The first annual Beale Street Cigar Festival will be held Saturday, September 5. It will be at Havana Mix on Peabody Place and also in the surrounding streets and Handy Park. Many cigar manufacturers will be in attendance, as will sports celebrities. Premium cigars will be included in the ticket price, and there will be huge discounts on boxes of cigars. Beer, bourbon, and cognac tastings, a raffle, and more. VIP ticket holders will get to attend a dinner and after-party at Jerry Lee Lewis’ club on Beale Street that evening.
I heard that Rizzo’s Diner has finally acquired its liquor license. Good deal! I’m not planning any trips to the south side this weekend, but I hope to get in there soon.
September 19 at 8 PM, Hard Rock Cafe will host “Rocking for the Paws,” a fundraiser to benefit Blue Sky Dog Rescue. Rock and country artist Phil Vaught will perform. The event is free to attend, but donations are appreciated. Blue Sky is a dog rescue that saves homeless pets in North Mississippi. You can purchase a special pin in the gift store with $2 going to the rescue. Also, Blue Sky will have dogs onsite for adoption.
I made a slight change to the chicken fried steak rap I posted mid-week. I changed the word “pie” to “pizza” to make the second verse flow better.
I’ve come up with an interesting idea for the Bardog alley party tomorrow, a way I can make a bit of a personal sacrifice for the kids of St. Jude. There is going to be a $25 VIP beer garden where you can drink all the beer you want from 12 to 6. Needless to say, that kind of thing is right up my alley. However, you know what I have decided to do? I am going to forego the beer garden and drop $25 in the St. Jude bucket tomorrow instead. I will pre-game at D-RANKS with B-RAD at Blind Bear at 11, then walk over to the alley party 12-12:30ish. I will have the camera with me and I plan on being there all afternoon to get the usual photo album. For those of you who have never been to the Bardog party before, here’s a look back at 2014 and 2012 (Kelly in a tube top!!!) Not sure why 2013 doesn’t show up in my blog search results but there was a photo of Backey dry-humping a plastic unicorn.
Last night I stopped by Mary’s bar at Blind Bear for happy hour, and she made me one of her signature drinks: The Alien Sextini.
I don’t normally drink cocktails but I have to admit, this one was really good. I tagged my friends Rahul and Tony when I posted this photo to Facebook. “Not enough fruit in it,” commented Tony.
“Hey Jude” came on while Mary was mixing the drink and she said, “This is a really good song.” Thank you, Captain Obvious. Come see Mary at Blind Bear brunch today 11-6. She is subbing for my favorite pair of librarian glasses.
By the way, here’s a Blind Bear tip – eat. The food was never bad there, of course, but new chef Alex Switzer is really kicking up things to a whole new level.
I mentioned a while back that my friends Robo and Shobo moved to New York City. Robo sent me a photo from the Big Apple:
Looks like New Yorkers have pretty good taste. It’s probably $6 a can there though.
Norah Jones plays the Orpheum October 26. Tickets go on sale September 10. I’m a bit late to the party with that news, but I didn’t notice the announcement was starred in my inbox.
FreeWorld plays Downtown Central BBQ at noon today.
Bardog at 11 is the plan. No Farmers Market run this morning. Resting up for a big day Sunday.