Month: October 2022

The World Championship Hot Wing Contest & Festival makes its return to Tiger Lane Saturday, October 22. The event is a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House. In addition to teams competing to see who has the best wings, there will be live music all afternoon, a festival parade, a hot wing eating competition, and a “Roost on the Row” competition which is similar to BBQ Fest’s Best Booth.

I learned of another moonshine mixer yesterday: the “fart stick.” A fart stick is blackberry moonshine in a glass with Simply lemonade. I did not get to try one, so I don’t have a report on its taste.

The Grizzlies had a lot of fun at their open scrimmage yesterday at FedExForum. Having Kenneth Lofton Jr. on the G-League roster is going to spike the sale of Memphis Hustle tickets down in Southaven.

Yesterday during the NFL games, a commercial came on with Santa in it. It’s NOT EVEN THE MiDDLE OF OCTOBER. Jeez.

The makers of Texas Pete hot sauce are being sued. The class-action suit claims false advertising because the sauce is not actually made in Texas, but rather in North Carolina. Again, jeez.

From The Ringer: Is the NBA ready for 7’4″ prospect Victor Wembanyana? He’s said to be a generational talent. I suspect there will be teams in the bottom half of the NBA who tank hard this season to try and get a chance at him in the 2023 NBA draft.

Today is Columbus Day in the U.S. and Thanksgiving Day in Canada.

The Flying Scrub Jays play Music Monday from 6 to 8 tonight at Cordelia’s Market.

That’ll do it for today. Back tomorrow with more.

The lead story in the Daily Memphian is a shocking one: There are people who stay locked up in 201 Poplar for 500 days without a trial (subscribers-only link). Damn. That is just terrible. Even the pandemic is not an acceptable excuse.

There’s also an infographic in the story that explains why this matters even to people who’ve never spent a day in jail in their lives. Housing the 649 people who’ve been in the jail 500+ days has cost the taxpayers more than $32 MILLION.

Imagine if we’d renovated Mud Island Park with that money instead. Or hired the county clerk’s office some additional help to get caught up with license plates.

Kooky Canuck has a new menu item, maple-glazed salmon. Co-owner Lana suggests it over the Log House salad or Cobb salad.

Pretty Woman: The Musical comes to the Orpheum this week.

Next door to the Orpheum at the Halloran Centre, The Mersey Beatles play Wednesday night. They are a Beatles cover band from Liverpool. They spent more than 10 years there as the resident band at the Cavern Club, where the Beatles themselves played from 1961 to 1963.

It’s International Beer and Pizza Day. Aldo’s Pizza Pies would be the logical choice to celebrate.

Yesterday I learned that some Bardog employees call the downstairs, officially known as the Underdog Room, the “Fungeon.”

From Fox 13: Video shows a car doing donuts in an intersection while an MPD officer sat idly nearby in his vehicle, doing nothing about it.

STAX Jazz Ensemble plays Sunset Jazz in Court Square today from 5 to 7. Lawn chairs and blankets are welcome and food trucks will be onsite.

Memphis 901 FC hosts New York Red Bull II at AutoZone Park today at 3. This is the final home match of the regular season.

Austin AKA Coyote who works at the Blind Bear asked yesterday, “When am I going to be cool enough to be mentioned in Paul’s blog?” Today, that’s when.

That’s it for today. Back tomorrow or maybe Tuesday with more news.

Only in Memphis will you see a Honda Civic used to haul scrap metal.

The new sign above the corner booth at Bardog has become Memphis’ second-most-ignored sign behind “SPEED LIMIT 55”

The Memphis Tigers got upset by Houston 33-32 last night after the Cougars recovered an onside kick and drove for a touchdown. Memphis falls to 4-2 overall and 2-1 in AAC play.

The DM reports that Havana Mix, the cigar emporium on Peabody Place, is about to undergo a 7500 SF renovation. A stage for live music, a chef-driven menu, and a new humidor will be among the improvements.

John Mulaney: From Scratch Tour comes to FedExForum tonight.

TMZ Sports has video of the Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green punching teammate Jordan Poole at practice:

Loflin Graveyard will return to Loflin Yard Saturday, October 29. Spooky specials and no cover. Costume contests pay out cash to the best single, couple, and group.

The South Main Association is presenting a Haunted South Main Tour on Tuesday, October 18. They’ll partner with area business Historical Haunts for this event. Reservations are required and they’re capping attendance at 50.

Wiseacre Downtown will host a beer and Halloween candy pairing on Saturday, October 29. Specifically, it is a Women & Witches in Beer celebration. The first beer brewers were women. There are spots available at 1, 3, and 5 PM.

The DM has a look at Downtown’s upcoming Sip and Serve cleanup series.

Devil Train plays Memphis Clover Club 11 PM to 2 AM tonight.

There’s a chili cook-off for charity in Robert Church Park today beginning at noon.

Two Saturdays ago, I failed to show up at Blind Bear at its opening time of 11 AM and I found out later in the day, people were concerned that I was okay. Which I was. It’s going to happen again today, and Saturdays to come. I want to explain so people don’t worry.

Previously, I had been leading off at Blind Bear at 11, then waiting for my friends Randy and Theresa to text me “We’re at Bardog” around 1 and then I’d tab out and walk over.

However, a friend of ours (who has now been mentioned in this blog for a THIRD time this week! She’s getting famous!) recently got a new job, with her work hours starting at 2 on Saturday and it’s a 40-minute drive from Downtown. So, she’s only available to hang out with us at Bardog from 11 to about 1:20. We agreed to move our Bardog meet time to 11. Hence, I’m no longer leading off at the Bear.

I do plan to be there later today, though. Back tomorrow with more news.

The St. Louis Cardinals, parent team of the Memphis Redbirds, have made the MLB playoffs. They play Philadelphia in a best-of-three series beginning Friday. Friday’s game will be on ABC at 1 PM. I plan to be at Local on Main at that time and I’ll have them put it on one of their TVs.

Speaking of Local, I was in there yesterday and someone ordered the grilled cheese. “You can add whatever you want,” co-owner Tim told the customer. “Turkey? We can do that. Bacon. Onions. Broccoli. You name it. If you see it anywhere on the menu, we can add it.” Very cool. You can even get it with a side of Buffalo sauce for dipping.

Also at Local, bartender Jessica discovered they have Jenga, although it’s regular-sized, not Giant Jenga like her former employer had. “This one is even harder than the big one,” Jess commented.

“That’s what she said,” I replied.

Singer/songwriter Josh Threlkeld will play happy hour tonight from 5 to 7 in Health Sciences Park. There will be food trucks and cocktails.

In past years, Memphis Made Brewing Co. has brewed GonerBrau, a Kveik Pilsner, exclusively for GonerFest. However, they have decided the time has come to make GonerBrau available to everyone, all year. They’ll have a launch party for the beer in their taproom today.

Paul Young, who runs DMC. will run for Memphis mayor next year.

105 apartments overlooking The Ravine are coming to The Edge at 440 Monroe. Not far away, apartments are planned for the former Office Depot space at 785 Union.

New Wing Order announced its October special wing flavor yesterday:

As we enter spooky season, the October Wings of the Month are Loco Wings! The mad Dr. Tommy Wayne created this tasty concoction of fresh ginger, “chili crisp” sauce, Ponzu soy sauce, and Sambal Oelek. It has a sweet profile but will hit electrify every taste bud in your mouth! Get some 4:00-9:00 today at the restaurant (341 Beale). The Ghost River Brewing Co. taproom and beer garden open until 11:00pm

Memphis Animal Services is hiring an Animal Care Technician. (Sorry, forgot to copy the link)

The DM’s Geoff Calkins thinks the Big 12 made a mistake picking Houston over Memphis. I do too.

From WREG: Downtown water main break has dragged on for days. That’s why Bardog opened late Saturday. Bardog got back open but Flight and Bogie’s Deli had to stay closed for several days.

That’s it for today. Get out there and enjoy this BEAUTIFUL weather!

Deal of the week, although you will have to drive to get it: Southaven Goodwill has a number of throwback Memphis Tigers basketball jerseys that they’re selling for $9.99. An Andre Turner jersey was featured in the pic posted on Facebook.

From the Memphis Flyer: Employees are suing the company that owns Earnestine & Hazel’s, The Vault, The Paramount, and Backlot. They claim they are owed back wages because of the way the company computes employee pay.

Wiseacre Downtown will hold an Oktoberfest party Sunday, October 30. You can buy a stein for $22 and they’ll fill it with Tiny Bomb, Memphis Sands, Oktoberfest, or Second Banana; bring your own stein and they’ll fill it for $10. Mighty Souls Brass Band will perform and between sets, there will be a stein holding competition. Little Bettie pizza kitchen will be serving food.

I learned yesterday that “bleach” is not the only hybrid moonshine shot you can order at Blind Bear. Options include

• Bleach – half blackberry moonshine, half peach
• Blapple – half blackberry, half apple
• Melonberry – half blackberry, half sour watermelon

Memphis Chess Club now has fresh cinnamon buns from its bakery.

RMZI and Ross Al Ghul will DJ Eight & Sand Lounge at the Central Station Hotel this Friday evening.

The University of Memphis is being paid $1 million by the University of Missouri to relocate its September 23, 2023 game from the Liberty Bowl to St. Louis. AD Laird Veatch tried to replace Missouri with a comparable opponent but no Power 5 team wanted to play Memphis at home. That made the move to a neutral site the best option.

From MakeUseOf: How to spot fake profiles on Facebook

Weather nerd alert: Today is the last day of the year that the normal high temperature for Memphis is in the 80s.

Kifani Press, which is the newest shop in the Downtown Memphis Commission’s Open on Main initiative, will host an open house for teachers this Thursday from 4 to 7 PM. Bring your teacher ID and get 15% off any purchase as you enjoy free food and educational and literary resources. The shop is at 65 Monroe, a couple of doors down from Bardog. Bonus: You’ll likely get to watch MLGW workers dig giant holes in the street as you shop.

The Memphis Flyer has photos from last week’s Best of Memphis party at The Ravine.

Central BBQ Downtown is hiring a part-time banquet manager.

A shooting in the 400 block of Vance injured 2 children Monday.

There’s a maintenance technician job open at Hilton Garden inn across from the ballpark.

The Creative Works Conference happens at the Halloran Centre today through Saturday. They’ll have a pop-up market Friday and Saturday.

The CA has a quiz to test your knowledge of Memphis wrestling.

117 Prime is hiring an oyster shucker. This is said to be an ideal first restaurant job, or an ideal job for someone who wants to begin a training path to be a bartender.

RIP Loretta Lynn.

Today is National Get Funky Day.

Big River Fit Fest happens on Mud Island Saturday.

There’s October trivia tonight at Cordelia’s Market at 6:30.

Edge Motorfest is this Saturday. Come see classic cars on the street that was auto dealership row long before Covington Pike.

There’s a Koozies for Boobies breast cancer fundraiser tonight at Wet Willie’s.

Let’s have a look at college football games this weekend of interest to Memphians (all games on Saturday unless otherwise noted):

• Houston at Memphis, 6:30 PM Friday, ESPN2
• 8 Tennessee at 25 LSU, 11:00 AM, ESPN
• 17 TCU at 19 Kansas, 11:00 AM, FS1
• Arkansas at 23 Mississippi State, 11:00 AM, SEC Network
• Missouri at Florida, 11:00 AM, ESPNU
• Texas at Oklahoma, 11:00 AM, ABC
• Auburn at 2 Georgia, 2:30 PM, CBS
• 11 Utah at 18 UCLA, 2:30 PM, FOX
• 9 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt, 3:00 PM, SEC Network
• James Madison at Arkansas State, 6:00 PM, NFL Network
• Texas A&M at 1 Alabama, 7:00 PM, CBS

Whew, that 11 AM hour is LOADED. I bet Max’s Sports Bar will fill up super early Saturday.

That’s it for today. Back tomorrow with more.

Blind Bear is well-known for its collection of Ole Smoky flavored moonshines, which fit in quite nicely with the speakeasy theme. Every Monday is Moonshine Monday, where you can get a shot of Ole Smoky moonshine for only $5. Yesterday I decided to partake of the special. I usually get a banana pudding moonshine shot, which looks and tastes like liquid gold.

However, yesterday I recalled a conversation from a few months ago.

I walked into the Bear and took my usual seat next to fellow Bear regular Nappin’ Ass Nate. Michael was bartending that day and he was telling Nate, “That girl who does the bleach shots, the one who works at Bardog, was just in here.”

“Wait, someone’s shooting bleach?” I interrupted. “Do we need to have an intervention for this person?”

“No, not bleach like Clorox,” Michael laughed. “It’s half blackberry moonshine, half peach moonshine. So, bleach.”

This past Saturday we had our impromptu birthday party for Dani at Blind Bear after Bardog had to close down for the afternoon. I found myself seated next to the inventor of the bleach shot (who no longer works at Bardog by the way). Someone suggested a round of shots and she said, “You should get a bleach shot.”

I didn’t on Saturday because I’m so in love with the banana pudding flavor, but yesterday I thought, “Am I missing out?” So I ordered a bleach shot from Jeannette. I didn’t even have to explain what it was.

It was pretty damn tasty! I thought the blackberry and peach flavors would cancel each other, but to my surprise, they complemented each other well. I still like banana pudding the best, but I will get a bleach from time to time in the future.

If you want a yummy treat on Moonshine Monday, give the bleach a try. Tell the bartender, “Allison sent me.”

Also tell the bartender, “Pools are fun. Summer is fun.”

YOUR. MEMPHIS. GRRRRRRRRRRIZZLIES are back at FedExForum tonight, hosting the Orlando Magic in a preseason game. 7 PM tip time.

In other Grizzlies news, the team has signed starting center Steven Adams to a multi-year extension. Excellent.

Did you know it’s possible to cheat in a fishing tournament? Competitors were caught stuffing lead balls into their fish to inflate their weight.

DGX at Main and Gayoso is hiring. Not surprised to hear it – they’ve closed early a few times recently due to being understaffed.

The DM reports that an old mattress factory at 80 W. Virginia, just north of Crump, is being renovated into boutique apartments. Better hurry up and get Momma’s reopened, Aldo, you’re about to have some new neighbors!

The DM also has a look at what’s next for Grecian Gourmet, which will leave South Main before year’s end.

The Mississippi River will reach its second-lowest level ever recorded by mid-month. The timing is especially bad because barges ship a lot of grain and we’re right in the middle of the harvest season.

A kitten dumped on a Mud Island street has been rescued.

Bike thieves were out in the Downtown core yesterday. A server at a neighborhood bar witnessed two teenagers cut through a cable “like butter” in an attempt to steal a bike. She shouted and they ran off.

On a related note: We all need to be more careful not to let our phones out of our sight Downtown. The reason is that DGX now has one of those machines that will instantly pay you for trading in a phone. A thief could snatch your phone and convert it into cash in mere minutes.

That’s it for today. Go Grizzlies!

Yesterday was an eventful day.

My plan was to lead off at Bardog, where our beloved bartender Dani would be celebrating her birthday behind the bar. But yesterday morning I got a text saying that the city was working on water main issues in the alley (AGAIN) and Bardog wouldn’t be able to open until 3 PM.

So I led off at Blind Bear.

Then I got a text saying Bardog would be open at 12. So I tabbed out at the Bear and walked up there at 12:05.

From the looks of Monroe Avenue, it was obvious the repair work on the water main was far from done. Bardog’s door was still locked, the “opening at 3” sign was still on the door, and there were several would-be customers standing outside looking like “WTF do we do now?”

I ran into my friend Randy and we returned to the Blind Bear.

Then Randy got a text that Bardog’s opening time had been moved back to 8 PM. So the employees, including birthday girl Dani, now had the day off. Not surprisingly, Blind Bear filled up with an assortment of Bardog regulars and staff over the next hour. Much merriment was had, as well as many shots.

Then we decided to go to Longshot.

But all the bar seats at Longshot were already full, so after 1 drink we decided a venue change was in order. We walked north to Slider Inn Downtown.

There was a table big enough to fit all of us at Slider, but it wasn’t ideal. It had bad views of the TVs and the Alabama-Arkansas game was on. The Hogs had pulled within five of Bama and at that point looked like they still had a chance.

So we left and went to Green Beetle, where we got a table with excellent TV views. I got the Gravy Baby, essentially a big version of one of KFC’s bowls with mashed potatoes, melted cheese, chicken breast, and plenty of gravy. I forgot to take a pic.

Then we got in Randy’s car and drove out to Molly’s La Casita in Midtown. I don’t think I’ve been there in 20 years. I wished I was hungry again because I love Mexican food, but I was too full to try anything on the menu. My troll ordered a frozen margarita.

Whew. I can’t remember the last time I made or attempted so many venue changes in one day. I was dead tired by 8 PM.

Randy’ll have to wait until next Saturday to play some Billy Joel on Bardog’s new jukebox.

I do have one piece of Blind Bear news: They’re experimenting with putting sound on during Saturday daytime football games. I was the first one there yesterday and the GM asked my preference of game to turn on the sound. Knowing that Memphis vs. Temple and Kentucky vs. Ole Miss were both 11 AM games, I had a tough choice. I tend to believe that our own city’s team should get preference for sound whenever they’re playing. However, I knew I’d potentially piss a lot of people off by not choosing a top-15 SEC matchup. I let someone else make the call on that one.

Don’t forget that Blind Bear has a 2-for $20 value menu for Saturday and Sunday brunch from 11 AM to 3 PM. They have some good stuff on there like breakfast bowls and biscuits & gravy.

I’m headed back to the Bear in a bit, where NFL games are on today. Ugh… time for a list.

Sports, ranked in order of my most-liked to least-liked to watch:

• College football
• Basketball (both college and NBA)
• Curling
• Gymnastics, but only if Romanian women are competing
• Hockey
• Baseball
• Soccer
• NFL football
• Tennis
• Golf

That’s it. I’ll try to have more actual news tomorrow.

The Grizzlies have their first preseason game TONIGHT! Well that sure snuck up on us. They’ll play a road game vs. the Milwakuee Bucks. The tip is 7 PM and it’ll be on Bally Sports Southeast. Grizzly Bear Blues has a preview.

The jukebox at Bardog is now working!!! Playing tunes on that machine soothes my soul.

YOGA! Fitness franchise YogaSix is coming to South Main, specifically 372 S. Main. They will offer six core classes: Y6 101, Y6 Restore, Y6 Slow Flow, Y6 Hot, Y6 Power, and Y6 Sculpt & Flow.

Today is International Day of Older Persons. I’m sure the people at the corner table at Max’s will celebrate the holiday with buckets of Miller Lite today, then they’ll probably walk down the street to South Main Sushi or Good Fortune Co. Their Vols are idle today but they still have Clemson to cheer for.

It’s also National Pumpkin Spice Day.

Happy 98th to former president Jimmy Carter.

The Grizzlies have announced their 2022-2023 promotional schedule. Notablee dates:

• October 19 vs. Knicks: All fans get a Grizzlies “Big Memphis” T-shirt
• December 31 vs. Pelicans: Dillon Brooks sunglasses to the first 5000
• January 14 vs. Suns: MLK Day game
• February 10 vs. Timberwolves: Scarf to the first 5000
• March 11 vs. Mavericks: Ziaire Williams water jug to first 3000
• March 24 vs. Rockets: Ja Morant “Griddy” bobble to the first 3000
• March 29 vs. Clippers: Steven Adams Hawaiian shirt to the first 3000
• March 31 vs. Clippers: Desmond Bane cooler bag ro the first 5000

The Grizzlies released their updated “Statement” uniforms Friday.

The MBJ reports that the Majestic Grille will start serving prix-fixe, 3-course meals on Friday lunch. The menu will change weekly and the meals will be $35/$47 with a two-glass wine pairing.

That’s the news for today. I’m headed out to brunch at bars named after animals. Back tomorrow.