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.