The Harlem Globetrotters make their 2017 return to the FedExForum for a fun-filled evening of basketball antics tonight. Show time is 7 PM and tickets are $43-185.
Belle Tavern has announced the addition of several new small plates on its bar menu. These include lobster, crab and shrimp bruschetta; blackened tomatoes with a crab and Creole remoulade; and a plate of three beef sliders. Sounds yummy! Belle is becoming one of my favorite places and I look forward to trying the new small plates soon.
Coffee, clothes and pastries: Today at The 101, the pop-up shop at 101 S. Main, Emmy Sprinkles will sell pastries while Dr. Bean sells coffee. Also, Brook Threads will be there selling clothes. 9 AM-2 PM.
The Chippendales have announced a show at the New Daisy for Wednesday, February 1.
Mulberry Jam featuring Alice Hasen will perform tonight at the Center for Southern Folklore at 7.
Tomorrow would have been Elvis’ 82nd birthday, or tomorrow is Elvis’ 82nd birthday if you’re one of those people who believes he’s still alive. To celebrate, tonight at 7:30 Terry Mike Jeffrey and his band and the Memphis Symphony Orchestra will perform hits from Elvis’ movies at the Cannon Center for Performing Arts.
South Side Supper Club perform at Loflin Yard tomorrow, Sunday, January 8, from 2 to 5 PM in the Safe House. This is going to be a weekly gig.
Canadian comedienne Hannah Hogan will do a free show at the High Cotton taproom on January 31, co-sponsored by Canadian-themed restaurant Kooky Canuck. She’s known up in Canada as ‘the lady in the commercials’ and ‘the writing credit on that comedy show.’ She has performed at comedy festivals and clubs across the country. The show will feature Jennifer McAuliffe, also from Canada, and local Gayle Murray.
Scenarios have emerged to keep The Booksellers at Laurelwood open. Last week the store’s owner announced that it would close, probably next month.
From StyleBlueprint: Cheap eats recommended by Memphis foodies. None of the cheap eats are Downtown unfortunately but there is some good stuff on here. I will contribute my own recommendation: The chorizo huarache from Maciel’s Tortas and Tacos. It’s only about $7 and it will fill you up. Also, I don’t know if I have any readers who are vegetarians, but if I do, I will mention that I prefer the bean nachos ($5 the last time I had them) over the meat-topped version, and they too are a meal in themselves.
Last night was the Blind Bear’s 5th birthday party. I have mentioned the Hotsy-Totsy on here before, their baked potato topped with butter, sour cream, bacon and chives. I have had the potato in its basic format before, as well as topped with Colin’s chili. However, until yesterday I had not tried the “loaded” option, where you can top the potato with any or all of a long list of toppings. I added ranch, grilled onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, peppers, and pepper jack cheese to my potato. Here’s what it looked like when it came out:
And here’s what it looked like after I smooshed it all up:
Now that’s a meal! Please note that the troll is not included with the purchase of potato. There were four more “loaded” toppings I left off my potato but any or all of which can be included for the extra $2: salsa, blue cheese, Jager BBQ sauce, and tomatoes.
All week long weatherpeople were saying Memphis would get a “dusting” of snow Friday but it would be nothing to worry about. However, mid-afternoon Thursday MemphisWeather.net posted that the models were now converging on a thin band of snow from Tipton County. TN to Tate County, MS that could drop 1 to 3 inches on the area. Erik from MWN is the meteorologist I trust the most, because he uses a lot of different models to arrive at his conclusions about the weather, rather than relying solely on one model. 1 to 3 inches would mean a possible snow day off work; as I posted yesterday, Memphis drivers are such idiots that even 1 inch can shut the city down.
However, I have learned not to take snow days for granted. I got up at 6 yesterday and shaved and showered, assuming I would be going to work. I typed up yesterday’s blog post and published it. I looked out the window, and there was more than a dusting on the roads, but less than an inch. I doubted that would be enough for the office to close.
Then I looked at Twitter. One of the news people I follow posted a photo taken at I-55 and State Line Road. “Heavy snow in North Mississippi,” she reported. YES!!!! State Line Road is the exit right before mine on the way to the office. Things were starting to look promising. I called our office’s inclement weather hotline, and heard a recording saying “headquarters will be closed today.”
SNOW DAY! Woooooooo!
Now, when I was younger, I would have jumped back in bed and slept for a few more hours. These days, though, once I’m up, I’m up. So I was snowed in with nothing to do but hang around the apartment, right?
Wrong! I live around the corner from a bar that opens at 8 AM on weekdays. Since I was dressed for work already, all I had to do was put on my jacket and do the penguin walk three quarters of a block to Bardog. As Bloom handed me a PBR, I asked “Do you have any……… specials?”
“Oh, shut your mouth,” Bloom said. “You know good and damn well what the special is.” Anytime snow is falling, Fireball is $2 at Bardog.
Now this is what I call WINNING AT LIFE. Photo taken at 8:13 AM. By the way, there were already 7 customers when I walked in. There were five third-shifters who had just got off work at a hospital, and two other regulars who know about the $2 deal.
Now, I knew I was going to have to pace myself, with a 5th anniversary party 13 hours in the future. I also knew I was going to need to eat lunch and dinner. When I saw that Rizzo’s by Michael Patrick was jumping on the $2 Fireball train for snow days, I thought that would be my plan for lunch. Also, Max’s Sports Bar made the SMART business decision to open 4 1/2 hours early at noon, so I could see my friends on the south side. I tabbed out about 11:30 and began my walk south.
However, it took me less than a block to realize the South Main district was too damn far and it was too damn cold. I revised my plan to the Majestic for lunch. Friday they have seafood specials, and I got a cup of New England clam chowder and a seafood flatbread. Perfect to warm me up and that food hit the spot. Never a bad experience at the Majestic Grille.
From there I hit the Silly Goose next, then over to the Blind Bear for dinner and their anniversary party. I thought about dressing in ’20s attire and getting another photo on the dining room wall, but it was too cold to consider wearing anything other than layers of thick warm clothes. Great party, great day.
Okay, gotta hit Publish and get to my project for today, which is rigging up a fan outside Bardog’s front window, to make the snow on the ground blow around and make Bloom think it’s another $2 Fireball day. Back tomorrow with more news.