This past weekend Oshi re-opened on a pop-up basis, for the weekend only, at their location at Main and Barboro Alley. No longer a burger bar, they served Asian fusion cuisine including pho and ramen. Their plan, as I understand it, is to do another pop-up weekend in July, and then if they feel that the concept could be a success in Downtown Memphis, to tweak the menu and open on a permanent basis in August.
I must admit, I didn’t make it to the pop-up restaurant last weekend. BBQ Fest load-in weekend is always a weird one, and also when our friend Tony organized a group dinner my contact info apparently disappeared on his phone. But I want you to know, if we had a restaurant Downtown serving pho and ramen, I would easily eat there at least a couple of times a week.
I love pho but there isn’t a convenient way for me to get it without a car being involved. In all my years Downtown there has never been a place that has served it. The only place kinda sorta near where I work that served pho is no longer there. As for ramen, I had my 2015 birthday party at Robata. That’s another place I would eat a couple of times a week, if I could just walk there.
So, I’d like to make a plea to the people behind Oshi: Please, please, please make this concept happen. It is badly needed and will fill a void in Downtown dining options.
It’s Monday and I’m not in a cubicle! I went home early with Aldo’s Pizza last night, ate and then got in bed. I woke up at 1:52. The good thing about waking up at 1:52 Downtown is that there are 68 drinking minutes left at the bar down the street! I put my T-shirt and shorts back on and made the trek to the Blind Bear. My favorite pair of librarian glasses posed for a photo with Perjorie, my troll:
Earlier in the weekend we had a Panda and Perjorie moment at Bardog.
Anyway, in those 68 minutes (minus probably 5 to get dressed and walk to the bar) I managed to put away 2 PBRs and 3 Fireballs. Not bad for such a late hour!
There will be more troll photos coming this week. I have big plans.
Insider tip for you: There’s an opportunity to steal a cornhole tournament at Memphis Made this Saturday from 2 to 4. Bad Shane and Fireball Joe, normally the odds-on favorites to win any cornhole tournament held in Memphis, will be busy at Tom Lee Park. Someone’s got a chance to swoop in and grab that $50 first-place gift certificate. There are second and third place prizes as well.
Come early to the Redbirds game tonight to see the Shelby County Sheriff’s office play the Memphis Police Department in a softball game. The game will be played in memory of fallen officers, and the first pitch will be dropped from a helicopter and retrieved by a K-9 officer. Following that game the Redbirds play Albuquerque at 6:35.
One more reminder to keep an eye on the news this week. A little over 25 years ago, a racketeering/organized crime statute called RICO sent mob bosses John Gotti, Vincent “Chin” Gigante, and Tony “Ducks” Corallo to prison. We’re going to hear more about RICO in the days and weeks to come.
I’ll tell ya another thing that’s great about Downtown: I live around the corner from a bar that opens at 8 AM on weekdays, with my neighbor bartending on Mondays! On my way to Bardog to drink a little PBR and play the jukebox. Team, if I need to head down to the park, text me. Back tomorrow with more news.