The Downtown Christmas tree lighting party happens this afternoon at 4. A giant tree has been erected at the corner of Main and Peabody Place, and today it’ll be time to light that sucker up! Santa appearance, hot chocolate, S’mores, fun for the entire family. Or you could leave the damn kids at home and pop into the Silly Goose next door to try one of their seasonal cocktails. Whatever you want to do.
While we’re on the subject of the Main and Peabody Place area, a couple of months ago I teased in a post that a high-end barbershop and men’s grooming parlor was on its way to the area. The cat is now out of the bag – Downtown is getting a Baron’s Man Cave location. Haircuts, beard and mustache trims, facials, shaves, and treatments for men’s hands and feet.
Their Presidential men’s pedicure is sixty bucks… yeah I don’t think I’ll be throwing my toenail clippers anytime soon. Besides, I kinda like the feeling of getting out the vacuum hose and sucking up the nails after I get done cutting them.
Not a Downtown event but worth a drive tonight: There’s a gala in support of Caritas Village out in Binghampton at 2509 Harvard. Caritas Village is a wonderful organization that uses food, art, and hospitality to break down walls between cultures and ensure a place at the table for everyone. There will be art by artist in residents Jared Bullock and a meal by Chef Mac Edwards.
If you’re passionate about the development of our beloved Downtown, there may be a job waiting for you at the Downtown Memphis Commission. The DMC is looking to hire a Commercial Strategist. From reading the description, I can tell that this would surely be a job that is never boring.
The Memphis Tigers are now one game away from winning the AAC West. The Tigers toppled SMU last night 28-18 in Dallas. The Tigers host Houston at the Liberty Bowl next Friday and a win would give Memphis the West. As of Saturday morning ESPN’s power index gives Memphis a 59.4% chance to win that game. Betcha everyone down in Orlando will be rooting for the Cougars next Friday, because Memphis is NOT the team UCF wants to see in the American championship game.
What could this mean for Memphis bowl-wise? The AAC does not have well-carved out slots in bowls. (Meaning, first place goes here, second place goes here, etc.) The AAC has 7 partnerships with bowls and teams are selected to deliver the best matchups in markets where people will want to see them. None of the other AAC leaders (UCF, USF, Houston, SMU) are within a convenient driving distance of Birmingham, making the Tigers an ideal fit for the Birmingham Bowl, where they’d play an SEC opponent. Tennessee maybe? That’d draw fans from all over the area. It’d also keep the Vols’ orange-wearin’, possum-eatin’ hick fans out of the Liberty Bowl and Memphis.
Crosstown Brewing Co. will host a silent disco the Saturday after Thanksgiving from 9 PM to 12:30 AM. DJ Tree and DJ Taz will be spinning the tunes. The last time they had one of these it sold out, so get your tickets early.
Here’s another event not happening Downtown today but which would be super, super cool: A conversation with the legendary Bar-Kays at Crosstown Arts.
Thai restaurant The Nine is now open in the former Bangkok Alley space on Union, and Hungry Memphis stopped in for a look.
Hungry Memphis also reports that the new chef is tweaking the menu items at Evelyn and Olive, tuning up the spices a bit, making the food more authentic. Coconut seared salmon, Caribbean fried chicken, and soups made with chicken feet and goat’s head are also in the works.
Asian-American restaurant Wok’n in Memphis is settling into its new digs at the 409 S. Main food hall. Yesterday they posted a photo of their Peking duck with scallion pancakes, the duck from fellow 409 business City Block Salumeria.
Out at Memphis Made Brewing Co., the annual Memphis Bigfoot Festival happens today.
I learned a Lyft/Uber tip this week that is especially useful for those who live on places like the Main Street Mall where cars cannot pull right up to your front door. Previously, I had been ordering Lyfts from the lobby of my building, 10 S. Main, which is in between Madison and Monroe. Problem was, sometimes Lyft would route the drivers to pick me up at Main and Madison; sometimes Main and Monroe; sometimes it would try to route them down alleys (including ones that don’t exist) to try and get them to my front door. Now I just put in 1 S. Main, which is at the corner of Madison, as my pickup location. Since then Lyft has routed them all correctly to Main and Madison and there haven’t been any more problems. If your Lyft drivers have trouble getting routed correctly, change your pickup spot to a nearby convenient location for better results.
Time to head out to Bardog for Saturday brunch at Bloom’s bar. Arkansas-Mississippi State will be on ESPN but I don’t know if I can bear the torture of watching any more Arkansas football this year. Really, if someone requests the Ohio State game be put on, I’m not going to argue.
I may take tomorrow off because I won’t have a lot of time, but I will be back soon with more news.