Month: October 2015

I have even more news about tonight’s Sinners for Saints Ball at Stop 345. The first piece of information is a bit of insider info about one of the costume contest judges: He will be dressed as superhero PBR MAN and he is known to be a fan of tube tops.

Secondly, the sponsors who will be putting out lots of delicious food at the ball tonight have been announced: Pete & Sam’s, Double J, Molly’s La Casita, and Boar’s Head. Very excited about getting some Pete & Sam’s food without having to drive out east.

Getting back to the costume contest, there will be over $1000 in prizes handed out, from the following local businesses: Double J, Capital Grille, Tamp & Tap, Seasons 52, Rizzo’s Diner, the Silly Goose, the Green Beetle, Le Chardonnay, LBOE, the Hi-Tone, La Hacienda, Local, Agave Maria, Boneheads, Elite Men’s Health, Alchemy, Adam Exelbierd Fine Art, Tony’s Trophy Room, Golfsmith, and Huey’s. Thanks to all of those businesses for supporting a fabulous party that will raise thousands of dollars for the Church Health Center.

Tickets are $40 if you purchase them online until 4 PM today. At the door, admission will be $50. If you think that you are paying a lot compared to most Halloween parties, look at this comparison:

By the way, you are not limited to two drinks, or beers, or Jello shots. This is just an example of what the average person might consume at a Halloween party. It’s an open bar! (Please be responsible if driving though.) By the way, they forgot to include parking in their comparison, which is free in the Stop 345 lot.

For those of you who went to the two predecessor parties, South Main Dirty Dozen and Nightmare on Main Street, all the gripes I had about those two parties have been removed. There’s plenty of space and you don’t have to squeeze through cramped entryways to get from one room to the next. There will be beer, and plenty of it. And best of all (for me, anyway) is that the party is in the Downtown core! It’s a short walk from where I live. For those not familiar, take Madison east from Third. You will see an exit ramp leading off to Danny Thomas. Take the ramp, and Stop 345 is right there, right before you get to Danny Thomas. Doors open at 9, with DJ Lil’ Eggroll and fortune tellers starting it off, Lord T and Eloise with Witnesse at 11:30, costume contest at 1, then Eggroll is back for round two.

To my Jello shot pushers tonight: I will have a few, I’m sure, but I will have to do them in moderation. Since I now have responsibilities at this event, I can’t turn into “BBQ Fest Paul” until after the costume contest.

One more Sinners for Saints item before I get on with the rest of the news: Although everything is included, bartenders, fortune tellers, and DJs do appreciate tips. Accumulate some ones today (or larger bills, if so inclined) to tip at the party tonight.

Now, let’s say for some reason you don’t want to go to the Sinners for Saints Ball tonight. You’re making a mistake, but this is America dammit, and you’re free to do what you want, any old time. Let’s have a look at your other options.

Filmmaker Craig Brewer has thrown some pretty legendary private Halloween parties in years past. This year, for the first time his party is open to the public. It is at Earnestine & Hazel’s starting at 9 and live music will include The Sheiks, Jack Oblivian, Superwitch, The Dead Soldiers, and Al Kapone.

Win a hearse! Bardog gives away the hears parked outside its front door at 11:59 PM.

 

If you’re looking for something kid-friendly, Halloween on the Island is tonight at 6:30 at Mud Island River Park and gift shop. Haunted River Walk, costume contests, games, rides, and trick-or-treating. $5 per person.

Back to adult fun tonight: Mollie Fontaine’s is always a place that can be counted on to be fun on Halloween. For those not familiar, it’s a restaurant/bar in one of the Victorian mansions on Adams Avenue, and the place has a spooky, haunted feel on Halloween. There will be music by Future Everything artists.

Coyote Ugly on Beale Street is having a Bunny Mansion Halloween party starting at 7. Costume contest with $100 prize and Fireball specials.

The New Daisy is having “The Devil Wears Prada: A Highly Stylized Affair” tonight. It’s hosted by Chris Soules of The Bachelor. Complimentary admission before 10 with full costume. Featuring DJ Connor Cruise and DJ Epic.

If you’re not into Halloween and just want to hear some good live music, go to the Center for Southern Folklore, where it’s the J Train Blues Band CD release party. Start time is 8 PM.

RIP Al Molinaro, “Big Al” who owned Arnold’s restaurant on Happy Days.

Time to get the day started. I will do Brunch with Bloom at Bardog and a stop at Blind Bear as usual, but that will be followed by food (probably Maciel’s) and a long halftime nap. I can’t wait for tonight, this should be the best time I’ve had on Halloween in years.

Holly from I Love Memphis has dropped the November I Love Memphis podcast. I haven’t had time to listen yet, but I have no doubt it is a good one: The special guest for November is Paul Morris who runs DMC.

A comment I saw on Twitter this morning about the podcast: “Rubber wheel trolleys from downtown to Cooper-Young?” Is that an idea being tossed around? Yes yes yes! Please make this happen! I would love to hang out in Midtown more than I currently do (meaning, more than two or three times a year). I hope the hours are reasonable (shutting down at 11:45 on a Friday night is an example of “not reasonable”).

There are a couple of seasonal celebrations Downtown tonight. Latino Memphis’ Day of the Dead celebration is at the Cadre Building from 7 to 10:30. Music by Colombian singer Marcela Pinilla and her band, Mariachi Guadalajara and a Latin DJ. There will be food bites and a Tree of Life as well. Must be 21+.

Meanwhile, over in Victorian Village, Haunted Happenings is tonight from 7 to 10. Tonight only, the Woodruff-Fontaine House will be transformed into a haunted mansion. Docents will lead tours, with ghost stories at every turn. Live paranormal investigation, local authors who have written horror stories, gypsy fortune tellers. Traditional turn of the century Halloween treats in the carriage house. $20 adults, $10 for children 12 and under.

South Main Trolley Night posted the lineup for tonight to Facebook. Because I’m lazy, I will just copy and paste:

-Vendors galore, especially on the East Side of Main near Rizzos
-Cafe Pontotoc: Brent Dennis accoustic duo.
-Signal Flow PR: Faith Ruch, Bryan Hayes and more
-Double J: Tim Plunk
-The Green Beetle: Justin Moore
-Breaking Point Financial (across from Fire Station): Shufflegrit
-Broken Arrow: Soriana Wood
-Obsidian PR: Larry Randolph
-Love Pop Soda Shop(inside): Brandon Taylor, Moses Crouch
-Rizzos: Roger Wild
-Main Street Law: Ron Everett (tentative)
-South Main Sounds: Frank McClallen, Stephen Sciara, Joseph Lee, Justin Paul Bloss, Bryan Hayes Music !

This mini basket and ball is what you will get if you are one of the first 5000 at the Grizzlies home game tomorrow night against Brooklyn.

Don’t forget that the Race for the Cure is at AutoZone Park tomorrow morning at 9. If you need to drive anywhere tomorrow morning, allow extra extra extra time.

From Lifehacker: Avoid Uber’s surge pricing by waiting a few minutes

Wrapping things up at work. I will be out for happy hour, probably an early night because PBR MAN has a big day tomorrow!

The Memphis Farmers Market invites you to come haunt the market at Gobblin’ Goodies tomorrow from 7 AM to 1 PM at the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson. Cookies, baked goods, and popcorn are among the items you can purchase there to hand out to trick-or-treaters that evening. There are even pet treats for those who show up at your door in four-legged costumes. Kids can make trick-or-treat bags from 9 to 11:30. There will be a costume contest for all ages – come down in costume, MFM will take your photo and post it, and judges will select a winner next week. Winner gets $10 in market tokens. Dress up your pet in costume for a Pet Boo Bash at 10. Live music by Adam Levin at 11. Note that this is the last week of the market for the 7 AM opening time; hours will be 8 AM-1 PM for the three weeks the market will be open in November.

From Memphis Daily News: Central Station design plans come into clearer focus. Plans include a six-screen Malco theater and a way to connect the Farmers Market to South Main. Work is expected to start in 2016 and be done by 2017.

Don’t forget tomorrow is the October wine tasting at Quench. “Like” Quench on Facebook to keep up with future events at the Downtown liquor and wine store.

Also tomorrow is the 16th South Main Sounds Songwriter Night

Frank McClallen, Steven Sciarra and Joseph Lee (Michigan) comprise the rounds, possibly one more to replace Melissa. It’s Halloween Weekend so you never know what will happen down on South Main-Join us, won’t you?”

Looking for event space? The River Inn of Harbor Town is doubling the size of its banquet hall in order to better accommodate requests.

Home from work. Time for beer and hopefully watching a Grizzlies game that goes better than last night’s.

So, last night a Grizzlies fan hit a half-court shot and won free tater tots from Sonic for life. I wonder how that works exactly? Do they give you a card that says “This person is entitled to tots for life” or something like that? And if the card is presented to a new 18-year-old waitress who started work at a Sonic location a week ago, is she really going to believe him? Who knows.

Bass Pro is celebrating Halloween at the Pyramid today through Saturday. There will be trick-or-treating, costume parades, photo booth with the Peanuts gang, crafts, and more.

Ben Callicott, Drew Erwin, The Passport, and Camino play the Brass Door tonight beginning at 7. It’s a $5 cover and if you wear a Halloween costume, you get a raffle ticket. Not many people are going to have costumes on tonight so I would think the probability of winning a prize would be higher than most raffles.

Tomorrow is the day before Race for the Cure, and there will be Chalking in Memphis on Beale Street. Pink chalk will be handed out so you can write the name of a breast cancer survivor you know, or a loved one you lost to breast cancer, on the street. Your loved ones’ names will be part of the race the next day.

R. Kelly plays FedExForum tonight at 8. As of this morning tickets were still available.

A few of my readers told me I broke their hearts last week when I posted that human DNA was found in 2% of hot dog samples. Gizmodo says don’t freak out about it, though. Very tiny samples of human DNA were found in only 2% of the hot dogs. A UCSB ecologist pointed out that if you did really thorough testing, a trace amount of human DNA would be found in most objects on Earth.

What was disturbing, the Gizmodo article went on to say, is that pork DNA and chicken DNA in varying amounts (and not always trace amounts) were found in vegetarian hot dogs. Although most vegetarians are vegetarians by choice, there are people out there who are allergic to meat and have to be concerned that veggie hot dogs could kill them.

Need to go to the library? Don’t plan on doing it tomorrow. All branches of the Memphis Public Library will be closed October 30 for a staff development day.

People are concerned about the weather for Saturday night’s Halloween parties. MemphisWeather.net (@MemphisWeather1 on Twitter) says that the rain looks heavy during the day Saturday, but should be letting up by evening, although there could be a scattered shower here and there.

The Sinners for Saints Halloween Ball (yes I’m mentioning it again) has announced its gourmet Jello shot lineup for Saturday night: Margarita (complete with gummy worm), Apple Pie, Grape Sweet Tart, Boo Berry, Moscow Ghoul (ginger beer/lime flavored), Lemonhead, Redbull Vodka, Tru Blood Punch, Harry Potter (raspberry lemonade), and Candy Corn with real vanilla bean, butterscotch, and caramel. These are not your grandma’s shots, folks. Worried about consuming these on an empty stomach? No problem, there will be plenty of food provided by the event’s sponsors. You can still get tickets in advance for $40 to avoid paying $50 at the door. Your money supports the Church Health Center.

That’ll do it for now. Possibly a second post after work with Farmers Market news and whatever else I can find. I’m heading to the Silly Goose for happy hour after work, then will choose among the Saucer, Blind Bear, and the Fire Haus for my second stop.

The Majestic Grille has put up its holiday events page. Click through and find out how to be the first to know the date of the restaurant’s annual half-off gift card sale. You will also learn how to be the first to know when reservations are open for Sunday Supper & A Movie, the annual showing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (with costume contest), and Brunch with Santa.

With the holidays approaching, the Peabody has announced that pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, and sweet potato velvet cake are now on sale at Peabody Deli & Desserts.

Central BBQ has announced that it will begin taking turkey orders on November 1.

VERY cool: Memphian Moziah Bridges has been named one of TIME Magazine’s most influential teens. At 13, Mo owns a $200,000 a year bow-tie business, Mo’s Bows, with several national deals to supply bow ties.

From WREG Live at 9: Not only can you pamper yourself at Feathers Spa at the Peabody, you can also get a healthy meal there.

As if shopping Amazon Prime after coming home from a night on the town, now there’s this: Drunk Mall

St. Jude is building a 3-story data center.

Time for a beer. Leading off at the Silly Goose where Daniel and his crew will be pre-gaming for Grizzlies. Trivia later at Blind Bear.

The schedule has been announced for Sinners for Saints Ball Halloween night at Stop 345.

• Doors open at 9
• DJ Lil’ Eggroll 9:00-11:30
• Live fortune tellers 9:00-11:00
• Amurica photo booth (in trailer park) 10:00-1:00
• Lord T and Eloise featuring DJ Witnesse 11:30-1:00
• Costume contest at 1:00
• Dj Lil’ Eggroll 1:00-close

I already have my ticket and I hope to see you there!

The Silly Goose will have All Hallow’s Eve beginning at 9 that night. There will be a $50 cash prize and a $25 gift card in costume contests every 30 minutes. That’s a LOT of contests! $2 Jello shots and music by DJ Cody.

Meanwhile, a half block down the street the Flying Saucer will have live music for Halloween. SNOZberry takes the stage at 9. The Saucer’s famous $3 mystery beer tub will be back.

Great article by Karen from Earnestine & Hazel’s: What it’s like to work in the most haunted bar in America

West Memphis’ Ray’s World Famous BBQ is making its way to South Main. A commercial kitchen permit was filed for 302 S. Main, near Pontotoc.

If you’re going to the Grizzlies home opener tonight vs. Cleveland, you’ll get a free magnet schedule of the 2015-16 games. The game tonight will be on Fox Sports Southeast. Tip-off is 7 PM.

MIFA’s Feed the Soul party at The Warehouse earlier this month raised $127,000 for the organization. Great job by Kris and everyone who worked to make this gala celebration happen.

From USA Today: Thanks to Memphis, we will get some insight into how the college playoff committee thinks. With rankings coming out November 3, and assuming Memphis wins this weekend’s game, it will be the first time the committee has issued rankings when there has been a Group of Five conferences team with a decent strength of schedule and a win over a SEC school in the Top 25.

Here’s a cool phone app developed in Memphis with the help of a Downtown hotel: FrontDesk Connect, which lets you get in touch with your hotel’s front desk anywhere you have your cell phone, as opposed to having to use the hotel room phone which is usually stationary.

For my Chicago readers: Starting Monday you will be able to get Gus’s without leaving town.

That’s it for now. I will be out at the usual spots after work.

Downtown Dining Week menus are up. Click through to the site, then click on the restaurant logo to see the menu. There are still some “to be announced” but quite a few are there. For those who don’t know, the deal is that from November 9 to 15, participating restaurants serve a special menu for the price of $20.15.

If you want to go to a restaurant that takes reservations during DDW, make reservations now.

The Sprock ‘n’ Roll group party bike is expanding its service to include a Downtown route, and the bike will be partnering with the Grizzlies to offer discounted tickets to select home games.

Miss Cordelia’s, the grocery store on Mud Island, is having a fall festival Saturday, November 7 from 11 AM to 3 PM. There will be a cookout, live music, and pop-up shops. The store’s new growler station will be open, and there will be beer tastings. It will be the first week of Miss Cordelia’s new Saturday markets.

Tip for wine lovers: The Blind Bear is changing up the wine it stocks, and is selling bottles that would normally run for about $40 for only $20. There are several different varieties, both red and white.

From what I have heard, the Norah Jones concert at the Orpheum last night was a success. Another big name comes to the theater next month: Mary J. Blige on November 4.

3-time US Disc Golf champion Will Shusterick will present a clinic at this week’s Pints and Putts, tomorrow from 5 to 8 at Central BBQ Downtown. There will be a disc golf putting contest and $3 pints.

Tweeted by @HungryFlyer: Pair beer with Halloween candy

Always fun to look at college football bowl projections. Of course, with over a month left in the season, you have to take them with a grain of salt, but these projections have Memphis playing Arkansas in the Birmingham Bowl December 30. Yikes, I might be put in the rare position of having to root against my Hogs. The same projections have Texas and Tennessee in the Liberty Bowl. Noooooooo! Please don’t crap up my city with a mass influx of Tennessee fans!

You know, sometimes I feel like I need to say this more often: THANK YOU to all my wonderful friends for being a part of my life. I was thinking on the way to work this morning what an awesome day Sunday was. I started off at D-RANKS with B-RAD at the Blind Bear with my new Sunday brunch crew Rahul and Tony. In the early afternoon, my classic brunch crew for the past 10 years/Moody Ques teammates joined me at the bar. Later in the afternoon, current and former Blind Bear and Flying Saucer folks came in and we caught up on happenings in each others’ lives. After B-RAD got off, we went for drinks at the Silly Goose, then some of us continued on to the Flying Saucer. Then it was back to the Bear for co-owner Jeannette’s birthday. Super, super day.

Then I had another fun day with friends last night. I led off at the Blind Bear, where my friends Rodger and Mary were pre-gaming for Norah Jones. Mary and I were trying to remember whether we went to the Saucer Sunday night, and who came with us. Jeannette had the evening bar shift and she told me they are starting Moonshine Mondays at the Bear, with $3 moonshine shots and $6 moonshine cocktails from 7 to 11 PM. Around 9 my friend Duck texted me that he was back in town and at the Silly Goose, so I went over there and had a great time chatting with him. “Do you know you have a 2 year old bar tab at the Blind Bear?” I asked him. I walked back over with Duck and he paid it, also paying a bar tab our friend Buddha had left there. I took a photo of him with both tabs, “Paid” written on them.

Conversation I overheard sometime in the past 7 days:

“Do you know who Richard Simmons is?”

“Is he the the lead singer of KISS?”

“Yeah, that’s him. He’s a good friend of mine…”

WHAT???

Possibly a second post this evening, so check back. Not sure where I will lead off tonight, but I will be out somewhere.

Happening this week: U.S. Women’s Olympic Boxing team trials at the Cannon Center. 24 women will compete, with a winner being chosen in each of three weight divisions.

Rachel’s Salon and Day Spa is having its annual Cut-a-Thon in Court Square Thursday from 11 to 1:30. You can get a haircut or neck massage and meet Teri Trotter, founder of the Pink Wig Project. There will be food trucks and live music by Gerry Finney.

Want to be a cannibal? Eat a hot dog. A study found human DNA in 2 percent of hot dogs. That’s pretty disturbing. Also, 10 percent of vegetarian hot dogs were found to contain meat.

The owner of the New Daisy blasted the Tennessee Department of Revenue for padlocking his business without prior notice. He had the matter cleared up within one day and no concerts were missed.

Norah Jones plays the Orpheum tonight at 8.

This Friday is a spooky South Main Trolley Night, with many shops in the area open until 9 or later. Ar South Main Book Juggler, there will be a signing of Sun Records: An Oral History. EZR Management will have an open house at 390 S. Main. There will be a South Main Association member area next to Bluff City Coffee with chili dogs and witchy brews: free for SMA members, $10 for others. Live music at venues up and down the street.

The Sinners for Saints Halloween Ball has announced an additional attraction: Fortune tellers at the indoor trailer park from 9 to 11 PM. I will say it one more time: This is absolutely the party where you want to be on the evening of Halloween. $40 in advance, $50 at the door. Lord T and Eloise are the headline act.

Station 3: The Memphis Fire Haus will be open Wednesday night for those who choose to pre-game or post-game for the Grizzlies’ home opener against Cleveland. Southbound Seafood will be there, selling boiled crab legs, boiled shrimp, gumbo and etoufee.

That’ll do it for now. Undecided between Bardog and Blind Bear for happy hour tonight, but I will be at one or the other.

I would like to wish a very happy birthday to my friend Jeannette, co-owner of the Blind Bear and fellow Scorpio. Thank you for putting up with my friends and me these past four years and giving us such an awesome place to call home. I can’t even count the number of people I have met there who have become my friends.

I’ve kind of been out of the loop this weekend but I hope to be back tomorrow with a news post. In the meantime I will be at D-RANKS with B-RAD at 11 at Blind Bear if anyone wants to meet up.

We’re ready to serve is the theme of tomorrow’s Memphis Farmers Market. The market has fresh produce and meats that you can prepare later, but they also have food that is ready to eat now. This food is available in various forms: Food trucks, grab-and-go meals, and jars of jellies and salsas. The UTHSC College of Pharmacy will be there from 9 to 12 with information about stroke prevention. Pet adoptions by Real Good Dog Rescue 9 to 12. Live music by Eric Crays & Friends 11-12:30. The market runs from 7 AM to 1 PM at the pavilion at Front and G.E. Patterson.

Don’t forget that the kick-off party for RiverArtsFest happens tonight in South Main from 6 to 10. Live music and some of the vendors will be open. This is the only day of RiverArtsFest with free admission.

Also happening in the South Main district tonight is the Tennessee Whiskey Festival at Artspace Lofts.

The Memphis Symphony Orchestra will perform a concert with fireworks tonight outside the Pyramid. Blankets and picnic baskets welcome.

I haven’t confirmed this myself yet, but I heard last night that the sushi restaurant on South Main in the former Grawemeyer’s space is now open.

Every year Ballpark Digest honors noteworthy accomplishments in the baseball world, whether it be major league, minor league, college, or any other form of organized baseball. This year the Digest gave an award to AutoZone Park, recognizing the significant renovations and improvements that happened when the St. Louis Cardinals bought the Memphis Redbirds and pumped millions of dollars into the Downtown baseball stadium.

Depending on weather, I will try to make it to the RiverArtsFest kickoff tonight. If it rains, I will be at my usual places in the Downtown core. Working from home today so I’m going to grab some chili from Court House Deli, then a few hours to the weekend.