The Mad Earl posted a chart (hope that link works, it’s a Facebook image) of their 17 types of chicken wing sauces. To help you choose, they have the sauces graphed, with “hot” on the x axis and “crazy” on the y axis. There seems to be a sauce for everyone, even Memphis residents who are natives of the planet Zambodia – for them there’s “The Zambodian” with maple syrup and cereal sauce. Burlesque dancer and bingo host Kitty Wompas has a sauce named for her, and from the description it sounds like the one I would be inclined to order, equivalent to extra hot at other wing joints. Bartender Ugly has a spicy BBQ sauce named after him. Their hottest and craziest sauce is called “F-U-J” and Clay claims it will shut up anyone who says that the Mad Earl’s wings are not hot enough. Wings are 75 cents apiece and are discounted to 50 cents on Mondays and when the Grizzlies are playing.
Kooky Canuck is days away from opening its second location at 1250 Germantown Parkway. For those of you out in Cordova who have never been to the downtown location, you’re going to love it. Here are a few of my recommendations:
- Great maple sirloin – it’s just the right portion if you want steak but don’t have a huge appetite. It comes in a skillet with blue cheese mashed potatoes and green beans.
- Four cheese burger – my favorite burger on the menu. I like to add mushrooms or bacon to this one.
- Yonge Street burger – a close second favorite. A double decker with bacon and special sauce.
- Wings – Kooky’s wings are big, tasty, and served in generous portions. I usually get them with the hot sauce, although some of my friends rave about the strawberry jalapeno. The Holy Smokes wings are the equivalent of suicide wings at other restaurants and should be approached with extreme caution. At most places I prefer blue cheese with wings but Kooky’s Dill Ranch sauce is the bomb.
- Fried ham and cheese sandwich – you won’t find “American Heart Association approved” next to this on the menu.
- Southwest chicken salad – I love the cilantro sour cream that comes with this one. You can substitute fried green tomatoes for the chicken if you like.
This is also an excellent place to go if you’re a hockey fan, because the owners are too.
The Loony Bin, the new gallery at 8 South Main, has announced that they will do pet photography starting today. You can make an appointment to bring your pet by to be photographed by professionals.
The Mystery Beer Tub got me again! After getting off work early, I met a buddy at the Silly Goose for happy hour. About 6:30 he went home to change and I went to the Flying Saucer, planning to meet him back at the Goose in a couple of hours. I started with my usual Dos Equis Lager (now $5.50 a pint) then switched to the $2 mystery beer tub that they have every Halloween. My first pull from the tub was a can of Old Milwaukee, my bad luck streak from 2013 continuing. My second pull, however, was a large bottle of beer I didn’t recognize that must have had an ABV of close to 10%. It was delicious but it hit me hard. By the time I got back to the Goose I was out of it and sleepy. Got home pretty early for Halloween.
If you want more Halloween fun, the Blind Bear is doing Halloween all weekend long. $5 Rogeue Dead Guy 16oz drat, $3 for 16oz aluminum bottle of Bud or Bud Light, Fireball or moonshine, $4 drink specials through close Sunday. Costume contest tonight at midnight, and live music tonight as well.
As usual, I’m leading off at Panda’s bar at Bardog today at 11. This afternoon I will head south for the Memphis Farmers Market’s Barnyard Ball. I still have my extra ticket so text me if interested. Check back, because I plan on posting a sample chapter from my new book before I go out today.