House arrest day 22 (Fri) / update 2

Rolling out on Netflix today:

For those of you who want a non-troll reason to watch this movie, Ozzy guest stars.

Here we go again:

Those stupid storms are going to ruin everybody’s Easter… wait, the coronavirus beat them to that.

Don’t forget, folks… 50% off Peeps at Walgreens Monday, April 13. Good timing too. My candy stash at home is getting dangerously low.

Lansky at the Peabody has a code, SPRING2020, that you can use to get $50 off a $150 purchase on running shoes and new performance socks from their online store. Code expires April 25.

America’s infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci recommends that we stop shaking hands and there is a movement to get the Too Sweet gesture adopted as the new standard greeting.

The CA reports that food trucks, including my friends on the New Wing Order truck, are adapting their business model to make things work during the pandemic. Parking in front of liquor stores is a smart idea.

Special at Saucy Chicken at Crosstown Concourse today. They deliver Downtown.

Interesting:

Radical Major League Basbeball proposal: Eliminate the American and National Leagues for one year, teams and divisions realigning based on the location of their spring training facilities. Games would be played at those facilities only, without fans. If this proposal is accepted, the Memphis Redbirds’ parent team the St. Louis Cardinals would have the Washington Nationals, New York Mets, Houston Astros, and Miami Marlins as divisional rivals this year.

Greg Gaston interprets the stats:

In other sports news, looks like the coronavirus may have claimed another victim: the XFL.

That’s it for now. Back later today or tomorrow.

House arrest day 22 (Fri)

From the Flying Saucer:

We just got an order of these awesome Memphis Grizzlies growlers in and we are ready to fill them up for you! 32ounces for only $12, and if you bring the growler back in it’s only $8 for a refill of anything on our tap wall!

Thieves are taking advantage of the fact that there is very little foot traffic outside. If you have property that normally stays outside – patio decorations, furniture, that kind of thing – might want to bring it in until the quarantine is lifted.

Still spending a lot of time listening to the Memphis police scanner these days… I like to hear the addresses of the calls, then look them up on Google Maps and walk around the neighborhoods on Google StreetView. I didn’t realize how many “mental consumers” there are in Memphis… rarely do I spend 30 minutes listening to the scanner without hearing that term at least once.

From the police scanner, I learned that the cops were called to break up two large gatherings yesterday evening not far from Downtown, at Fourth and Crump and also at Lauderdale and Georgia. One of the gatherings even had a food truck.

WREG reports that nearly a third of Americans didn’t pay rent this month.

Two Broke Bartenders and a Truck, founded in Memphis after the Railgarten/Loflin Yard family of venues had to lay off employees, has expanded to other areas of the state. The broke bartenders and their truck can perform a number of odd jobs for you.

Memphis’ historic cemetery offers something outside you can still do during the coronavirus quarantine:

Remember, folks, you don’t have to socially distance from people if they’re dead.

Prediction on how high the number will get for my “House arrest day ___” post titles: 54. Dr. Anita Haushalter of the Shelby County Health Department recommends social distancing through the end of May, which would suggest the house arrest day number would reach the 70s. Unless the pandemic takes a turn for the worse, I don’t see that happening though. People will get sick of this quarantine (especially the not-earning-money part) and will rebel before then.

New arrival at Downtown Wines & Spirits on Madison just east of Main:

Live music alert:

Did Pandora make its free service commercial-free during the coronavirus pandemic? I had music playing for an hour and a half yesterday on my iPad and never once heard an ad.

Play virtual bingo tonight at 8 with Cerrito Bingo.

The Memphis Flyer’s latest issue is digital-only. Make sure you don’t miss it! If you want to support quality journalism during these uncertain times, you can become a Friend of the Flyer. We don’t want to see anyone at the corner of Front and Union holding a “Will Write for Food” sign.

For those of you who were laid off and are bored with absolutely nothing to do, I’ve read that you can make $5-7 and sometimes as much as $10 an hour doing tasks on Amazon Mechanical Turk. I’ll grant ya, that’s not great money, but if could help you make that May rent check, and it could help you pass the time. Not sure how money earned there affects unemployment benefits.

Normally, in this space, I would tell you that the Memphis Farmers Market is tomorrow. I’d likely tell you what musicians are booked to play live there this week, what food trucks you’d find there, what kids’ activity will be going on, and any special happenings at the Market this week. I might even mention that I planned on being there, followed by a stop at Max’s Sports Bar to watch some baseball.

But, coronavirus. So…

Wash your hands
Stay at home
Practice social distancing
Wear a mask
Flatten the curve
And all that other crap I’m supposed to say since I’m a “social influencer”

 

 

House arrest day 21

Max’s Sports Bar brings its crawfish boil back this Saturday – for to-go orders, of course.

Looking for another reason not to touch your face?? Come pick up some Curbside Crawfish at @maxs_sportsbar this Saturday starting at NOON! We will have a limited supply so come early and get your crawfish fix in for Lunch! They will also have their usual food and drinks to go! #glazescrawfish #maxssportsbar #crawfish #spicy #washyourhands #quarantineboil #curbsidecrawfish #boiledseafood #boiledcrawfish #memphis #downtownmemphis #southmainmemphis #outdoorcooking #localbusiness #weekend #purpledrank #lunch #corn #sausage #potatoes @ Max’s Sports Bar

Cost is $10 per pound, and your box includes corn, taters and sausage which don’t count toward the pound weight. You can pre-order your crawfish on Facebook and Glaze will have them ready for you at the window.

One thing I’ll add – Max’s can sell you drinks to go along with your crawfish. Get you a Purple Drank or Dreamsicle slushie to take with you, or one of their many draft beers to go, including the Cadillac of beers, PBR. The first batch of crawfish usually comes out shortly after noon.

Amy Lavere will perform on #dontletmedownmem today at noon.

Executive Order 17 has been extended another week, allowing to-go wine and liquor sales in Tennessee through April 14. However, the ABC is cracking down on some restaurants, particularly regarding portion size violations.

Sunrise Memphis reminder:

Former Grizzly Mike Conley will participate in the HORSE challenge set to begin Sunday, April 12. The competition will be shown on ESPN and the ESPN app. Conley’s first-round opponent will be WNBA legend Tamika Carchings.

Kind of looks like a booth at BBQ Fest, doesn’t it?

Legendary blues musician Bobby Rush is quarantined at home with a possible case of COVID-19.

MLGW is the latest workforce to be hit by COVID-19.

On a personal note as relates to the utility company – Thank you, March: My MLGW bill is $44 this month. The last time I had a bill that small was in a year that began with a “1.” The temperatures last month rarely required heating or cooling.

Well said indeed:

That’s it for this morning. Back later today or tomorrow with more news.

Lunch delivery from Global Cafe

Today I sat at my computer desk thinking, “What’s for lunch?” The options were

  • Frozen dinner I bought at Walgreens
  • Canned meal I bought at Family Dollar

Neither option was terribly appealing, especially considering today would be the fifth straight day for those options. So I delayed lunch and surfed Twitter to come up with content for my second blog post of the day (scroll down for “House arrest day 20/update 2” if you haven’t seen it yet). While surfing I found this:

It reminded me that Global Cafe delivers Downtown now, and trying its cuisine has been on my to-do list since we were all put under house arrest we all agreed to socially distance and flatten the curve. Global Cafe is a really neat concept in Crosstown Concourse, offering cuisine made by Syrian, Sudanese, and Venezuelan chefs. I decided to order enough to have leftovers for tomorrow. I put my two entrees in the online cart and moved to checkout. I was able to put in my credit card information, enter a tip, and save my information for future orders.

I placed my order at 1:07 PM and the receipt I was emailed said to expect my delivery between 1:45 and 1:55. However, Global Cafe and Crosstown Concourse exceeded expectations; at 1:37 I received a text that my delivery driver was outside. I ran down to meet her, and she had on a mask covering her face and nose for safety. No need to do anything other than take the bag; no contact at all. Completely, totally safe.

The Chile Guajillo Shrimp was one of the two entrees I ordered.

This Venezuelan dish consists of seared shrimp in a mild chile Guajillo sauce with Spanish rice. This has some really good flavor but it was not overly spicy – something I was wondering about, because I’ve had Guajillo shrimp in Mexican restaurants that set off a four-alarm fire in my mouth. This dish is one you can enjoy no matter what your preferred level of spice is.

The other dish I got was Dama with Rous.

This is a Sudanese dish of beef tender in tomato sauce with rice, topped with onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Yummy! The beef was tender and juicy and the sauce – well, it’s impossible for me to describe the sauce because I’ve never had anything like that before. It was a perfect complement to the meat and the rice, though.

This dish is slightly spicy, which I thought was perfect, but if you’re a wuss when it comes to spice you might want to call the restaurant and ask if there’s anything they can do to tone it down a bit.

Apologies to my Syrian friends for not getting to sample your country’s delicious food. I want to try some chicken shawarma on my next delivery order. I also want to go back for a second helping of Venezuelan food and get a stuffed arepa next time.

Check out Global Cafe’s website to see what they’ve got. In addition to appetizers, entrees and desserts, they have supplemented their delivery menu with family dinners, wine, beer and mixed drinks. They currently have a pretty sweet deal going on with Memphis Made Fireside, Wiseacre Tiny Bomb, or Crosstown Sirene for 99 cents. I am pleased to report that they also carry the Cadillac of beers, PBR, in 16 ounce cans for $1.95.

Given them a try to expand your culinary horizons. Back later today or tomorrow with more news.

House arrest day 20 (Wed) / update 2

Those of you who park on the streets Downtown overnight may want to pay to put your car in a parking garage this evening. The storms predicted to move through between 10 PM and 1 AM have the potential to produce up to 2-inch hail. From the National Weather Service: Using everyday objects to estimate hail size

Also, you might want to get a full charge on your phone and other portable devices this evening.

Soul food news:

Mighty Lights news:

Pass this on to our friends at the CA and anyone else who affected: there’s a journalist furlough fund

River Time Market & Deli has announced that they plan on gearing back up for curbside and grab & go later this month. Follow the deli on Facebook to keep up with the latest news. They are tentatively looking at April 24.

Mongo with a very solid plan to get us through this pandemic:

Bernie is dropping out of Democratic presidential race, leaving Joe Biden as the presumptive nominee.

Nacho suggestion from Max’s Sports Bar:

You’ve had our BBQ pork nachos, but have you had them with our white queso? Come get an order togo for lunch. And maybe even a beer or 6!

Hopefully you’ll make a better beer decision than the person above did, though.

The Rendezvous was featured on Good Morning America’s Deals and Steals segment this morning.

News from the island: Tug’s Casual Grill is getting in to the Easter dinner to-go action. Order by 7 PM Saturday, April 11 at 901-260-3344 for curbside pickup between 10 AM and 3 PM Sunday. $3o for two people or $60 for 4 people. Garden salad, choice of five entrees (with sides), choice of three desserts, dinner rolls. Fifteen bucks a head is not bad at all for a prepared Easter dinner.

That’s it for now. I just ordered Global Cafe for lunch and I am pretty damn excited. Back later today or tomorrow with more news.

House arrest day 20 (Wed)

The Memphis Flyer has published a list of Memphis-themed quarantine reading, and I decided to see how many of the books are on Scribd, the all-you-can read service I’ve been trying the past couple of weeks.

  • The Gone Dead: A Novel by Chanelle Benz (audiobook)
  • The Book of Isaias: A Child of Hispanic Immigrants Seeks His Own America by Daniel Connolly
  • Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession by Alice Bolin
  • The Vanishing Island by Barry Wolverton
  • Memphis Noir by various authors
  • The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty
  • The Secret History by Donna Tartt
  • Dirty Work by Larry Brown
  • The Last Taxi Driver by Lee Durkee (audiobook)

Scribd is free for 30 days and $9.99 after that. You could sign up for the free trial and knock out several of these, then unsubscribe before the renewal date ends – or let it renew and charge your card if we’re still in house arrest after 30 days. Scribd has made the time away from life as I know it nor just bearable, but downright entertaining, and therefore I would recommend it to anyone who is a reader.

By the way, don’t take the star reviews on Scribd real seriously. Most people who read there don’t leave reviews. If reviews are important to you, look up the book’s star rating on Amazon.

Current book (not Memphis related) I’m reading on Scribd: Face the Music: A Life Exposed by Paul Stanley of KISS. I’ve read bios of major rock bands before but never this one.

Wiseacre recently Instagrammed a pic of Wiseacre 2, its second brewery soon to open at B.B. King and Butler. It’s almost ready!

Holly has info on how to get locally-brewed beer for curbside pickup and delivery on the I Love Memphis Blog.

Beale Street to-go info:

The 1960s Turkey version of Get Lifted:

Singer/songwriter John Prine succumbed to the coronavirus yesterday. The DM’s Chris Herrington has a look at Prine’s first album, recorded in Memphis.

If you have to go out tonight, be careful. Storms are expected to hit after 9 PM.

With the county clerk’s offices closed due to the coronavirus, Memphis police will stop issuing tickets for expired license plate tags for the time being. Note that this policy will not change your renewal date, however.

There’s an app, voluntary to download and use, that will allow you to self-report having COVID-19 if you come down with it. The app will use location services to inform users if they have been in contact with someone who has the coronavirus. This is one of the ways South Korea flattened the curve (except over there it was mandatory).

Cheers to Downtown Fortune 500 company AutoZone for doing the right thing: They voted to give workers emergency time off as needed for any matter related to the coronavirus, and they now offer curbside pickup of parts at their stores.

That’s the news for this morning. Back later today or tomorrow with more.

House arrest day 19 (Tue) / update 2: Lunchbox Eats Easter dinner and Lunch Lady’s Comfort Kitchen

LUNCHBOXeats is offering a to-go, a la carte Easter menu. Orders must be placed by 3 PM Wednesday, April 8 to guarantee what you want. Pick up April 11 or 12. 901-526-0820 or soulfusion@lunchboxeats.com to order. They have entrees, sides, desserts, tea, and peach lemonade. You can get curbside pickup or delivery. For delivery the minimum order is $40 and a 20% gratuity will be added.

In addition, LUNCHBOXeats will have Lunch Lady’s Comfort Kitchen Meals available for curbside pickup or delivery (same rules apply as above) Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 10-12, noon to 4 PM. It is recommended that you place your order a day in advance, because they are working with a limited staff.

Don’t forget it’s Tipsy Tuesday at Kooky Canuck, where you can get 34 oz. cocktails for $5. You can get them to go.

The CA”s Jennifer Chandler has a list of where to find Easter sweet treats. Among the suggestions are Downtown shops Dinstuhl’s and Primas Bakery + Boutique.

From the Flyer: Down at the end of Lonely Street: Beale Street in quarantine. Damn, even A. Schwab closed!

Just think how many dogs are going to need therapy once the quarantine is lifted and people start working from their offices again.

The COVID-19 pandemic may lead to more rats on the streets, even in the daytime.

Since I have a few pieces of time-sensitive information, I’m going to go ahead and publish. Back later today or tomorrow with more.

House arrest day 19 (Tue)

South Main Grocery at 383 S. Main (in Spindini) is offering to-go Easter family meals. Your choices:

  • 6 lb. roast of prime rib (serves 8-10) $79.99: includes 3 lbs. garlic mashed potatoes, 3 lbs. Italian green beans, 12 Sister Schubert rolls
  • 9 lb. smoked pit ham (12-15 servings) $59.99: includes 4lbs. garlic mashed potatoes, 4 lbs. Italian green beans, 16 Sister Schubert rolls

Call 901-578-2767 to reserve your Easter meal from South Main Grocery.

Would it be rude if I replied I plan on going to Bardog and ordering a PBR?

From Green Beetle on Facebook:

HEY EVERYBODY!! We’ve got some tasty news. For those of you going through bushwacker withdrawals, we are now taking preorders for a gallon sized wacker and a bag of chips for only $30!! That’s 8 wackers at less than half the normal price previously available only for catering clients.

DM us with your name and number to get your order in, curbside pickup will be Friday between 4-7. We are currently accepting cash app, Venmo, credit, or cash. We can’t wait to help you enjoy your weekend with the tastiest frozen beverage around. #biggestwackerever #supportthebeetle #oldesttaverninmemphis #wemissyou #southmain #survivingquarantine

(In case you’re wondering why the bag of chips: To-go mixed drinks must be sold with a food order)

Pyramid Wine & Spirits has announced new hours: Monday-Thursday 10 AM-8 PM, Friday-Saturday 10 AM-9 PM, Sunday 11 AM-6 PM. They are limiting their store to 5 people maximum inside at a time. They have curbside pick-up as well. Call 901-578-2773 to place an order.

News from the island:

For those of you who remember Tracy Smothers from when he wrestled in Memphis:

The Overton Square crawfish festival goes drive-thru this year. Friday and Saturday of this week:

MakeUseOf has some tips to lock down Zoom. Whether you use it for work meetings or virtual happy hours, might want to give these tips a read.

Mayor Strickland said that over 100 complaints were filed on businesses violating the Safer at Home order, but after inspections and reinspections almost all businesses complied. Only one was ordered to shut down, and we all wondered what business it was. Now we know. It’s a car wash on Southern not far from the U of M.

Google Maps now shows nearby take-out and delivery.

If you ride a bike, be sure you lock it up good. There was a band of teenagers in the Downtown core last night trying to steal bikes. It’s possible they were going after the Explore Bike Share smart bikes; both locations where they were reported (Court Square, Adams/B.B. King) are Explore docking locations.

Let’s hear it for the good guys: Many landlords are working with their commercial tenants who lack the revenue to pay April rent.

The DM has a story on the troubles restaurant owners are facing applying for the SBA’s Payroll Paycheck Protection Program. Patrick Reilly of the Majestic Grille found red tape holding up his loan due to stupid bureaucratic red tape. Patrick reached out to the folks at Renasant Bank, who said, “You make a good grilled cheese (this is true BTW), we’ll help you,” and the loan got approved, and his employees will get paid while the restaurant is closed. Anyone out there looking to open a new account or switch banks, keep Renasant in mind.

I made a trip to City Market, the first time since Memphis was put under house arrest. For those of you who love spicy food, I found something that is worth a try.

Artisan-style Buffalo chicken chili. No kidding, it has that Buffalo sauce taste, unlike any chicken chili. It was $3.99 for a 15 ounce can and is worth a try if you like spicy food. A big dollop of sour cream on top would hit the spot if you have it on hand.

Also, I noticed City Market has PBR $8.69 for a six-pack of 16-ounce cans. I don’t normally keep PBR at home but now that I’m getting invited to virtual happy hours on Zoom, I guess I need to have some on standby.

From the Memphis Flyer: How COVID-19 is affecting local farmers

Mahaffey Tent is donating used linens to anyone looking to make face masks. To inquire email sales@mahaffeytent.com or call 901-871-0606.

Homeowners:

Number of cases of COVID-19 in Shelby County went up fro 789 to 845 today. If we see a few more days of this less than 10% growth in new cases, that seems to be to be a sign the curve is indeed flattening earlier than expected.

One of my favorite sayings about Downtown is that it’s like watching a soap opera, except you are a character in the soap opera. Well, now I have a new analogy – we’re all characters in a TV show where the main storyline is we are all in it together waiting for an event to be over. Kind of like M*A*S*H where they all cracked jokes and entertained themselves, but first and foremost they were waiting for the Korean War to be over so they could get their lives back. Perhaps in 2040 a new sitcom will premiere about the COVID-19 pandemic.

We all have our own ways of dealing with the quarantine:

That’s it for now. Time to go grocery shopping. Back tomorrow with more news.

House arrest day 18 (Mon) / update 3

The Memphis Flyer’s Bruce V (@sylamore1) recently started a Twitter thread asking his followers to get the good word out on local restaurants offering great tasting food, great service, and great delivery during the pandemic. The thread has now crossed over to the Flyer’s Twitter feed (@memphisflyer). Take a look at the comments on both to discover some yummy ways to keep yourself well fed during our house arrest social distancing.

In a completely expected move, Mayor Strickland has extended the house arrest Safer at Home order until April 21. Stickland also announced that 41 complaints of Safer at Home violations were received yesterday, including 15 at churches.

Golf fans: The Masters has been moved to November 12-15 in Augusta.

Furloughed hospitality workers are being offered a job opportunity by Memphis Tourism, formerly the Convention & Visitors Bureau. It’s call center work that pays $12.51 an hour.

Learn to be a storm spotter!

The Memphis central library is starting a new virtual yoga series every Saturday at 2 and Wednesday at 6. These are free to attend and they will post the Zoom link at the time of the class.

More yoga:

The Kroc Center has a variety of virtual fitness and family classes.

Artists: Here’s a list of links to help get you through the coronavirus pandemic.

From stats site FiveThirtyEight: Why forecasting COVID-19 is harder than forecasting elections

From Lifehacker: Now is a good time to mix a bunch of different cocktail syrups

Why do chimpanzees throw poop?

That’s it for now. In case you missed it, I made a post about 11 AM with good news from health officials re: flattening the curve. Check back later today or tomorrow for another post.

Some good news!

Read this Daily Memphian article!

Summary: A new COVID-19 model came out today, April 6. It predicts

  • No more than 600 deaths statewide. The April 2 model predicted 3000 and numbers as scary as 20,000 had been batted around.
  • COVID-19 cases will peak April 15. Previous peak was predicted for April 19.
  • The number of cases will not overwhelm the number of hospital beds, ICU beds, and ventilators available in the state.

Things could change once again, but fingers crossed for an earlier-than-expected return to normal.