Yesterday I led off at Bardog as indicated on my blog, but while having my first beer I learned that the Nuh-Uh Girl and BBQ team pitmaster Frank planned on watching the Outback Bowl at Max’s Sports Bar. That sounded like a plan so I paid my tab and walked south.
I walked in at the same time as Frank and Nuh-Uh and we were joined a little later by our friend Chad MO. Chad decided some food would help him wake up so he asked Max for a menu. He got the school lunchroom pizza, the same stuff you were served in elementary school; yes, they have that as Max’s. As soon as his food came out the Nuh-Uh Girl appeared by his side.
The Nuh-Uh Girl got mad at me for rooting for Northwestern. “You should root for SEC schools,” she told me. In general I do, but Tennessee and Ole Miss are just too douchey for me to even consider it. The Nuh-Uh Girl sang “Rocky Top” every time the Vols scored, and it was nice to see that she has found other uses for her mouth besides eating.
Tennessee won, which made the Nuh-Uh Girl happy.
The walk north
With the game over a little after 2, I decided it was time to walk to Beale Street to get a good spot for the Liberty Bowl parade. On the way there I made a couple of discoveries which were blogworthy.
There’s a new Little Free Library at Main and Vance. Little Free Libraries are community book exchanges where you can leave a book that you would like to share with others, or take a book if you see one that interests you (of course, it is hoped you will return it when done). This is a neat concept and I am happy to see one Downtown.
I have the sneaking suspicion, though, that at some point in the near future I am going to be approached with the following: “Hey. Sir. Sir. Sir. Hey. Hey. Big time, over here. Look here, sir. I got this book on needlepoint that I’m trying to sell. If you went to the bookstore it would be about ten dolla. I’ll give it to you for ’bout fitty two cent.”
Farther up the street, I saw this note posted on the door of the Chisca.
LYFE Kitchen, the new restaurant to open soon in the Chisca, is hiring, LYFE Kitchen is a restaurant concept that sells healthy food at about the same speed and cost as fast food. It should do well down here. KALE!
The parade
I got there at 2:30 thinking I would surely beat the crowd and get the spot I wanted. I was wrong! The street was a sea of purple. Kansas State showed up!
We got a spot next to King’s Palace Cafe’s outdoor bar, which was convenient for purchasing Big Ass Beers. Bones, Mike, Shane and Leigh, and Stevie G and Sarah were there representing Squeal Street BBQ; Frank and I were there representing the Moody Ques; and the Nuh-Uh Girl was there representing people who eat Squeal Street’s and the Moody Ques’ food.
The Nuh-Uh Girl pointed out that there are only about 4 men in Memphis who are not members of the “I touched the Nuh-Uh Girl’s boob” club. I realized I was one of them, so I touched the Nuh-Uh Girl’s boob.
I have to hand it to Kansas State… I can’t root for your team today, but you guys really impressed me. I like schools whose fans show up for the Liberty Bowl in large numbers and are polite and well-behaved but know how to have fun. A friend of mine who used to be a Fireball rep went to Manhattan, Kansas and told me it is one heck of a party town. I can believe it.
No thanks, we wouldn’t be interested in thousands of dollars in extra revenue
I just don’t get this at all.
After about 50 minutes at the parade, I got tired of shivering and looking at the back of people’s heads. I caught a strand of beads but there wasn’t much else to keep me there. I decided it was time to get some blackeyed peas and collard greens. I walked north, passing the Flying Saucer.
Note that all the chairs are up in the photo above. The Saucer was closed. I posted the pic to Facebook and was told, “We always open at 5 on New Year’s Day.” Yes. I know that. I have been a regular at the Saucer for over a decade; I know what time you open. However, this New Year’s Day was different from the previous ones. This was the first New Year’s when there were SIX THOUSAND PEOPLE A BLOCK AWAY watching a parade. Those people are going to be looking for places to pre-game and post-game the parade. And you’re right there at Second and Peabody place. They are going to see you before they see any other bars. And a bar that sells 200 different beers? That’s a pretty appealing concept. You guys would have been PACKED. I’m not saying I would have opened the place at 11, but I sure would’ve got open by 1.
When I posted about this on Facebook, Shawn from Kooky Canuck commented, “Thank you very much.” No kidding. I bet Kooky pulled in an extra two grand of revenue, and I’m probably being too conservative with that estimate, because the Saucer was closed.
Luck times two
2015 wasn’t the best year for me. January and December were good months but the rest of the year pretty much sucked. For 2016 I wasn’t taking any chances. I was definitely going to get some blackeyed peas and collards for good luck… and besides, I like blackeyed peas and collards. The Blind Bear had them, so that’s where I went.
(The thing about the Blind Bear being so dark is, it’s almost impossible to get good photos in there. I had to do some serious lightness/saturation adjustment in The GIMP to get the food looking as yummy in this photo as it looked in real life.)
Later I wandered over to Bardog, where they also had blackeyed peas and greens on special. I had a bowl there too.
As you can see, they mix the greens in with the peas at Bardog, whereas at the Bear they serve them separately. I like both and don’t have a preference for one over the other.
On to the news
If you’re going to the Liberty Bowl and don’t want to deal with the hassle of traffic and parking near the stadium, there are free shuttles running from satellite lots at locations around town. Tickets for the game have sold out.
If you’re looking for something to do with the kids, Marvel Universe Live is at the FedExForum this weekend.
Here’s an article about ’90s women’s fashion. I would like to see #7, the boob tube top, make a comeback. However, rather than pairing it with baggy cargo pants, let’s update the look and pair it with yoga pants instead.
Pregnant women: Here’s a device you can insert inside your vagina so your fetus can listen to music.
From Whiskey Riff: The 36 things that happen when you get drunk on Fireball. I’ll add number 37: Pictures of you appear on Colin’s Facebook page.
From Food & Wine: Here’s why a Bloody Bull is better than a Bloody Mary. A Bloody Bull is a Bloody Mary enriched with beef broth. Sounds good; I will have to ask B-RAD if he’s ever made one of those.
Recommendation for WWE Network subscribers: Go to the Vault and watch the Mid-South Wrestling episode from October 27, 1982. The main event is one of the most famous matches in MSW history and one I saw when it originally aired: Mid-South Tag Team Champions the Junkyard Dog and Mr. Olympia defend against Ted DiBiase and Matt Borne in a no-disqualification match, with the person getting pinned to leave town for 90 days. The title defense was supposed to be against Ted DiBiase and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, but Duggan got detained (promoters weren’t sure why exactly) and could not be present for the match. It was a special week on MSW because the Louisiana State Fair was going on, and the carnival barker, dressed in a gorilla suit, brought a group of boys over to watch the show.
Happy birthday to the Blind Bear’s biggest drama queen, Rahul. Sorry I didn’t make it out to your sushi party last night. I will have a fruity drink with you tomorrow.
Time to wrap up this long post and get this day started. As usual I will lead off at Bardog for brunch with Bloom, then a quick trip to the Blind Bear to say hello to Mary then south to Max’s to watch the Liberty Bowl. It’s time to CALL THOSE HOGS!!!