Month: October 2023

Just for kicks, I decided to dress up as a troll yesterday. While dressed up and talking to tourists at the bar, I learned there is a troll museum in Alliance, Ohio.

I’m probably gonna dress up again today, because it’s Halloween. Let’s have a look at who all are celebrating with special festivities today:

• Bass Pro will have a candy hunt and digital photo download from 5-7 PM
• Bardog will have a costume contest with $200/$100/$50 cash to the winners
• Blind Bear will have Scare at the Bear with DJ Tree from 9 until at least 1; drink specials; weekly food specials (see list below); costume contest
• Silky’s will have a Nightmare on Beale Street party starting at 7. DJ Taz, costume contest.
• Atomic Rose will have a masquerade ball tonight starting at 8. Prizes, $5 jack-o-lantern shots, DJ Ron with the music.

A personal note: If you see me out tonight (most likely at Bear or Bardog) and feel like buying your favorite blogger a PBR or a shot, it would be much appreciated. I’ve been drinking mainly Cokes/Pepsis out at the bars lately, but tonight there are going to be crowds and I deal with those much better when I have a light buzz.

The Blind Bear has posted its weekly menu specials:

• White chicken chili – Northern beans, carrots, onions, jalapenos, red bell peppers, chili peppers – cup 6, bowl 10
• BBQ brisket sandwich – Slow-roasted beef brisket drizzled with BBQ sauce, topped with house-made coleslaw 18
• Blueberry shortcake – House-made white cake topped with boozy blueberries and house-made whipped cream 8

The Memphis Grizzlies have dropped to 0-4 following a 125-110 loss to Dallas at FedExForum last night. Memphis will now hit the road for a game against Utah and two against Portland.

The Grizzlies’ home floor will have a new look during NBA in-season tournament games. The CA has a preview. The new floor will debut at the November 10 home game vs. Utah.

The DM stopped by Wayne’s Candy Co. on Downtown’s south end to see how Halloween business is doing.

Today’s the last day for the 3-month sales tax holiday on groceries in Tennessee.

The annual Downtown Christmas tree lighting is set for Saturday, November 18 (my birthday!) Photos with Santa from 4:30 to 6 PM. Margie’s 901 hot chocolate. I wonder how many Downtowners will bring flasks and spike their cup of Christmas cheer?

Let’s have a look at college football games of interest to Memphians this Saturday.

• 25 Kansas State at 7 Texas, 11:00 AM, FOX
• Texas A&M at 11 Ole Miss, 11:00 AM, ESPN
• UConn at 19 Tennessee, 11:00 AM, SEC Network
• Arkansas at Florida, 11:00 AM, ESPN2
• Army at 17 Air Force, 1:30 PM, CBS Sports Network
• South Florida at Memphis, 2:00 PM, ESPN+
• Louisiana at Arkansas State, 2:00 PM, ESPN+
• 14 Missouri at 1 Georgia, 2:30 PM, CBS
• 10 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State, Bedlam rivalry game, 2:30 PM, ABC
• Auburn at Vanderbilt, 3:00 PM, SEC Network
• 5 Washington at 24 USC, 6:30 PM, ABC
• 13 LSU at 8 Alabama, 6:45 PM, CBS
• 16 Oregon State at Colorado, 9:00 PM, ESPN

That is a LOADED slate of college football – unlike last Saturday, which was rather weak. The 11 AM hour is especially stacked. If you want a good table/seat at Max’s Sports Bar for the games, my advice would be to be standing outside the door at 10:30 that morning. Remember, folks, whether or not you are an LSU fan, Purple Drank is always an appropriate gameday beverage.

The first version of the committee’s official College Football Playoff top 25 rankings will be released today at 6 PM on ESPN. Note that the team ranks listed above are from the AP poll. I will not be updating them once the CFP poll is released, but in future weeks I will use the official CFP ranks rather than the AP for my game lists.

That’s it for now. Happy Halloween.

This blog is all about getting the word out about the achievements and upcoming events of others. As a rule, I don’t like to toot my own horn on here. But, I hope that just this once, you’ll indulge me. Because I said something pretty profound on Facebook Saturday afternoon.

AI is the opposite of E, I, E, I, O.

I mean, think about it. Let’s review the song:

Old McDonald had a farm,
E, I, E, I, O!
And on that farm he had some ducks,
E, I, E, I, O!

With a quack, quack here,
And a quack, quack there,
Here a quack,
There a quack,
Everywhere a quack, quack,

Old McDonald had a farm,
E, I, E, I, O!

E, I, E, I, O is all about gleaning knowledge and wisdom from a non-human resource. But it’s a resource we didn’t create: the animals.

Whereas, through artificial intelligence, we glean knowledge and wisdom through a resource we absolutely did create: computers.

So I stand by what I said. AI is the opposite of E, I, E, I, O.

Can you imagine the day EIEIO is the answer to the daily Wordle? That’ll stump everyone. Except AI, probably.

On to the news… are you in the service industry? You have a Halloween party to go to tonight from 6 to 10… but you have to register first (click the Tickets link in the Facebook listing), to be on the list they check at the door. The party is at Lux Lounge, the downstairs event room of the new Curry N Jerk location. It’s on Monroe between Second and B.B. King.

Ya know, they say there’s no such thing as a free lunch… I wonder what Lux Lounge’s angle is here? They’re gonna build a huge database of service industry workers, particularly Downtown ones, with contact info and current position held. There’s a lot of value in that.

There’s a trunk-or-treat for kids at Juvenile Court on Washington Avenue this evening from 5 to 7.

RIP Percy Norris, legendary Rendezvous server.

Annual reminder: If there is a restaurant you KNOW you want to try during Downtown Dining Week (November 6-12, 2023), go ahead and call and make reservations NOW, even if that restaurant has not published its DDW menu yet. The best time slots will fill up quickly. This is especially true this year, with DDW and the annual COGIC convention overlapping.

Todd Demers of Channel 3 Weather is saying we could see 15 MPH wind gusts from the north around 4 tomorrow afternoon. Keep that in mind when planning your Halloween costume. It’s gonna be cold! Predicted lows are 33 tonight and 30 tomorrow night.

Even with their star point guard on the bench, the Memphis Tigers put away Lane College 106-49 in an exhibition yesterday. Next up: vs. LeMoyne-Owen Tuesday at FedExForum, 7 PM.

Congrats to the Green Beetle’s food truck on its recent 100 on its health inspection.

The NBA’s in-season tournament tips off Friday. The Grizzlies will hit the road to play Portland in a tournament game that night at 9.

Tonight the Grizzlies host Dallas at home at 7 PM. TV: Bally Sports

Daylight Saving Time ends Saturday night. Get ready to turn the clocks back an hour.

That’s all for now. Possibly back tomorrow with more news, if I don’t take a day off.

 

The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports that the Memphis Grizzlies will sign Bismack Biyombo this week. Biyombo will add depth at the center position, depth lost by the team when Steven Adams was ruled out for the season. Biyombo, 31, is a 12-year NBA veteran who played for the Phoenix Suns last season. The Grizzlies have started the season 0-3 and are in bad need of help.

The Memphis Tigers became bowl-eligible yesterday with a last-minute win over North Texas, 45-42. Next up; at home vs. USF Saturday at 2.

All branches of Memphis Public Libraries, including Downtown’s Cossitt branch, will be closed Friday, November 3 for staff training.

Mike Pence has dropped out of the presidential race.

RIP Matthew Perry, who played Chandler on the sitcom Friends. Perry, 54, was found in a hot tub at his home. Foul play is not suspected.

Come groove, sip, and dine at the Downtown Sounds Alley Party 🎶🥂✨ Join us for an evening of FREE live music from Nick Black at the world-famous Rendezvous Alley on November 8 from 4-6pm! https://t.co/3RjBojuVS2 pic.twitter.com/gk0ymIC4Ev

— Downtown Memphis (@DowntownMemphis) October 28, 2023

Beetlejuice comes to the Orpheum Tuesday through Sunday.

Cold front will be here in a few hours. @memphisweather1 on Twitter/X is a great source of information.

I’m sitting at the bar at the Blind Bear. It’s 2:00 PM and nobody has requested the stupid NFL games be put on even though they started 2 hours ago. Gonna see how long we can keep this going.

That’s all for now. I may take a day or two off from blogging this week so I can enjoy Halloween events without lugging a laptop around.

The Beale Street Art Crawl Pop-Up Vendor Market happens this Saturday on Beale Street from 10 AM to 7 PM. Local artists and makers will sell their goods amidst a backdrop of Memphis BBQ, drinks, and live music. This event is free to the public.

There will be a Halloween costume contest at Central Station Hotel tonight. Awards for scariest, funniest, and best duo/group. Winners will be announced at 10 PM and you must be present to win.

Yesterday I was sitting at the bar when the manager of Margie’s 901 came in to say hello to her next-door neighbors. Margie’s 901 is the ice cream shop in Pembroke Square. It used to be called Maggie Moo’s when it was part of a corporate chain.

Margie’s manager told us she’d had a fulfilling day. Margie’s does classes on how to make ice cram and yesterday they did one for special-needs kids. What an awesome experience that I bet the kida won’t forget for the rest of their lives. Next time I see the manager, I’ll ask who else takes these classes, and when, where, how much.

Today is American Beer Day. May I recommend the PBR?

Today is also National Potato Day. To celebrate, I recommend you sub house-made potato chips in the place of tortilla chips on an order of BBQ Nachos from Central BBQ.

An alternative for celebrating National Potato Day would be the Chicken Pontabla at King’s Palace Cafe – a fried chicken breast on a bed of Cajun potatoes, topped with alfredo sauce.

Early voting opens today for several City Council seats.

Kansas the band comes to the Orpheum tonight, Tickets are $40-$121.

Stevie Nicks comes to FedExForum Saturday.

The World Series, Texas Rangers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks, begins tonight. Go Diamondbacks!

Google Maps are getting an AI upgrade.

The CA has a look at 2 Chainz’ Esco Restaurant & Tapas.

Local on Main has the 8 oz. chopped steak, fried onions, shiitake mushroom gravy, veggies, mashed potatoes special once again today. They also have the usual Friday special of fish & chips.

That’s it for now. Back with more news when I get time.

 

Okay, dear readers, I have a confession to make to you.

I lied to you a little.

Yesterday I posted that Local on the Square is closing its doors at the end of this week, after 11 years in business. I pointed out that Local on Main, Downtown on the Main Street Mall, is an entirely separate restaurant from Local on the Square, with its own management, its own employees, and its own set of policies for inspecting food that comes out to ensure it is fit to serve to guests.

Okay. So far all of that is true – as of this week.

But I lied when I said there’s no connection between the two restaurants. There’s about to be a BIG connection.

The Memphis Flyer’s Michael Donahue let the cat out of the bag yesterday. Tim and Tarrah Quinn, the owners of Local on Main for the past few years, are the new owners of the former Local on the Square. That’s right, I said “former.” They’re rebranding the Square restaurant as Madison Tavern.

I would like to encourage my Midtown readers to give the Quinns and their new restaurant a chance. I have gotten to know Tim and Tarrah over the past 12 months. They are super kind to their employees. They are very open to listening to their customers to understand what customers hope to see, eat, and experience when they come to the restaurants.

I think they will do great in Midtown.

And I think the Downtown regulars need to organize a field trip to Madison Tavern sometime in December. Maybe for a Sunday Fun Day brunch, a time when folks in both service industry and 8-to-5 corporate rat race employees are off work. Hmmm the Tavern is a short 3-block walk from Slider Inn Midtown… we could easily hit both in an afternoon.

Today is Texas Chicken Fried Steak Day. I don’t have a recommendation to celebrate in Memphis. A lot of Memphians think a county fried steak is the same as a chicken fried steak. It’s not. As the name implies, the steak should be dipped in the same batter you would use to fry chicken. Think the Colonel’s Original Recipe or Extra Crispy, whichever you prefer.

Not only that, but – the chicken fried steak must be served with WHITE gravy. NEVER BROWN. One of the side dishes must be mashed potatoes, and the gravy should cover the potatoes as well as the steak.

A nice-looking CFS, but it needs some mashed potatoes on that plate. Photo credit: Kevin from Oklahoma, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

As a general rule, the closer you get to the American Southwest, the more likely you are to find an authentic chicken fried steak, and not the fool’s gold/cubic zirconium of the culinary world, country fried steak with brown gravy.

It’s long been my suspicion that you can get a damn fine chicken fried steak in Mena, Arkansas, but I’ve never driven over there to prove it. Mena is in far western Arkansas, about an hour south of Fort Smith.

One more note… if ever you’re driving through the desert of Texas, New Mexico, or Arizona, and you see a billboard advertising a restaurant and it says “CHICKEN FRIED STEAK” and there’s a cartoon image of a chicken holding a skillet, you absolutely MUST go there. It’ll be the best CFS you’ve ever had, I can promise you that.

Let’s get on to the news…

The Cossitt Library’s Dos Hermanos Cafe will host The Boo Brunch this Saturday, October 28, from 11 AM to 3 PM. Come dressed in your Halloween costume and enter a costume contest after you chow down on some scary good food. The Cossitt is at the northwest corner of Front and Monroe.

South Main’s ARRIVE Hotel has been named one of the 20 best in North America by Fodor’s.

Memphis Symphony Orchestra performs Carmina Burana Saturday at 7:30 at the Cannon Center in partnership with Opera Memphis. Locally, the concert will be broadcast live on WKNO-FM radio.

Alice Hasen plays Live at the Tracks tonight at Central Station Hotel from 6:30 to 9:30. New menu, specialty drinks, local craft beers.

A new Los Comales location has opened Downtown. It’s at 345 Madison, in the building that used to be Stop 345.

If you go out during the day Sunday, take a jacket even though the temp may seem pretty warm (mid 70s-low 80s) in the morning. A cold front will drop the temperature drastically and we will be looking at high 55-60/low 37-39 weather for a few days after that.

Reminder: There’s a charity poker tournament tonight at 6 at Blind Bear. It’s organized by AutoZone people, but you don’t have to be an AutoZone person yourself in order to play. The tournament supports breast cancer awareness and

• a $20 donation gets you a 2000 starting chip stack
• a $30 donation gets you a 4000 starting chip stack
• Optional rebuy

Great prizes for winners; food and drink specials for all who are playing, including

• $5 Tito’s
• $5 Pink Drink
• $5 Hibernation dip & chips
• $5 Bear Balls
• $5 Tacos & chips

The very shorthanded Memphis Grizzlies took a 111-104 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans yesterday. Desmond Bane went 5 of 10 from the three-point line en route to a 31-point game. Next up for Memphis: A home game vs. Denver at FedExForum Friday at 6.

BET recently talked to Mayor-elect Paul Young about his vision for Memphis.

Mike Johnson is the new Speaker of the House.

I’ve found a new use for Quora, the social media platform where anybody can ask a question and anybody can answer one. Quora is really good to learn about topics where knowledge is somewhat widespread, but no one has ever thought to write a book.

This week I’ve been reading about the U.S. military and its ranks on Quora. Just to give you an idea of the questions and answers I’ve found:

• Q: Can a 23-year-old second lieutenant fresh out of college order around a sergeant major with 30 years of service? Require the Sgt. Maj. to salute, address him as “Sir,” march him around? The most common answer is, theoretically yes; however, sergeant majors tend to have direct communication lines to the commanding officer, making such a move career suicide for the lieutenant.
• Q: What exactly is a warrant officer? I’m still reading answers and figuring this one out. If you think of a branch of the military as a solar system, warrant officers seem to be the asteroid belt that lies between the inner rocky planets (enlisted men/women) and the gas giants (commissioned officers).

Lily Afshar has passed away. She was a classical guitarist from Tehran who was on the University of Memphis faculty for music. She was 63.

Local on Main has the same special they did yesterday: 8 oz. chopped steak with fried onion straws, topped with shiitake mushroom wine sauce, vegetable medley, mashed potatoes. It’s not letting me upload the photo again, so scroll back to yesterday’s post for more news. Back tomorrow.

The special at Local on Main today is an 8 oz. chopped steak with shiitake mushroom gravy and fried onion straws. Sides of mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley.

Opening night has arrived! The Memphis Grizzlies tip off the 2023-24 regular season tonight at 7:00 at FedExForum vs. the New Orleans Pelicans. Bally Sports will be the TV broadcast channel.

Attending the game in person? Be sure to get familiar with the arena’s new clear bag policy so you’ll know what you can take in and what you can’t.

The first 10,000 fans in attendance get a “Back to the Grind” T-shirt.

The Memphis Symphony Orchestra will play the National Anthem prior to the game.

Lil Buck will perform during player intros.

Roller skating/trapeze act Duo Transcend will perform at halftime.

Also appearing will be the Grizzlies Grannies and Grandpas, Gary Goin and the House Band, DJ Mic Tee, the Beale Street Flippers, the Grizz Girls, the Blue Bunch, and Grizzline.

We already knew Grizzlies center Steven Adams would be out for the season. Yesterday, though, Memphis’ supply of bigs got even shorter. Santi Aldama will have to miss the season opener after he turned his ankle in practice.

Today is National Greasy Foods Day. I recommend celebrating with some Gus’s Fried Chicken. The chorizo cheese dip from Maciel’s would work too. Or a pepperoni pie from your favorite pizzeria.

Local on the Square is closing after 11 years. The announcement comes about a month after a video allegedly taken at the restaurant went viral, appearing to show live maggots in food that had been served. I want to note once again that Local on the Square is not affiliated with Downtown’s Local on Main in any way. Local on Main has separate management, completely different staff, different procedures for checking food before it goes out.

The CA has a photo gallery of its top 30 Memphis restaurants for 2023. Downtown establishments that made the list:

• Alcenia’s
• Chef Tam’s Underground Cafe
• Cocozza
• Edge Alley
• Good Fortune Co.
• The Lobbyist
• Sunrise Memphis
• Supper Club on 2nd

The Shelby County Health Department will host a Downtown pop-up vaccination clinic Friday from 10 AM to 2 PM. The outdoor clinic will be outside on the Civic Center Plaza on North Main. While supplies last, you can get for free

• Flu shots
• COVID-19 vaccines
• COVID-19 testing

Atomic Rose will host an Atomic Masquerade Ball on Halloween night beginning at 8. DJ Ron will supply the beats. $5 jack-o-lantern shots.

Downtown Dining Week has been announced for November 6-12. No menus announced yet but the DDW page is up and you can bookmark it and come back to it. DDW is your opportunity to enjoy some fine Downtown restaurants, maybe some you haven’t tried before, at the low price of $20.23 for a multi-course dinner.

My favorite fictional old person is back on TV! MEDICARE MARTHA!!!

The CA has the scoop on six Tandem Restaurant Partners ventures that are in the works. Notable: Front Street Deli will reopen in November. Congrats to Julien on being named new COO of the company.

WREG has updated info on that woman who was found dead on a Mississippi River barge last week. She was a 22-year-old mom from Oklahoma. She called 911 and asked for psychiatric help not long before she died. Weird story.

Rod Wave’s Nostalgia Tour is coming to FedExForum on Monday, November 20. Tickets will go on sale Friday.

CBS News is reporting that former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows has (to use mafia parlance) turned rat on his former boss. Meadows is reported to be fully cooperating with the government as they attempt to investigate whether the Trumpster tried to influence 2020 U.S. presidential results and whether he incited the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots. Meadows was nearly always in the room when Trump was running his mouth.  Sing us a song like a canary, Mr. Meadows.

Back tomorrow.

Today is an important holiday: Food Day.  I recommend you celebrate at Downtown Hooters, the Golden Corral in Horn Lake, or the All-Star Hot Wings at Quince and Kirby, all of which are places that have food.

The DM has a look at the newly expanded Grizzlies Den gift shop in FedExForum.

Daaaaang the Downtown Happy Mexican scored a 63 on its health inspection.

Downtown Yoga will hold Thriller Night, a pop-up event, Friday as part of South Main Trolley Night. There will be a costume contest and a wide array of vendors.

Let’s have a look at college football games of interest happening this Saturday:

• South Carolina at Texas A&M, 11:00 AM, ESPN
• Memphis at North Texas, 2:00 PM, ESPN+
• 1 Georgia at Florida, 2:30 PM, CBS
• 8 Oregon at 13 Utah, 2:30 PM, FOX
• 20 Duke at 18 Louisville, 2:30 PM, ESPN
• Mississippi State at Auburn, 2:30 PM, SEC Network
• Arkansas State at UL Monroe, 4:00 PM, ESPN+
• 21 Tennessee at Kentucky, 6:00 PM, ESPN
• Vanderbilt at 12 Ole Miss, 6:30 PM, SEC Network
• Colorado at 23 UCLA, 6:30 PM, ABC

Wow. That’s about as boring a week of college football as you could ask for. Only two ranked vs. ranked, Memphis taking on an opponent that just moved up from Conference USA, and Tennessee vs. Kentucky arguably the best SEC game.

Bedrock Eats and Sweets seeks a front-of-house person.

The teams that play in AutoZone Park (Memphis 901 FC and Memphis Redbirds) seek a graphic designer.

The zoo seeks a private events specialist.

Bishop is hiring a line cook.

The Reunion Tour featuring Kirk Franklin, Tye Tribbett, The Clark Sisters, David & Tamela Mann, and Israel Houghton comes to FedExForum tonight.

Blind Bear food specials this week! (Photos below courtesy of Antonio Jones)

Vegetable soup – zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, green beans, celery, spinach in a beef broth. Local soup expert Butt Slut #1 commented “That soup is on pointttttt” on Facebook.

Blackened salmon alfredo

Lemon berry cream cake

Get the specials while supplies last, which will probably be through Saturday. Bill – Flying Saucer Bill, to clarify, since there are several Bills –  came in last night and gave the vegetable soup his approval.

There will be a Podcasting Basics workshop at the Cossitt Library Wednesday at 5:30 PM. The library’s Innovator in Residence, Ena Esco, will lead the workshop. Register to attend (free) on Eventbrite. More about this event:

Unlock the Power of Podcasting: Your Essential Guide to Podcasting Basics. Discover the key elements, from framing your idea, structure, reaching your audience, visual setup and recording needs. Get ready to launch your podcasting journey with confidence as we head into 2024.

Nightmare on Mulberry Street, Slider Inn Downtown’s Halloween party, will happen Saturday night. Specialty drinks, DJ sets, costume contests. Fun starts at 7 PM. Delyrius, Atia, FERB, Andy Chance… those are DJs I guess?

Not Downtown but worth a Lyft: India Fest 2023 Saturday at the Agricenter. Indian food is AWESOME… even their vegetarian stuff is good.

Speaking of vegetarian stuff… get your plant based junk food Wednesday evening at the Ghost River taproom at Main and Crump. Vuture Food will sell their chick’n sandwiches and loaded fries.

There will be a beer & Halloween candy pairing at Wiseacre Downtown this Saturday. Pick from 1 PM or 3 PM class times. $25 covers all supplies. Ages 21 and up.

Elmwood Cemetery will host a Full Moon Tour this Saturday from 6:00 to 7:30. Bring your flashlight and walking shoes.

Brass Door has announced new hours:

• CLOSED Mondays and Tuesdays
• 11 AM-9 PM Wednesday-Saturday
• 11 AM-5 PM Sundays and Sunday breakfast specials will be announced soon

There will be a Halloween Scavenger Haunt at the Fire Museum on Adams Ave. Saturday from 10 AM to 2 PM. Kids can find scary objects hidden around the museum and receive a sweet treat at the end.

The Mallory-Neely House, one of the stately mansions of Victorian Village, is reopening for tours.

jahvon Quinerly, point guard for the Memphis Tigers, has been named to the Bob Cousy Award preseason watch list. The award goes to the best point guard in college ball at the end of the season. There were 20 players put on the preseason list. Quinerly was also named to the preseason American Athletic Conference first team recently.

A “Save Beale Street Music Fest” rally will happen at 3:30 today at City Hall.

The NBA regular season gets underway tonight with a doubleheader on TNT:

• L.A. Lakers at Denver Nuggets, 6:30 Central Time
• Phoenix Suns at Golden State Warriors, 9:00 Central Time

RIP Bobi, 31, certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest dog.

Find out how to get free fries at McDonald’s every Friday from this coming one, October 27, through the end of the year. Free fries? Wonder if the Nuh-Uh Girl will show up.

Sorry I ended yesterday’s blog post kinda abruptly. The library being closed for unexpected maintenance threw me for a loop. They told me I was welcome to hang out at their outdoor cafe area and use their Wi-Fi, but without chairs at the tables I couldn’t concentrate. I guess they only put the chairs out at the lunch hour (it was 10 when I got there).

Back tomorrow with more news.

It’s October 23 and today the sun enters the House of Scorpio. MY house! It’s the beginning of my birthday month. I’ve done my complete astrological chart and my sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, and Pluto are all in Scorpio.

My birthday is on a Saturday this year. That should be fun.

This week only, Ghost River has “Trick or Treat” beer, a chocolate/peanut butter dark stout. Sounds yummy. Please nobody brew a beer that tastes like candy corn.

I ran into someone who’d just brunched at the Majestic yesterday. He said they have a lot of tasty stuff on their new brunch menu, but one popular item is no more: John D’s Breakfast. That was just your good, basic big breakfast with eggs your way, bacon, sausage, toast, and breakfast potatoes.

For those who miss the John D Breakfast at the Majestic, check out Mac’s Big Vols Breakfast down the street at Blind Bear. It’s nearly the same thing. Mac was a beloved bartender, friend, and BBQ teammate who left us too soon.

Couple of more inside scoops from the Blind Bear. Tony let me sample a cup of vegetable soup, one of this week’s specials. I’m not a big soup guy but that was the best cup of vegetable I’ve ever had. Zucchini, cauliflower, green beans, celery, and carrots in a beef broth. The flavor profile was ON and the amount of spice was perfect.

Tony asked me not to take a pic yet, because he was debating whether or not to add spinach to the soup. Now, I’m the biggest spinach fan this side of Popeye, but if the soup ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I’ll try to have a pic for you – spinach or not – tomorrow.

One more piece of insider Blind Bear news: Their 6 PM Sunday poker night, recently revived after a long hiatus, has not yet attracted a big crowd. Last night I think there were 5 players total. Since the top 3 finishers win prizes, if you know a little something about Texas Hold’em, you’d have a very good chance of walking away with a prize if you showed up.

I came across a Downtown event venue I had not heard of before: From the Heart. It seems to be located in the basement of the Claridge House condos at Main and Adams. The entrance is in between Willie Moore’s soul food and Qahwa coffee shop. It seats 60 and you can use your own caterer.

Bad news for the Memphis Grizzlies: Starting center Steven Adams will be out for the season with PCL surgery. Adams’ rebounding in particular will be sorely missed.

Loflin Yard will hold Loflin Graveyard Saturday from 6 PM to 1 AM. DJ Bassventura will play the Coach House, dog costume contest at 6 PM, adult costume contest at 11 PM. Prizes for singles and groups. Drink specials. No cover.

From the DM: Tom Lee Park will wait to find the right replacement for Vice & Virtue coffee shop

Today is National Slap Your Irritating Co-Worker Day.

A man was critically injured Friday in a shooting in the 300 block of Metal Museum Drive.

Highs in the 80s/lows in the 60s are forecast for this week.

The long-term forecast is for an El Nino winter.  The South is expected to be wetter (but not icy) and stormier.

Just walked over to the Cossitt Library. They tell me they’re going to be closed until midday or later with a maintenance issue. So I’m going to hit Publish and head back home. Back tomorrow with more news.

 

I found the most fun simulation game yesterday! It’s called Trust & Safety Tycoon and in it, you are the Chief Trust & Safety Officer (and right-hand employee of the CEO) at Yapper, a Facebook-like company that is rapidly growing.

Your primary mission is to keep users safe from things like identity theft, promotion of violence, publication of inappropriate material (especially where children can see it), misinformation, etc., etc., etc.

However, you can’t lose sight of the fact that you work at a for-profit company whose goals are to maximize ad revenue, increase user engagement, and promote diversity. Plus, your personal goal is to keep the CEO’s confidence in you as high as possible.

The first time I played, I made it to year 2 before I was terminated by the CEO. The second time, I made it through 6 years and “won” the game with a score of 1739 and a rating of three stars.

Here’s a link to the results from All Elite Wrestling’s Collision from FedExForum last night. Retired TV weatherman/wrestling announcer Dave Brown made a special appearance to call Jeff Jarrett’s match, which Double J won with the help of his entourage.

D Superman will play the ’80s horror Halloween party at the Flying Saucer on Saturday. Costume contest, mystery beer tub, and a drink special. The fun kicks off at 8 PM.

A woman’s dead body was found on a barge just north of Downtown Saturday morning.

Memphis 901 FC’s season is over. The club lost to Louisville on penalty kicks in a playoff game last night.

The football Memphis Tigers defeated UAB yesterday, 45-21. Next up, the Tigers play North Texas. A conference championship is still within reach.

Today is Eat a Pretzel Day. Flying Saucer and Local on Main are your spots to celebrate.

That’s it for now, back tomorrow probably.

In this week’s $10 Deal, the Daily Memphian visits Momma’s, “the diner and dive off 55” that opens for breakfast at 6:30 in the morning. They have breakfast sandwich “The Trooper” with two fried eggs (over hard and peppered), bacon, country ham, and American cheese between two pieces of buttered white or wheat toast.

Today is International Day of the Nacho. My top three picks to celebrate would be the BBQ nachos at Central BBQ Downtown, the traditional nachos with ground beef and melted cheese at Huey’s, and Nachos for the People at Slider Inn Downtown (get them with guac + chili).

$13,000 in hair was stolen from Angel Beauty Supply at 394 East E.H. Crump Friday morning. Welcome to Memphis, where even the crimes that are committed are ghetto.

A suspect in the carjacking that happened earlier this month at the Exxon on Riverside has been captured in Arkansas.

A Blytheville woman walked Big River Crossing to celebrate her 101st birthday.

Read the full transcript of President Biden’s speech Thursday night on the Israel-Hamas and Ukraine-Russia wars.

Ross al Ghul of Bodywerk plays Eight & Sand Lounge in Central Station tonight from 9 to 1. Rock, disco, funk, soul, house.

A food truck permit in Memphis costs only $50, but coming into compliance to get the permit can cost thousands. The cost could put some food trucks out of business, FOX 13 reports.

I learned a food service secret yesterday, and I wanted to pass it on to my readers. If a restaurant’s daily special is a chef’s salad, and the chef’s salad is not on the regular menu, order something else.

Why? Well, there are ingredients most of us think are more likely than not to appear on a chef’s salad: lettuce of course, sliced ham, sliced turkey, tomatoes, maybe onions, maybe sliced or crumbled hard-boiled egg. But those don’t define a chef’s salad: By definition, what goes on a chef’s salad is whatever Chef thinks should be on there.

I’ve seen chopped grilled chicken atop chef’s salads. Pepperoni. Salami. Roast beef. Jalapenos. Crumbled blue cheese. Bell peppers  Black olives. Shrooms. Chinese won tons. In the summertime, strawberries or pineapple slices.

“What’s wrong with any of those?” you may ask. “Are you begrudging chefs their creativity?”

No. Not at all. But the secret, my industry friends tell me, is that when dreaming up a chef’s salad daily special, the chefs are not necessarily thinking, “What bold combination of flavors would make a beautiful harmony on a salad plate?”

More likely they’re thinking, “What do I have in the refrigerator that will have to be thrown out if I don’t use it today?”

So a chef salad that is a daily special is likely not to contain the freshest food the restaurant has.

A new fine dining restaurant, Amelia Gene’s, opens Sunday at 255 S. Front, and the CA’s Jennifer Chandler has the scoop. The restaurant is part of the One Beale project. Amelia Gene’s will have an in-house bread baker. Other menu standouts include house-made pastas, duck, elk short rib, and a cheese cart. Photo gallery

The Grizzlies lost on the road at Milwaukee last night… which matters not, for it was a pre-season game. The important takeaway was that Ziaire Williams started at small forward. His competitor for the starting role, David Roddy, was first to be subbed in by Memphis. Ziaire guarded superstar Damian Lillard for much of the game. This was considered a “dress rehearsal,” so it’s likely Williams has earned the starter role for the regular season.

There was a report of a shooting at Gayoso and Main last night about 6:40.  The victim was located in North Memphis less than an hour later and was taken to Regional One in critical condition.

Ricky Wilkins, an attorney who had offices in the Shrine Building, has passed away.

Memphis Animal Services needs dog fosters. There is said to be a “puppy boom” going on right now.

Wow, MemphisWeather.net is predicting a high of 85 today! It’ll still get down to the mid-50s tonight.

MAGA asshole/nut case Jim Jordan has failed in his bid to become Speaker of the House. The House is effectively paralyzed – in the middle of the Israel-Hamas conflict – until they elect a new speaker or expands the speaker pro tempore’s power.

Striking Hollywood writers have been told not to dress up as characters written by members of their union for Halloween.

That’s the news for today. Back tomorrow or maybe Monday.