A spelling bee, a comedy show, bingo and more Wednesday news

Here’s an event that I don’t think has ever happened at a Downtown Memphis bar before: A spelling bee. Bardog is having one Tuesday, April 4 at 9 PM. Sign up by emailing bardogtavern@gmail.com. There is a $5 entry fee and proceeds benefit Literacy Mid-South. $3 Yazoo beers for the event.

Dave’s British Bingo is making its return. Dave will host bingo tonight, and every Wednesday night, at the Brass Door. 7:30 is the normal starting time, but he said for tonight, “after the U.S. game.” I had no idea what he was talking about, so he explained, “Soccer.”

In other Brass Door news, there will be a comedy show there next Tuesday at 8, sponsored by Chase the Vape. Doug Gillon and Kyle Kordsmeier are your hosts. Also performing are Jennifer Lynch, Tommy F. Oler, Joshua McLane, and Benjamin Aviotti.

Just south of Downtown news: Pink Diva Cupcakery, the vegan cupcake shop currently in Midtown Crossing, will relocate to the original DeJaVu building at 936 Florida. Chef Gary Williams, who now operates DeJaVu out of a building on the Main Street Mall, believes in what Pink Diva is doing and gave the restaurant’s operator the space.

Chicken fried steak continues to be a topic of conversation among my group of friends. You know, that reminds me, I have a story. In 2000 I moved to San Diego for six months. I was driving out there, and I was in western Arkansas, approaching the Mena exit off I-40. “Maybe I should make a left turn and relocate to Mena instead,” I thought. “It may not have the ocean and the beach and the perfect weather that San Diego has, but I bet you can get a damn good chicken fried steak there.”

Last weekend we were discussing places to get a chicken fried steak, and the general consensus was that Lambert’s is the ultimate place to get a chicken fried steak, although you’ll have to travel to Sikeston, Missouri to get it. Also, they will throw rolls at you, so watch out for that. The chicken fried steak there is the size of a manhole cover.

Locally, Blue Monkey has a chicken fried steak (they call it country fried steak, but same thing). Last night I was surfing restaurant sites on my phone and saw a chicken fried steak at the Green Beetle, but when I pull up their website on my laptop I don’t see it on the menu, so not sure whether they have it or not. Can anyone confirm?

It’s not often that Blind Bear cook Michael Bean pays me a compliment, but he did Monday: “You’ve never passed out on the ground outside.” Apparently this makes me a preferred customer at the Bear.

Possibly a second post right after work, then I will get out to happy hour at either Silly Goose or Blind Bear, will be a game-time decision.