Okay, folks, before I start with the news, I would like to announce the daily special: FREE PUNCHES IN THE FACE for people who post “May The Fourth Be With You” on Facebook.
One of the happiest times of the year for me is when I start “The BBQ Fest Note” in Evernote. That’s the note where I write down the names and booth numbers of teams that have invited me to stop by, and who on the team invited me. Today I started the note. The Moody Ques are on the far south end of the park, about as inconvenient a spot as possible for someone who lives in the Downtown core. A member of one of the rib teams on the far north didn’t think I should have to walk thirsty all the way to my booth, and invited me to stop in his booth to grab a beer. Of course I made the invitation reciprocal.
I also need to make a “people I need to invite to my team’s booth” list in Evernote. It’s actually a fairly short list, because 1) I don’t put service industry people on the list, they’ll show up anyway; 2) I don’t put people on the list who another Moody Ques member knows better than I do; and 3) I don’t put team leaders of the other local BBQ teams on the list, because they should have no problem getting in. That leaves a pretty small list, and not surprisingly it’s mostly females. I need to get those invites out today, because if I wait until next week, let’s face it, I’ll forget.
Pro tip for first-year team members: Don’t give out any of your guest wristbands until your guests are physically in the park. People SAY they’re going to stop by, but in my experience only about 30% of people who say that actually DO. This is especially true for teams like ours that are at the far south. Guest wristbands are a precious commodity and you don’t want to waste them. Have your guests text or call you once they are on the way to come see you, and meet them with their wristbands.
Pro tip for people visiting our booth: You have the best chance getting in before 7 or on Saturday. 7 to midnight Thursday and Friday are our peak times and we really have to police the door (literally – we have MPD at the door). There are times when we hit capacity and have to turn people away, people that we would really like to come visit. I hate that but we have to do what the fire marshal says. Please don’t take it personally if you get turned away during peak hours.
The Salty Dogs running group will have a run from Bardog to Sun Studio and back this evening at 7. They are a great group, there is no cost to join them for the run, and after the run the Dogs enjoy specials in the Underdog Room. I would join them, but I need to get lots of practice lifting 16-ounce mugs of PBR so I will be in shape for load-in on Saturday.
The event listing for Best Memphis Burger Festival is now on Facebook. It will be Saturday, October 3. There will be competitions for Best Veggie Burger, Best Anything But Beef Burger and Best Memphis Burger. There will also be Best Bloody Mary and Best Margarita competitions, eating competitions, live music, food trucks, kids’ events and more. Save the date!
For those of you who are fans of the Say Cheese grilled cheese food truck, it will be Downtown Friday from 4-9 at the High Cotton Brewery.
It was good to be back at Bardog for brunch with Bloom… actually, it was Brooke filling in because Music Fest is Bloom’s spring break. My “DAWG” John D joined me. Mid-afternoon I moved over to Blind Bear for the Grizzlies game and D-RANKS with B-RAD. Lots and lots of D-RANKS:
A guy at the bar ordered 20 Fireballs and told Brad, “Hand them out to the bar.” I normally try to avoid Fireball these days but I went along with the crowd. I needed it to get through that Grizzlies game too. Mid-afternoon I walked down to the brewery, where it was Sunday crawfish boil day. I decided to have a box.
10 bucks for a pound and a half. They were good but not as spicy as the crawfish I have had at spring festivals. Corn is optional, but of course I wanted it.
That’ll wrap it up for this Monday. Four and a half days until vacation. I’ll be out at Melissa Monday at Bardog and Pint Nite at Saucer tonight.