I will never again make a purchase at the King’s Palace Tap Room or recommend people go there during parades or other events. Yesterday I went down there, the place already jammed with Kansas State fans about 35 minutes prior to the parade. I knew I would be overpaying for a beer: Last year the King’s Palace Tap Room jacked their prices for a 32 oz. Big Ass PBR from the $5-6 range to $8.75 for the Liberty Bowl parade. I decided I needed a beer to deal with the crowd though. So I pulled out my ID and ordered one, and the bartender poured it and put it on the bar.
“How much?” I asked.
“Eleven,” she said.
ELEVEN DOLLARS for a fucking PBR! Yes, a big one, but still. It wasn’t the bartender who set the price, I figured, so I tipped her two. I was out thirteen dollars before the first float ever rolled down Beale.
Apparently they set the beer prices at special events to whatever they think the tourists will pay. What really shocked me, is that the beer stand outside The Pig on Beale, RUN BY THE SAME FUCKING COMPANY, had a sign that said “Big Ass PBR $6.”
So there’s the moral of the story: At Beale Street events, buy from beer stands who have prices clearly posted. I may still stand outside the Tap Room for future parades – it was good to see our BBQ team’s father figure and G-Rock and Dennis and Mary Pat there yesterday – but I will buy my beer elsewhere.
Good luck to both teams in the Liberty Bowl today. For those watching at home, the listed start time and channel is 2:45 on ESPN.
One of the Navy players is from West Tennessee and will get to play in front of about 50 of his family members.
The Daily Memphian has a photo gallery of the parade.
Sad news today: B.J. Tamayo, owner of North Main soul food cafe Alcenia’s, reports that her mother, Alcenia Clark-Chester, passed away at the age of 98.
The Blues Foundation has announced that it will broadcast the 41st annual Blues Awards on several outlets Thursday, January 7, at 8 AM. The broadcast outlet I would recommend is Downtown’s own Americana/roots TV station, Ditty TV.
In other Blues Foundation news, they will host the January South Main Association member meeting on Tuesday, January 14. If you’ve never toured the Blues Foundation headquarters and Hall of Fame at 421 S. Main, this is your chance. Social at 6:30, program at 6:30, with Barbara Newman, the Foundation’s president and CEO, speaking. Free for SMA members, $10 for non-members.
The Silly Goose is adding a new pizza, the Low & Slow, to their menu. As the name implies, it’s a BBQ pizza. In Memphis, you pretty much have to have a BBQ pizza if you have a pizza menu.
Sage will open New Year’s Day for a special brunch noon to 5 PM. Chef Eli has put together a brand new menu for this event, including croissant French toast. There will be mimosa and drink specials along with a “dessert action station,” whatever that is.
3rd and Court Diner has some New Year’s Eve events going on tonight. If you want to get a good meal in you – probably a good idea if you plan on celebrating the new year with alcohol – they will have a buffet in the diner from 6 to 10 PM. Downstairs in the lounge, John Williams & the A440 Band will supply the live tunes, starting at 9 PM.
Fun times at the Blind Bear last night. We had a woman act all batshit crazy and get asked to leave. Later a friend of ours came in and we told him what happened. He attempted a guess at the woman’s identity, and the guess was incorrect but it made me laugh. My guess certainly would have been the same.
My plan was to be at the Blind Bear to ring in the Roaring Twenties at the stroke of midnight tonight – and I still make it, but I’m not committed to it due to a piece of unexpected news I received yesterday: The office is closed today, so I don’t have to work. So my initial plan was to not go out until 1 PM, the time I would normally get off work, to rest up for tonight. But since I’ve been reading this new book, Stop Trying So F*king Hard, I thought to myself, being able to go out at 9 AM is a rare treat, and I am lucky enough to have a great neighborhood bar around the corner that is open at that hour. So, in accordance with what the book teaches, I asked myself, if I’m only able to do one of the following today, which would make me happier: being out at 9 AM, or being out at midnight on New Year’s, when society tells me I “should” be out? At 9 AM I get to see friendly faces and listen to tunes on Bardog’s jukebox (wonder if Rico has removed 74/01 yet). At midnight there’s people who can’t handle their alcohol screaming “WOOOOOOO!” and playing the “gunshots or fireworks” guessing game. Don’t worry, Blind Bear folks, you will see me tonight – but when I’ve decided I’m done for the night, I will leave, whether it’s 2019 or 2020 when I do.
Time to get dressed up for New Year’s Eve. For me, that means putting on a T-shirt that doesn’t have a bar logo or a beer company logo on it. I may take tomorrow off. Back sometime in the next 48 hours with more news.