonshine will be $4, and Jameson $5. For those who appreciate the finest of beverages, they will have $2.50 PBR cans. Check The Cavern Facebook page for schedule.

Couple of music recommendations: First of all, Jeremy Stanfill and Josh Cosby play the Blind Bear tonight at 9. Tomorrow, the Eric Hughes Band will have an “Act a Fool Blues Party” at Double J from 8:30 to 1.

Rock for Love 7, a three-day event benefitting the Church Health Center, begins today. Details here.

Stacey Greenberg has a great article about last weekend’s Cochon Heritage BBQ on the Flyer’s Hungry Memphis blog. There are photos of the menus and all the food. Each team had to enter four entrees and two sides.

News for my Little Rock readers: A second Gus’s could be landing in the city soon. The first Gus’s in Little Rock, in the River Market district, has been doing very well.

The Downtown Memphis Commission recently published a list of “Dirty Dozen” properties they’d like to see redeveloped. One of those properties, 107 South Main, has had its price reduced to under $600,000. This would be a perfect spot for conversion to apartments with retail on the ground floor.

That’s the news for now. I’ll probably get out to the Bear tonight and hear Jeremy Stanfill and Josh Cosby and watch the NFL game.

Since yesterday’s post I’ve heard from two reliable sources that the wheel thieves that left cars on blocks Downtown this past weekend have been caught – at least three of the four, anyway. One of the sources told me that Elvis masks were found near the scene of one the cars they burglarized. Empty PBR cans were also found next to the car. IT WASN’T ME, I PROMISE!!!

I woke up to some surprising news on Twitter this morning: Kerry Crawford is leaving the I Love Memphis blog effective September 30. It sounds like a positive thing, with Kerry having a chance to work for herself. The I Love Memphis blog will live on with a new writer, Holly Whitfield. Thanks Kerry for all you’ve done to promote this city the past four years. It’s made a ton of difference waking people up to all there is to do and experience in Memphis.

The Carnival of Madness is coming to Mud Island tonight. Shinedown, Skillet, Papa Roach, We As Human, and In This Moment. General admission tickets are $62 and gates open at 5.

If you are still trying to figure out where you stand on Syria, this article has five things you should know. It’s hard to know what to think. There are arguments both in favor of bombing and against bombing. It’s not really breaking down along party lines, either.

Speaking of Syria, Sen. John McCain was caught playing poker on his iPhone during the Syria hearings.

Not Downtown news but worth a mention: There’s a new snow leopard cub at the Memphis Zoo.

The Fire Museum on Adams is using a grant to develop fire safety video games for kids. That’s pretty cool.

I came in second at Blind Bear poker last night. Ellen had a huge stack after surviving a 4-way all-in involving everyone but me, and there was no way I could stage a comeback. Congratulations to her. Although I didn’t win a prize, those points I picked up toward the league final table are quite valuable at this point in time. Some of the plays I saw at my initial table were “creative” to say the least, especially during the first five blind levels.

Got more news on deck so it’s possible there will be another post after work. Outta here for now.

Servers in the Memphis area are finding super-generous tips being left, along with notes explaining why. The tips are random acts of kindness that are part of Operation Tucci, in memory of David “Tucci” Santucci, a male nurse who recently died in a senseless murder in the South Main area.

There is also a Tucci Foundation that is being set up as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Tucci’s memory.

There have been a rash of wheel thefts reported Downtown. I first heard of this a week ago when a friend who lives in River Row found her car up on blocks, with all four tires removed. This past weekend it happened to another friend of mine who lives in South Bluffs (a gated community!), the Bardog delivery vehicle while parked in a garage at Front and Monroe, and several others. With the right tools it’s possible to remove a car’s wheels in 30 seconds.

We’re done with baseball at AutoZone Park this season. The Redbirds lost the season finale, and as a result will miss out on the playoffs.

On to better news: There’s a new website, main2main.com, where you can keep up with news on the Main-to-Main project connecting Memphis and West Memphis.

The Peabody is hosting a special dinner on Saturday, August 14, to celebrate the 375th birthday of Dom Pierre Perignon, the spiritual father of champagne. The 7 PM dinner will have a four-course menu and of course, Dom Perignon. $85 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Call 901-529-4188 to make reservations.

A fun Memphis Music & Heritage Festival weekend has come to a close. I wish I had gotten out to see more bands, but it was just so damn hot. A server in a nearby bar asked me if I thought they’d get a lot of business from the festival. “If it’s 80, your bar will be dead because everyone will be outside,” I replied. “If it’s 95, you’ll be busy.” It was 95. Sunday evening after the sun went down, I finally got outside to hear the Swamp Katz:

The Swamp Katz play classic rock and have a new album out. They play frequently at the Center for Southern Folklore and also the Brass Door.

I hear I missed some shenanigans at Blind Bear while I was outside though. I commented yesterday that Downtowners need a “where’s the shitshow” smartphone app so we don’t miss anything.

Yesterday I tried the two new local Wiseacre Brewing Company beers at the Flying Saucer. It was the first day on tap for both the Tiny Bomb and the Ananda IPA.

Both were outstanding. Descriptions of both beers, from the Saucer’s UFO computer, are below (click to see the image in a larger size).

I had the pleasure of having a beer with a retired Navy SEAL and his wife at the Saucer, whom I met at the Blind Bear and decided to come over with me. He had some great stories. Thank you for your service to our country, sir.

That’ll do it for now. Out at the usual places after work, including Blind Bear poker at 8.

Yesterday I walked down to the Blind Bear about 1:30. The Bear is opening at noon this weekend (including Monday) to accommodate festival-goers for the Memphis Music & Heritage Festival. I planned to have a few beers, then go outside at 3 to hear Mouserocket. About 2:50 I was finishing up, sitting in front of the far TV at the bar. Colin grabbed the remote.

“You wouldn’t mind if I changed this to the Arkansas game, would you?” he asked.

Would I MIND??? That change of the channel managed to keep me at the Blind Bear for an additional three and a half hours and six PBRs. The Hogs looked good in their 34-14 victory over Louisiana, and the Bret Bielema era started off with a bang. I’m looking over Arkansas’ schedule as I type this, and I’m thinking it’s going to be a really good year for the team if they get to 7-5 and a bowl appearance. It’s not that the Hogs aren’t very good; it’s that they’re in the SEC West, the toughest division in college football. They can get to 7-5 if they sweep the nonconference schedule (Rutgers isn’t going to be easy though), beat Auburn and State, and upset one of the following three: A&M, Ole Piss, or LSU.

Later in the day, I finally made it out to the festival, and got these:

BBQ nachos from Central BBQ! Their food truck is parked at the festival and will be serving nachos, pulled pork and other yummy BBQ treats today.

I still haven’t seen a cooking demo schedule, so I never tweeted it yesterday. I heard that the Nuh-Uh Girl showed up for a free sample as the chicken fried rice demo concluded.

Here are a few music recommendations for today.

• Banjo workshop, Folklore Store stage, 1 PM
• The Sheiks, garage punk, Peabody Place at Main stage, 4:45 PM
• Tonya Dyson, neo-soul, Folklore Store stage, 6:15 PM
• Sonny Burgess and the Pacers, rockabily, Peabody Place at Main stage, 6:45 PM
• Swamp Katz, rock, Union at Main stage, 8:30 PM
• Joyce Cobb, honored performer, Peabody Place at Main stage, 9:45 PM
• FreeWorld, although not at the festival; go see them in their native habitat at Blues City Cafe, 10:30 PM

With no meaningful football games on today, I plan to spend considerably more time outside.

Watching past episodes of WWE NXT while waiting for the bars to open. That’s the WWE’s developmental territory where the stars of tomorrow learn their craft. It’s really good, especially the women’s division. When I first watched Emma I thought she sucked but I’ve since come to the conclusion that she’s hilarious and I am enjoying her feud with Summer Rae, who is Fandango’s dance partner on the main roster. Check it out if you get a chance. They moved it from Hulu Plus to regular Hulu, so you can watch for free.

Good move by the New England Patriots on retaining Arkansas alum Ryan Mallett at backup QB while cutting Tim Tebow. Mallett is a true NFL quarterback who just needs a little seasoning. Tebow is a sideshow act. Have fun playing in Canada, Tim, and you might want to buy a winter coat, I hear it gets cold up there.

I’m not going to make it to the Majestic’s new Sunday brunch time of 10:30 very often, but this week I’m up early enough. I want to catch up on the latest WordPress news from my friend Otto, who has been traveling to a lot of WordCamps the past month. And of course my “DAWG” John D will be there too. Rest of the day TBD, but I plan on spending a lot of time at the music festival and Blind Bear. I will not be playing poker tonight at 6:30 though. Time to enjoy a Sunday without a Monday behind it!