(eating Zaxby’s as I type this, apologies if typos)
I was very excited to receive an MMS from my BBQ team’s head cook, Frank, last night. It was a photo of our team’s new smoker being hauled Downtown to the Farmers Market pavilion.
Our old smoker, Bevo, has had trouble holding temperature the past two years, and with our new goal of being a serious competition team as well as a party team, Bevo had to go.
If you’re attending the Crop Hop 5K after-party, here’s a photo of your dinner being brined shortly before its date with the new smoker:
This morning I received a text from Frank. “Having problem with the temperature.” Oh no, I thought, not again. Then I got a second text. “It’s too hot!” I smiled. Too hot is a problem that can be fixed.
Here’s head cook Frank lighting it up:
And here’s dinner on the new smoker:
We have yet to name the new smoker. “As long as it’s not Bevo II I’m happy with it,” I commented.
So, so, so happy with this new direction the Moody Ques are taking. Most years in June, the team leaders aren’t even speaking to each other, and if they are they’re sure as hell not talking BBQ. This year we’re cooking for a great charity event. Things are going in a good direction!
I led off at the Silly Goose last night. There I ran into my friend Ashley, who I haven’t seen in three years.
Ashley is a former Memphian who now lives in Birmingham, and whose sales job occasionally sees her travel to Memphis. I’m lucky she still speaks to me, after a 2012 invite to the Moody Ques booth ran off the rails. She had a one-shoulder dress on, and teammate “Mr. Inappropriate,” who had been hitting the team liquor stash pretty hard all day, decided to start a conversation with her.
“You’re wearing a tube top.”
“No, see, it has a strap.”
“Ahhh……. Take your shirt off.” At that point I ushered “Mr. Inappropriate” away, and he went back to his business of consuming every drop of booze he could find behind the bar. You know things are bad when I’m the voice of reason at BBQ Fest.
Ashley wanted to play the Giant Jenga game that sits on the Goose’s coffee table, and for the first time in my life I played. It was the shortest Giant Jenga game in the history of the Goose, lasting less than two rounds before the tower toppled. I was very pleased that I was not the one who lost. I’m 1-0 in Giant Jenga!
About 8 I went next door to the Flying Saucer. I don’t go there every day anymore and getting my ninth plate on the wall is taking forever. I decided to knock a few beers off the list. I got a pleasant surprise: They’ve replaced the old UFO member kiosk with two new kiosks!
This is great. Now people can stand there for 5 minutes scrolling through the beers thinking “what do I want” without holding up the line.
The deal with the kiosks, in case you haven’t heard of them before, is that UFO Club members can print out receipts, with bar codes, for the beers they purchase. At the end of the night those receipts are scanned and members get credit for the beers they drank (max 3 beers a day). When you hit 200 different beers, you get a free party and your plate on the wall.
I can’t remember the name of the beer I purchased, but it was on the Just Landed board above the bar under Drafts. It was a high-gravity beer, at 13% alcohol, in an 11-ounce glass for $8. That’s a Value Drinking Index of 17.875 (13 * 11 / 8), very good (anything over 15 is good), so I ordered it. Unfortunately I overlooked one fact: 13% beers knock me on my ass! By the time I finished the beer the room was spinning. I had to cancel my planned third stop, Blind Bear, stop by the grab & go at City Market and call it a rather early night.
The Saucer, by the way, turns 18 today and will celebrate with a menu of rare beers beginning at 5 this afternoon.
I noticed that City Market now carries Spicy Thai chips. Going to have to try those sometime. I love spicy.
Bluff City Coffee has added salads to go along with their breakfast and lunch sandwiches.
Mamma Mia! returns to the Orpheum tonight through Sunday. Tonight’s performance is at 8 PM.
The race voted “Best Race in America” by Paddler Magazine, the Outdoors Inc. Canoe and Kayak Race, happens tomorrow at Mississippi River Park. Over 500 canoes and kayak paddlers will participate. The event benefits the Church Health Center.
Dads who dine Sunday at Texas de Brazil get a gift certificate for a free meal for their next visit.
The MBJ was on the scene last night at the Cookies on Tap fundraiser at High Cotton Brewing. Here’s a recap and photos.
Interesting fact I learned from @MBJArnold this morning: City Gear has more in annual revenue than the Grizzlies.
Random thing I learned this morning: There’s a dog meat eating festival in China. 10,000 dogs will be tortured and killed over a weekend. Just terrible. The link I have here is a petition to end the festival.
See you at Crop Hop 5K, I hope! I should be down there by 6.