Saturday update

One of my favorite follows on Facebook is Edible Memphis. They have the inside scoop on what’s happening in the Memphis food scene. This week they had details on the new Slider Inn/Slider Out that is soon to open in South Main.

First thing – Edible Memphis got clarification on the name of the restaurant. The two buildings facing Mulberry will be Slider Inn, and the back yard facing Main will be Slider Out. They plan to use the back yard for things like movie nights and food trucks. That is very unusual, for a restaurant owner serving a full menu to want food trucks on his site.

Everything on the original Slider Inn menu will be on the new restaurant menu, and there will be additions to the menu both places. These include lobster dishes, egg rolls, a Chilaquiles buffet, and brunch on the weekends.

They didn’t give a target date for opening, but they hope to have operations going before fall. Hmmm… fall begins around September 21…. I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in them hitting that time frame. Aldo is a busy man these days. Not only is he opening Slider Inn/Out, he’s taking over The Dirty Crow Inn on Crump. And, of course, there’s the matter of a 5K and alley party happening at his original restaurant, Bardog, a week from tomorrow.

Every few days I check the participant list for the 5K… good, not seeing the name of the person who stirred up drama at the 2018 alley party. The ’19 party will be much better off without her histrionics.

Nice to see soccer supporters group Bluff City Mafia featured in the headline article of The Daily Memphian today. (They misspelled Magan Hall’s first name though.) It’s just incredible how Memphians have come to love soccer in such a short period of time. Memphis 901 FC has its only home game of the month, tonight vs. North Carolina FC, at 7:30. If you can’t make it to the game, it’ll be broadcast locally on CW30.

There will be an art march and party called Artery 2.0 today from 5 to 8. The art march begins at 5 in Court Square and will go down Maggie H. Isabel Street, Stereo Alley, Rendezvous Alley and General Washburn’s Escape Alley to tour the new art installations there. The march will wrap up at Madison Avenue Park across from the Brass Door, for a little pre-partying with the soccer supporters. First 100 people to meet in Court Square get two free drink tickets.

The Daily Memphian has a profile of Memphis Tiger Precious Achiuwa. From Nigeria, Achiuwa is the other 5-star recruit in this year’s class besides James Wiseman. Some sources have him as a lottery pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

I’m hearing from members of my BBQ team that the team competition aspect will return to Burgerfest Memphis this year. After taking over Best Memphis Burger Fest from Seth Agranov and his crew and changing the name, the organizers did not have a cooking competition in 2018. According to a group text I received, it will be on Saturday, September 21. We haven’t decided for sure yet but it looks like there is interest from the Moody Ques in competing.

Got an insider tip for those of you who dine at the Blind Bear: If you hate ketchup, you can ask for garlic aioli instead for dipping your fries.

A man was arrested for trying to skip the Beale Street bucks cover charge that is in place weekend nights. He tried to climb to the top of Jerry Lawler’s club and hop a fence to avoid paying. Dude, what a mug shot! I didn’t realized MPD used Snapchat filters.

Elvis Week is underway. A friend of mine was speculating that Elvis Week may get smaller as the years go on, because the people who grew up listening to his music are in their 70s and 80s now and are probably less likely to travel.

Don’t forget Wednesday is Elvis glass night at Flying Saucer. If you want one, I recommend getting there no later than 6:50, and informing your server or bartender that you want a glass as soon as they go on sale at 7.

The Grizzlies will have a one-day-only garage sale at FedExForum from 2 to 7 in the afternoon. Proceeds from the sale will benefit St. Jude.

South of Beale has its 10th birthday party all day today.

Historian Jimmy Ogle has possibly his final two walking tours of Downtown today, exploring Madison Avenue (meet at the law school at Front and Madison) at 11 AM and then The Edge (meet at Sun Studio) at 2 PM.

Tug’s has some specials this week for Elvis week: Peanut butter and banana sandwich, a “hound” dog with cheese and bacon, a “King” Burger (double meat, double cheese, extra mayo, the way Elvis liked it) and banana pudding. They have Elvis-themed drink specials too.

The Rusty Pieces have returned from their road trip and will be performing at Blind Bear today and the next two Saturdays. 10 PM show time.

Sorry if I seem a bit not-myself this weekend. I need to make a transaction in one of my monetary accounts, but my financial advisor with the company is the kind of person who always lets his phone calls to voice mail and then either calls back days later or not at all. It’s stressing me out. Oh, and also, I learned I have a poppy seed allergy lately after eating that hot dog for lunch. I felt sick for hours. Anyway, between those two stressors, I didn’t sleep a wink last night despite the fact that I lay wide awake in bed from 11:45 to 8:00.

Things will get better, though, because I have great friends at Bardog to look forward to shortly. I may head down to the South of Beale party at some point. Back tomorrow or Monday with more news.