May the fourth has been with us now, and we move on to May 5, Cinco de Mayo. I’ll start this post off with a couple of tips on places to go Downtown to celebrate.
First of all, it’s Kooky de Mayo at Kooky Canuck, and they will celebrate with $5 34 ounce margaritas all day long. Championship Wrestling hosts Dustin and Maria Starr will be there at 5 if you want to have a beverage with them.
Over at Brass Door, Chef Carlos will observe Cinco de Mayo with authentic chicken mole for an Irish-Mexican brunch.
Loflin Yard will have Cinco de Bingo today at 4. Enjoy queso and $5 margaritas while you play bingo. If you bingo on a cinco, you get an additional prize of free tacos. Bingo should wrap up around 6 and will be followed by turtle races.
Primas Bakery and Boutique is hosting a pop-up Cinco de Mayo festival today in the open space next to their shop at 523 S. Main, 10 AM to 3 PM. Confirmed vendors include
Mobius Theory
The Faint of Heart
Hometown Design Co.
Riverside 1844 Artisanal Foods
Somersault Designs
Marie Ryan Art
The Crystal Sisters
Memphis Metals Malas and More
Eny’s Tamales
Art by Jo
Por Fuego Lento
Miles Flower Truck
I learned of two new “sports” yesterday that I had never heard of. ESPN2 was broadcasting the college championship round of a sport called spikeball. It’s similar to two-person volleyball, except the net is a trampoline-like device that sits on the ground.
Georgia defeated Texas A&M to win the collegiate championship. They give college scholarships for this? It looks like a sport that I would have invented in my living room when I was 8 years old.
This wasn’t on TV (would have been better than spikeball though), but I was told about a new form of beer pong called Roomba beer pong. It’s what it sounds like – the cups into which you attempt to bounce the ball sit atop Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners.
I wonder if Skinny from the Hi-Tone has seen these sports? If so, maybe he’s got a couple of new options for The Bar Olympics on Sunday, June 23.
A big announcement came out this weekend: Facebook has been announced as the major sponsor for Music Fest and BBQ Fest this year. I know that not everyone loves Facebook, but this is a big get for Memphis in May. They weren’t the only surprise big get for them either, as Miley Cyrus was a last-minute addition to Saturday’s Music Fest lineup.
There are free samples of Corky’s BBQ nachos and Wing Stop wings being handed out at the festival. Free food? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.
Cordelia’s Market beer rep, Angelina, will lead a wine and watercolor class on Tuesday, May 14 at the market. Cost is $15. There will be wine samples, and you are welcome to BYO bottle.
I found out something I didn’t know yesterday: You can download your entire purchase history from Amazon.
The Memphis Union Mission is looking for a few volunteers to help with its 14th Annual Memphis Union Mission Classic Heritage Gold Tournament. They need people to verify holes-in-one, check in, and be beverage cart drivers. If interested email hterada@memphisunionmission.org.
The Daily Memphian has an article about how even the pouring rain can’t stop the enthusiasm for Memphis 901 FC.
Back at Best Memphis Burger Fest ’17, the Moody Ques fell in love with the versatility of air fryers. Food & Wine has 7 brilliant ways to use your air fryer for food prep.
You just can’t make this stuff up: Metro Vancouver, Canada has two new mascots called Pee and Poo.
I hate to lecture my readers, but after a couple of things I saw yesterday, I can see it’s time for a reminder how to tip. Some people seem to think rounding a $57 tab up to $60 or a $135 tab up to $140 is tipping an appropriate amount. No. It is not. Here’s an easy way to compute a reasonable tip on your tab.
- If your tab is between $10 and $99, take the first digit of your tab and double it.
- If your tab is $100 or more, take the first two digits of your tab and double that amount.
So, for the $57 tab, take the 5 and double it, a tip of $10. For the $135 tab, take the 13 and double it, a tip of $26. This method will let you easily compute a tip in the 18-20% range, which is the custom in America where most servers and bartenders make $2.13 an hour.
Personally, I like to add a bit more to the tip if the person serving me is a friend of mine, which is often the case. I also tend to tip a bit more if I ran the bartender around a lot, requesting extra this and that or making substitutions to dishes on the menu.
I did not make it to my intended first stop at Bardog yesterday. I walked there about 10:50 – 10 minutes prior to opening – and there were already 25 people waiting outside the door. I probably wouldn’t have even got a seat at the bar. F that, I went to Blind Bear. I hate it that I didn’t get to see Panda while she’s in town. Maybe I’ll try again today.
I may take a day off tomorrow. One thing I learned many years ago is that you can’t live Downtown and expect to get a good night’s sleep Sunday of Music Fest, because people will be screaming “WOOOOOOOO!” into the wee hours. I figure, if I can’t beat ’em, I might as well join them. Back tomorrow or Tuesday with more news.